[ melissa barrera, cis woman, she/her ] — spotted in the streets of brooklyn, it's PJ TORRES. they have lived in the city for A MONTH (as of March), working as a FASHION DESIGNER. the 34 year old will probably be seen around a lot, BUSHWICK seeing as that’s where they live. people say they can be a bit LOUD and OPINIONATED, but friends know them to be LOYAL and HARD-WORKING. you know for sure you’ve found them when you’ve come across HOT SAUCE PACKETS EVERYWHERE, LOUD MUSIC IN SPANISH, THREAD AND NEEDLE welcome to brooklyn, it’s been waiting for you!
[ nads, 35, gmt-3, she/her, none ]
BASICS
FULL NAME: Penelope Jane Torres
NICKNAME(S): PJ - Lupe
AGE: 34
DATE OF BIRTH: January 6 1991
PLACE OF BIRTH: Texas
CURRENT LOCATION: Bushwick, Brooklyn NYC
ETHNICITY: Latinx.
GENDER: Cis Woman
PRONOUNS: She/Her
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual Straight
EDUCATION: ASFD - Austin School of Fashion Design
OCCUPATION: Fashion Designer
FACECLAIM: Melissa Barrera
PERSONALITY
CHARACTER INSPO: Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn 99) Elena Alvarez (One Day At a Time) Nell Serrano (Not Dead Yet) Gloria Delgado (Modern Family) Bela Malhotra (The sex lives of college girls)
THEME SONG: Qlona - Karol G
POS TRAITS: Confident. Friendly. Loyal
NEG TRAITS: Loud. Noisy. Pushy
LOVE LENGUAGE: Physical touch
ALIGMENT: Chaotic good
RELATIONSHIPS
SIBLINGS: Elias Torres. Mariela Torres
Biography:
PJ has absolutely all the traits of the eldest daughter™. Between being constantly compared to her perfect sister and dismissed in favor of her younger brother, PJ was your typical trouble maker. After all, nothing she did was ever good enough for her parents. That was one of the reasons why she spent a lot of time at her abuela’s house. She knew she was abuelita’s favorite. Her abuela was the one who taught her how to cook and how to sew. Every day after school since she was little, she’d go to her place and they’d watch la telenovela while they did all these things and it was the best thing in the world for PJ. Her abuela is the only one allowed to call her Lupita.
During her teenage years she used to get into all sorts of trouble, going out and partying with her brother Eli. Getting into make out contests to see how many people they could hook up with in a night. Sometimes one of those people were girls but she’d scratch it up to being drunk and silly and that it didn’t matter when, well, maybe it kind of did. Especially when one of those girls was her friend who she'd hook up with while drunk and then show up at school on the arm or some football douchebag, kissing him in front of the whole school the next morning.
PJ went to college to Austin School of Fashion Design, the only one of the Torres to stay home for a very long time after all her siblings moved up to the big apple. It was in Texas while co-designing clothes for a local brand that she met Beau. A married man with whom she had a one night stand-turned-affair for a while. At first it was uncomplicated and fun. He’d show up in Texas, they’d go out, sleep together and get on with their lives in the meantime. She cared about Beau but didn’t have any illusions of him leaving his wife. She didn’t even want that. Until one day, his wife found out about the affair. PJ didn’t want any trouble so she packed her bags and moved to Louisiana where she met one of the fashion designers she admired the most.
Meeting Imogen Rhitt, the British designer that had worked for so many of the labels she dreamed of working for was something PJ never ever dared to wish for herself. And not only that, the woman offered her to be her second in command while she worked at Vera Wang. PJ immediately said yes and off to New York she went, joining the rest of her siblings there.
was it risky to invite his former affair partner turned fuck buddy to a nice, homemade dinner? maybe, but beau had no one else to cook for besides him and jake, and his son didn't have the adult palette or conversation he wanted to enjoy. there was also the fact that he was enjoying his time with pj... and he wanted to spend more time with her. was it risky? sure. but he'd spent too long playing safe and comfortable.
"hey! oh--" beau answered the door in his apron, but was startled by the bag of dessert in his face. he only had a moment to take the sight of pj in before she was leaning up towards him, presenting her lips for him to kiss. he quickly leaned down and met her lips with his, his hand going to her waist and resting there. the kiss lingered, and he pulled back with a smile. "my two favourite desserts in one evening. i must've been a good boy in a past life. come on in."
beau brought her inside, getting the chance to finally look at her. she looked incredible, even more gorgeous and sexy than usual. he quickly reached out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him for another kiss. he couldn't resist. "you look unbelievable..." he said, his eyes and voice both soft. "you like beef ragu?"
Despite herself, she smiled into the lingered kiss, internally rolling her eyes a little but PJ was going to need to start to accept that she really wanted this with Beau. Maybe not right this second, but eventually, she was going to have to put words into feelings instead of ignoring them. But right now there were more important things to do like kissing this man. "You're always a good boy Monroe. To a fault, I'd say." Her hand came to the back of his head, scratching it softly before she pulled back to come in further into the house.
And fuck it smelled delicious in there. It actually stopped her on her tracks as she sniffed, eyes wide when she turned to Beau again before he distracted her again with another kiss and a compliment. "Oh, this old thing?" She pretended to brush it off with an arm around his neck again but the smirk on her face gave away that she knew she looked amazing. The dress was an old Imogen design and she had always been obsessed with it, she couldn't believe that the woman gave it to her. "I don't even know what that it but if it's half as good as it smells, I'm sure I'm going to love it."
She pressed him in for yet another kiss before pulling away all together and stepping even further into the apartment on her way to the kitchen, incredible that she already knew her way around. And besides, she gave him something to look at as she walked away, turning around with a whip of her long dark hair to ask, "Okay if I put this in the fridge?"
It should feel a lot weirder to do this with Beau. Having dinner, sharing her work with him. They had been spending more time together now that they were in the same place and well, he didn't need to hide anymore. At first it panicked her because she wasn't sure what it meant for them but after the second or third time they slept together, PJ realized that maybe the excitement around being with Beau wasn't just in the secrecy and hiding around. She actually kinda liked him for real. Which, if you knew anything about the woman, it was a nightmare for her.
But was she going to say no to free food and sex? Well, apparently no because here she was at Beau's door with a folder in her purse, a bag with dessert and her boobs almost all out of the tiny dress she was wearing. Thank god for warmer weather. "*Traje tres leches for dessert!" She said as soon as the door was open, practically shoving the bag in Beau's face but put it down to lean in a kiss him.
beau: linguini and getting laid?
beau: although it won't be linguini, it'll be tagliatelle
beau: tomorrow night, you free?
beau: eating pasta and getting pounded, very classy
PJ: well you know linguini sounds a lot like lengua which is tongue in spanish so...
PJ: now I'm hungry and horny.
PJ : i'll be there tomorrow night.
PJ: there better be nothing classy about the pounding lol
PJ: oh and I can show you some of my work. we did an outfit for the Met Gala
beau: so remember when you agreed to food and sex?
beau: we should give it a better name... like netflix and chill
beau: i'm making pasta... pasta and pounding? too crude?
“I fucking hope we’re going to die together - if anything else happens, Theo will know I’ll haunt their ass like nobody’s business. Not a moment of peace for them…for all eternity.” Imogen was talking in jest but the sentiment was true, she wanted to be with her fiancee forever. Five years apart was far too long for them to be apart already so they certainly wouldn’t ever break up because of Imogen, if they did it would be Theo’s choice. “Yeah it is gross, don’t worry I know it.” Rolling her eyes, because she did. It was disgusting, they were disgusting, the two of them together were even worse than you could imagine. At least in their grown up state they packed on less of the PDA…mostly. “Correct, he is a man actor, but beyond that he is just a fucking asshole. I still don’t understand why you’re on the fence with Theo, like, everything that happened between the two of us was my fault not theirs after all.” A small frown on her face, a wrinkle between her eyebrows as she looked over at PJ. If there was something she could do to get them to like Theo more Imogen would do it, because truly her fiancee didn’t deserve any kind of doubt cast on them. “Freak out in a good way, or a bad way?” The redhead probed, leaning over to give the woman a poke in the shoulder as she laughed, still grinning as she sat back once more, glad to see PJ smiling again. “Obviously I want to see! Don’t ask me stupid questions woman!” @pjxtorres
PJ let out a loud laugh at her words, throwing her head back and swatting Imogen's arm lightly. "Stop. I can see them just... you know, with a ouija board at home like, telling you about their day." She put her two middle fingers together of both hands and pretended to be moving the little planchette on the board. "But I'm glad you are aware that the two of you are gross." The two of them spent a lot of time together nowadays and PJ heard a lot about Theo. Strangely, as much as she teased Imogen about it, she didn't mind at all. Her friend was happy and unlike other friends she's had, talking about their boyfriends who would be praised for doing the bare minimum or not even that, this was refreshing. "I'm on the fence about them because I don't know them that well, so." She shrugged, she would always be team Imogen even if she was a murderer or something, no questions asked. As she grabbed her phone from the table, she went to her own camera roll to look for a photo. "He'd freak out in a bad way. Let me try not to flash you a boob." PJ commented chuckling to herself, then finally finding something suitable to show her. "This is him." PJ passed Imogen her phone for her to see. "*No me puedo quejar."
"not too little. gotta protect the goods." beau chuckled, watching her eyes dip down to the cushion covering him. he felt a rush of energy and hot, prickling lust, and his body reacted according. her kiss only added fuel to the fire, and he couldn't stop himself letting out a soft groan into her mouth. he was already half-hard again. his mind was torn between the thought of lying her down, kissing her all over, tasting her soft skin until he ended up between her legs, and paying attention to the conversation he had started. he forced himself to focus, even if it ached.
"that sounds great. really, truly great. is it possible to see your work, in some way?" beau asked. his tone was genuine, even if he was a little distracted. he'd always admired pj's work ethic, and her passion. his grin grew wolfish at her second admission. "mm, do you typically like to dominate, penelope?" beau chuckled, leaning in to kiss her shoulder. his lips trailed up her neck again, reaching her cheek, and then her ear. he spoke soft and low against it. "...i know what you mean. it's hard to adjust to a new place. sometimes i feel like i'm drowning..." the vulnerability took him by surprise, and he kissed her softly again to hide it.
"...why don't i help you take your mind off that... by me drowning in something else, hm?" he asked, his tone lusty. the hand on her waist slipped down and around, fingers slipping below her stomach. "you could eat your sandwich at the same time?"
"It's all kind of top secret, you know. It's the Vera Wang. But I have samples and drawings of the designes. We're still making changes to everything but I can show you some of it next time." Next time, that sounded like such a fact but then again, she had just agreed to sex and food with him in the near future so she wouldn't be fooling anyone if she thought this was the last time they were doing this. When she first saw him at that coffee shop, her first instinct was to disappear, try not to see him again. That didn't seem to work quite well.
"You know damn well I do." When Beau started asking her question about how her new life here in New York was going, she didn't expect it to take such a turn and it took her by surprise as well when he was whispering low and deep into her ear, making breath pick up instantly. His tone was the opposite of the words coming out of his mouth and she knew exactly what he was doing. He was avoiding things with her like he always did. PJ didn't judge him, she did the same. Her hand went into his hair, lacing her fingers through it and she could do nothing but nod. Except she didn't let him go down, not before kissing him first. "Fuck that sandwich." She said dropping the plate somewhere carelessly without looking while she pressed her lips to his hungrily at the same time.
Tae glanced back towards her at her words, mouth turning down into a frown. "If that's what it takes to get a drink, find another bartender —- or better yet, find another bar... a better one." It was certainly making him reconsider the band taking any more gigs there. Behaviour like that needed to be stamped out as quick as possible and if the owner wasn't bothering, that told him all he needed to know. "Two beers coming up, though," he added.
PJ gave him a shrug, she was really so used to it by now, grew up basically financing all her booze that way. "I don't mind, except when it doesn't work. If I can get something out of misogyny, let it at least be free drinks!" She laughed, taking the subject lightly. The brunette had used her looks to get her way many times before and had no shame in it. "Are you going to have that beer with me?" She asked cockily with a bit of a smirk.
Character development task 002 - Penelope Jane Torres.
El remedio que tengo está intenso
Va a doler, pero te va a gustar la calentura
Ven, agárrate de mi cintura
Un poquito 'e fiebre así suda'
Que esta noche hacemos travesura
"Makes sense." Yasmin chuckled and nodded her head, taking a sip of her drink. She was kind of envious of the close-knit relationship the other Torres' had, considering her own with her siblings. They'd never been close, it had always been a bit chaotic, in fact. "Because you're overthinking it?" She shrugged, that was her conclusion at the very least. "Of course, not like I have anything going on other than work." Her brows lifted then. "You're fucking an old man? I think you need to explain."
Overthinking things was new for PJ. She couldn't remember a time where she even gave anything a second thought, she'd just done whatever the fuck she wanted. Not that it was wise or always turned out well but it was definitely not all her actions were well thought. "Could be, but thanks! If you know where to start looking, let me know." PJ laughed at Yas reaction. "He's not old, old but he's like ten years older than me. He's really hot though, like you!" She shrugged. It felt weird to tell people about Beau now that he was divorcing his ex. Not that she was keeping it a secret before but now every time she mentioned him, it felt different.
"we can't have that. no finance bro branding then." beau agreed, smirking at her reaction. he understood the attitude towards his finance brethern. he'd had his wild days before he got married, but he'd never been so wild as them - the parties, the drugs, the women they couldn't remember the names of. plus, they were all so boring. beau could only handle so much money money money chat before he zoned out.
"oooh, i see how it is. one of your fantasies, huh? how little does this apron have to be?" beau chuckled, leaning in and nuzzling her neck, playfully pressing his teeth against her skin. "food and sex..." he repeated, kissing her neck now, pushing her hair out of the way. he pulled away with a soft groan.
"i forgot to ask, because we were running. how's work going? are you feeling a little more settled?"
It was a little hard to concentrate on- well, anything really, when Beau was kissing her neck like that, making PJ close her eyes for a moment. "Well, not too little, right?" Teasingly, she looked down towards where his carefully placed cushion was, knowing there was nothing underneath. She pursed her lips as if considering the size before laughing and grabbing his face with her hand to kiss him on the lips, letting go with a bit of an obnoxious sound. "Food and sex." She agreed. PJ could deal with that.
Those were two very different questions he was asking because one thing didn't exactly correlate with the other. PJ decided to start with the easy part. "Work is great. I've never worked like this but I love every minute of it. It's hard and it drives me crazy and my fingers will start falling off soon but fuck if it's worth it." She replied sincerely. "Now feeling settled is... an entirely different monster I don't think I have um- dominated quite yet." Her face fell a little which she didn't love but if there was one thing PJ was, was completely transparent. Her shoulders tensed a little against him as she looked away for a moment.
"Meh, I know that I don't have to but I'm feeling super kind today so I don't mind it at all. I think you should just enjoy it and accept it." Peyton replied to PJ as she looked at her with a big smile on her face and then she looked back at the menu. "I was thinking about getting like the turkey club because that sounds super good as well. Are the burgers here good? I feel like they probably are because a diner burger is so different from others." Peyton explained to PJ as she looked at her and admired her beauty. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"
For some reason this goddess was still talking to her and, well, PJ could talk to a plant and would never turned down free food. She lent in closer to the blond a little and whispered. "The food in general here isn't like... amazing. So don't order something too elaborate." She said gritting her teeth so none of the servers heard her. The last thing she needed was spit in her food. "I come here because the performers are fucking great." Returning to her place, she closed the menu, mind already made about the food. "It's my lunch break. My boss wasn't in today, otherwise we would have had some sandwiches hunched over some designs probably."
"haha, very funny." beau grinned at her, closing his eyes as they kissed. he didn't even care that her mouth was full of sandwich - it felt natural, normal even. as she rested against hi, his arm reached out and wrapped around her, his large hand touching her waist. her naked skin was soft and warm to the touch. "my brand? what would that even be? divorced single dad? finance bro?" beau leaned into her ear, chuckling.
"yes, really. i'm learning how to cook at forty-four." beau sighed. it was a point of contention for his self - on one hand, he knew he should feel proud about putting himself out there and learning something new, to help take care of himself and his son... but honestly, he was embarrassed he'd gone so long without knowing how to cook. "you think so? it's hot?" beau looked at her with surprise. "uh... not much. spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce. it went okay... i'm practicing."
"...if we keep doing this, maybe i'll get the chance to cook for you. something a little more impressive than sandwiches," he suggested. he hoped she would be down for that... they could make this a regular thing. they didn't have to hide anymore.
"Anything but finance bro, please. What if people find out I'm fucking a finance bro? So gross." She made a face, scrunching her nose and shaking her head. Beau was in finance yes but he wasn't what one would think of a finance bro and she liked that about him actually. Which, admittedly was fucking dangerous but when was PJ cautions about anything, ever?
Leaning against his side with his arm wrapped around her, she continued eating her sandwich happily as she listened to him, trying not to think about how good this felt. Being in Beau's arms sitting there naked and just chatting. "You're never too old to learn anything." She shrugged at his comment. "And yeah it's fucking hot. Wanna see you cooking naked in your little apron." Of course she had to turn him learning how to cook into something sexual, a smirk on her lips as she said that before looking up at him at his suggestion. "Food and sex? I can be down for that." She tried to not read too much into it because she still didn't know what this was or what Beau wanted with her. It was easy when he was married because she knew exactly what she was but now? Fuck if it was confusing.
Peyton was at Starlight Diner and she was looking around for a second before she then moved her attention to the person that was singing. She had a water in her hand as the waiter came over and asked what they wanted and Peyton ordered herself a wedge salad and then look at the woman who was sitting next to her. , "What are you getting? Anything good?? It's on me. I'm feeling generous." She asked curiously.
Sitting at the bar at Starlight Diner, PJ was going over the menu and trying to decide what to have for lunch. She loved this diner, one of her favorite places she's come to see in the city. The food wasn't spectacular but the entertainment was top notch. A cheap way of enjoying Broadway shows without having to sell a kidney to afford the tickets. Something not many people knew about PJ was that she loved to sing and was actually pretty fucking good at it. As she heard someone talking next to her, she turned and blinked for a moment as the woman was just one of those people you wouldn't think to see out and about in the world. Or talking to you. "Um, me?" It took her a second before she went back to the menu, "Uh– I was thinking just a cheese burger and fries. Nothing crazy. It's okay though. You don't have to!"
"Yeah you." They responded to PJ as they looked at her and smiled softly. "You're bored? Why are you bored? I mean this is one of the best places to be at. I mean I had a rough day and it's been crazy but, I came here for some fun and to relax and let loose." The other responded to the woman and then laughed a bit. "My day has just been sad. Lots of sad things going on in the vet office that I don't think you would want to talk about." Jameson responded.
"I come here mostly for the free drinks because my brother is a bartender." PJ nodded at Eli behind the bar. "It's a really cool place, yeah. I love it here. I just– I don't know, sometimes I want to start some shit, you know?" With her former affair now being above the law since her ex was getting a proper divorce, PJ felt like she wasn't getting into enough trouble. "Oh? Vet as in veteran or veterinarian?" She asked since this person seemed nice and chatting. God knows she can talk someone's ear off. "Both sound kinda bleak, let's be real."
