#professorarlo

[ofwishfulthinking]

who: @professorarlo where: outside of body and soul

It had been some time since Lindsey had last visited the spa. With the impending opening of the boutique, and the increasing demands of designing a new line, Lindsey had found herself neglecting her own self care. It had felt like one more thing that she'd had to complete, but she'd woken up that morning, seen the bags under her eyes, and promptly scheduled an appointment for a facial and massage. It was just her luck that her favorite masseuse had been away on vacation, but given the dire straits she'd found herself in, Lindsey hadn't afforded herself the ability to be choosy.

She stepped out of the spa, feeling more refreshed and rejuvenated than she had in weeks, and promptly wished she could turn on her heel and walk back into the storefront. That would only signal weakness, though, she thought to herself, chin inching up higher. She was not weak. She had no reason to hide. "Well, wonders never cease," Lindsey greeted, pleasant smile spreading across her face. "What did I do to deserve this unexpected surprise?"

[acefms]

CLOSED : @professorarlo WHERE : hell & high water.

“ okay, but I’d you had to — like had to pick one of the four core from that time, who are you choosing: donatello, raphael, michelangelo or da vinci ? ” ace wasn't usually one to talk so openly about his love of art, but the whiskey seemed to be helping, as was the company of someone who seemed to share a common interest.

[petalsfm]

"you know, sometimes i come into the shop and just feel like i'm drowning in a sea of books." most of which, she knows she won't read. "and sometimes, i come in and it feels like the universe is pushing me towards a certain book. today definitely feels like the former. i feel like i just can't get my eyes settled on anything."

arlo grinned at the help as he place some books in her hands. “thanks, I appreciate it.” he started towards the counter as the woman continued. “oh, that’s what i do too most of the time. i never keep a list of what i want to read. i just go into the store and hope for the best. anything caught your eye during this trip?”

[ofwishfulthinking]

@professorarlo

Heartbreakers (2001)

[ofwishfulthinking]

"Yeah," Tony queried, eyebrow raised. "You don't think it's too long?" He'd gotten used to the strands brushing against his face and falling in his eyes that he hardly even noticed anymore. "I'm thinking at least a little trim, just to keep it growing," Tony continued with a shrug. He turned slightly so that he was fully facing the other man. "I say go for it. It's only hair. If you hate it, you can change it, but I have a feeling you'll look hot."

Arlo was in the midst of scanning the mousse options when someone nearby spoke up and asked for his opinion. He turned to look at the man, his brows furrowing in curiosity. "Why is it so obvious?" His gaze softened, and he offered a friendly smile. "Honestly, I think you look great with that hairstyle." Arlo paused, contemplating. "You know, I've been considering growing my hair out a bit as well."

[ofwishfulthinking]

"Fine. Fine," Elias groaned. Bonding. That's what he got for trying to step out of his comfort zone and make friends. "I'll take you up on that drink," he agreed, throwing a punch at the bag. "No, no. It's fine, I promise." Elias held up his gloved hands and smiled. "I'm just being an asshole. This is great. Thanks for wanting to bond with me. Let's continue."

"Because we're bonding!" Arlo beamed at Elias, holding the bag for him. "How about a drink after our boxing session? It'll be well-earned." He observed Elias lining up his shot, a slight frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. "If you're not enjoying it, we don't have to wait that long. We can call it quits whenever you want."

[petalsfm]

"well, i was gonna run and grab a basket but if you're going to head to checkout soon, i can definitely assist." she tells him as she holds her hands out, waiting for him to drop some books in them. "oh, i wasn't really looking for anything specific. sometimes i come in here and just hope a title or cover calls to me. other times i get recommendations from tamara."

arlo looked at the rows of books once she asked if there was anything good. “uh, a few things. it depends on what you’re in the mood for.” he looked at his own pile of books with a laugh. “i think a basket may tempt me further, but i wouldn’t mind an extra set of arms to carry this to check out.” he paused before giving her some of his choices. “what book were you looking for?”

[petalsfm]

for milan to get to the small non-romance section, she had to pass all of the romance sections. she didn't judge those who read romance novels, she just couldn't find it in her to read them. because of that, she didn't know which types of romance books were located where. "yeah, i usually do. never been down this aisle, though. anything good? also... do you need a hand?" she gestures towards the numerous books the other has collected. "or a basket maybe?"

who: open; @chqstarter​ where: as you wish book shop

Arlo had been in this shop too long and he didn’t need his watch to tell him that, but the pile of books in his hands. He had a bad habit of doing this. He could never just casually shop in a bookstore. He was in an aisle with their more spicy books when he looked up at the other. “Oh, I was, uh, looking for something…” He trailed off realizing he sounded embarrassed, but it’s not like they caught him here. “Are you just browsing?”

[ofwishfulthinking]

Lindsey hadn't been expecting him to accept her offer. When she'd made it, she'd thought that he'd politely find a way to decline. After all, why should he want to spend more time with her? She'd so effectively obliterated any hope they'd had of even being cordial to one another. Hadn't she? "Well, the invitation is there. For whenever you choose to cash in on it," she replied. Maybe it wasn't smart to give him a carte blanche of sorts. Maybe it wasn't smart of him to do the same for her. Sooner or later, she'd likely do something that caused him to remember that he was supposed to hate her. It was the Lindsey Gallagher way. Until then, though, she supposed that she could enjoy this tentative sort of truce they'd seemed to have accidentally established.

Invitation offer, Lindsey walked into the coffee shop and made her way to the line. She scanned over the menu briefly before speaking again. "A chocolate croissant sounds indulgent," she noted. She was pretty sure she'd earned herself a treat with all of this social nicety. "Do they come as highly recommended as the lattes?"

Arlo couldn't help but chuckle softly at Lindsey's confident claim. Her belief that she could outdo professional baristas was just so quintessentially Lindsey. In her world, she was the undisputed best at everything she touched, a trait that had drawn Arlo to her when they first started dating. Her self-assuredness had once been magnetic, making him feel like everything in their shared universe was indeed the best, until it wasn't. The memory of what they had, of what he had lost, lingered in the corners of his mind, tugging at his heart.

Turning towards her as she extended the invitation, Arlo's chest tightened with a bittersweet longing. Lindsey could have easily offered her latte to anyone else she talked to, but he chose to interpret it as a special gesture just for him. A gentle smile tugged at his lips, his eyes holding a hint of warmth. "Maybe you should put that latte to the test, see if it can really top the pros," he suggested playfully. His hand reached for the coffee shop door, his gaze locked on Lindsey. "But, if it does, I'd happily savor a 'Lindsey Gallagher special' anytime." With a small flourish, Arlo opened the door, gesturing for Lindsey to enter ahead of him.

[ofwishfulthinking]

Silently, Lindsey followed Arlo's lead. She wasn't the kind of person who followed, but in this situation, there simply was no choice. He'd suggested the location, claimed that the lattes were good, and she'd happily follow along. "I do hope the latte is as good as you claim," she commented, sidling up to his side. "Though I'm almost sure I could make one that's better." It was a big claim, and Lindsey delivered it as if she was simply discussing the weather.

She continued walking, purse pressed to her side, chin up. Lindsey moved as if there was no one else around, as if she owned the street on which she walked. She pursed her lips and continued in silence. She'd been intentional in the invitation, of course, a subtle ploy to let him know that she did, in fact, want to spend more time with him even if he thought differently. He probably thought differently, she thought to herself. She'd given him enough evidence to prove that point, after all, but he'd been humble in inviting her for a coffee. The least she could do was reciprocate. "Maybe next time, you'll allow me to prove it."

Arlo rolled his eyes when she chided him causing a small smile to break his stoic exterior for a moment. "The effort is appreciated despite it causing so much of it." Is this why she broke things off? Arlo never spoke to save face ever. He was an embarrassment to the high society she came from where people spoke words with no meaning, but Arlo could never grasp that. He was too 'rough around the edges' for her family and friends. Arlo only said what he meant and felt, but that always didn't pan out how he wanted when he spoke especially when it came to Lindsey.

The offer came out of nowhere considering she had no indication she wanted to be near him with how she seemed to be treating him just like everyone else on this street. Arlo was always impulsive and he knew he wanted to be near her despite his stomach wanting to flip inside it's self. He watched as she checked her watch expecting a denial of the invitation. He was prepared for that, but she accepted it. He looked taken back for a moment, but regain a neutral expression on his features. "Great. I think there's a shop down the street." He walked past her in the direction he was heading before she stepped out of the spa. "It has a really good latte."

[ofwishfulthinking]

It was a subtle reminder -- I know for a fact you don't wake up like this -- but the words caused a twinge in Lindsey's heart. There was history between them, and with that history came unresolved feelings, but Lindsey refused to acknowledge any of that. Instead, she simply rolled her eyes as if his words didn't matter, as if the reminder that they'd been more than strangers didn't matter. "You're not supposed to admit to seeing behind the curtain," she chided. "You're simply supposed to believe in the magic of it all. That the finished product requires little to no effort."

Lindsey hadn't been expecting the invitation. She'd hoped but in the span of the minutes since they'd begun speaking, Lindsey had given no indication that she wanted to spend any extended time with him. She glanced at the watch on her wrist, taking a few seconds to school her features. He was extending an olive branch, and Lindsey wondered how much that had taken out of him. She wished that she could do similarly -- apologize for the way their relationship had ended, for discrediting all the things she had felt for him and still sometimes thought she felt -- but Lindsey was not the kind of person who humbled herself. Even to her own detriment. She'd cut off her own nose to spite her face, as the adage went, but she wished she was different. "I suppose I have a few moments to spare for coffee," she finally answered.

"Ah, of course." Arlo nodded understanding the statement. He knew he meant nothing to Lindsey, so it shouldn't have surprised him so much when she replied to him so collectedly. It had been a couple of years since their break up, but Arlo always felt a twinge of discomfort (or was it heartbreak?) whenever he thought of her. Now that she was standing in front of him as if he was some random person on the street made him want to be swallowed up by the Earth.

He laughed hollowly. "I know for a fact you don't wake up like this, Lindsey." His gaze locked with hers. It was a simple statement, but it had layers of past heartbreak in it. Arlo looked at the spa as she pointed to it then back to her. "Yeah, I do." He looked at his watch he wore on his left wrist. "In about thirty minutes." He dropped his arm putting his hand in his pocket. "I was planning on getting a coffee beforehand." He paused before he said the next statement wondering if it was a bad idea. "Would you want to join me?"

[ofwishfulthinking]

It should've come as a surprise to no one how quickly Lindsey could slip into the role of disinterested acquaintance, as if the very sight of Arlo didn't make her want to curl in on herself. Lindsey didn't apologize, though. She never admitted to being wrong, and treating Arlo as anything more than a casual acquaintance would have been an acknowledgment that she'd been very wrong. "A surprise in that I am surprised to see you. Not the kind that you'd get on a special occasion," Lindsey clarified, though perhaps it wasn't necessary. She'd spent so much of her time and energy avoiding him, even in a city as big as Denver, that seeing him now genuinely did register as surprising.

"Always," she replied with a nod. "You can't possibly think that I wake up like this. People attempt to push that narrative but it's always false. Looking good takes time and effort." She smoothed a hand down the front of her blouse though there were no wrinkles in sight. He could think that she was vapid if he wanted to. His opinion didn't matter to her in the least. "Are you heading in there?" Lindsey pointed a finger at the spa, eyebrow raised. She desperately wanted him to say no, that this coincidence had happened because he was this part of town for a different area. More than anything, she wanted him to say that he had nothing pressing to do, to ask her to spend more time with him. Instead, she simply smiled in his direction, a fake thing if ever there was one. "I wouldn't want you to miss your appointment."

Arlo never went to the spa, but his parents got him a gift card for his most recent birthday. He figured he should put it to good use before the school year started, so that's why he was even heading this way when he saw Lindsey. This city never seemed big enough whenever Arlo saw her in public. He returned the smile when she greeted him, even though it didn't quite reach his eyes like it normally would.

He let out a laugh, one of more malice than actual humor. "Ah, to be an actual surprise it would have been on purpose, but this...was not." Arlo hated she seemed so calm and collected whereas he had too many emotions to put into words seeing her even after two years since their break up. That was how their relationship was, though. He always had his heart on his sleeve and he always wondered if she had one. He looked at the spa then back at Lindsey. "I see self care is still high on your list of priorities."

[ofwishfulthinking]

"Remind me why I agreed to this again." Elias wasn't sold on the activity. It wasn't that he was against physical activity -- he wasn't even against boxing -- he simply didn't see the point. "We could just pretend that we did this and get a drink instead," he suggested even as he readjusted the gloves. "Okay, okay." Elias lined up his fist with the bag, quickly pulling back his arm to throw the punch. "Thirty minutes of this and then I'm calling it."

who: @ofwishfulthinking (elias) where: swolemates

"Give it your all." Arlo raised his boxing gloves, holding them in front of his face before executing a punch on the heavy bag. While not an expert, he had been attending boxing classes for almost six months, confident enough to share some of his acquired moves with Elias. "Now it's your turn. I'll hold the bag for you." Positioned on the opposite side of the bag, Arlo steadied it as best he could, ready for Elias to take his shot.

[gncrly]

He had been looking for the best seller section, weaving through the aisles, trying to find them. Honestly, the books started to look as if they were themed towards a certain demographic, with titles such as Grumpy Romance and The Love Hypothesis. Well this was embarrassing and definitely not the section he was looking for. "Yeah, I'm not sure what I want yet. Definitely not one of these, though. I'm more of a fictional history type of guy. Not that there's anything wrong with these books." He quickly pointed out, "Are you looking for a specific one?"

who: open; @chqstarter​ where: as you wish book shop

Arlo had been in this shop too long and he didn’t need his watch to tell him that, but the pile of books in his hands. He had a bad habit of doing this. He could never just casually shop in a bookstore. He was in an aisle with their more spicy books when he looked up at the other. “Oh, I was, uh, looking for something…” He trailed off realizing he sounded embarrassed, but it’s not like they caught him here. “Are you just browsing?”