Let Me Down Gently

“I mean, I feel great for my age. Mostly.” Remy laughs, making a face. “You know I’m over fifty, right? I say screw what society says. Make your own destiny, all that.” He says with a shrug, letting out a quiet hum. “As long as you’re happy with yourself and your life, that’s what matters.” 

“Going to the beach was more of a family day out then a spontaneous thing but, maybe I’ll get used to visiting the beach more often ‘ere… You want another drink?” He asked as he glanced down towards his empty pint glass, then back up towards Cat. “Well shit, you know you gotta pull those photos out. Us lads don’t take pictures like you women.. otherwise I’d offer you a trade off but, I ain’t got nothin’ to show ya.” Jim laughed, before his expression settled into a smirk.

“Thought you’d never ask.” She mused as he mentioned her empty glass. “Get me whatever you’re drinking. You can tell a lot from a man due to his taste in liquor.” Cat crinkled her nose. “Now we’d have to be a lot closer for you to see those photos. Not even some of my closest friends, who are in them, have seen them.”

“This is true. I’ve never been much of a complainer anyways.” Remy replies, shrugging slightly. “Who says you can’t be exciting as you get older? Society thinks people dry up the moment they turn thirty, but I disagree.” 

“The beach is a beautiful place, init. We’re lucky to have one ‘ere so close. If I wanted to go to the beach back in London we had to travel.” East Sussex was probably the closest and nicest beach, but nothing would compare to moorbrooke. It was so different, the water was much clearer here. Listening to Cat explain that she would spend her nights in the club to escape, Jim frowned. “Trust me, livin’ in a big city ain’t all it’s cracked up to be mate. It’s noisy, the streets are busy and gangs running about thinking they’re fucking hard. Moorbrooke is it mate, it’s so quiet in comparison.” He had no plans to move back to London and found he’d settled into the american lifestyle quite well. Finishing his pint, Jim’s laugh echoed into the empty glass as his head shook. “I don’t even remember my first night in a club.. I was probably fucking wrecked.”

“I don’t know what I would if I couldn’t escape to the beach at a moment’s notice. I don’t know how you survived.” She mused, nodding along as he continued speaking. “But sometimes you need a little of the hustle and bustle to truly appreciate the quiet. You know... you don’t know what you have until it’s gone kind of thing.” Cat let out a laugh. “I remember mine but mainly because my friends and I all turned 21 around the same time so it was well documented in pictures. Pictures that shall never see the light of day.”

“That’s winter for you.” Remy teases, an amused laugh leaving his lips. “I’m good. Leo’s good. Stevie’s good. I can’t complain when my family’s doing well.” He says with a shrug, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little routine. A simple life is nothing to be ashamed of.” 

“I ain’t gonna lie to ya.. I can’t say there was much of a spark, it’s just nice to do something a bit different with my evening, yeah.” The attention was also nice. It seemed he was surrounded by many other’s a lot younger then his age, although this pretty blonde seemed similar in age and she gave the impression that she knew the vibe of his place quite well. “You come ‘ere often then, do ya? I ain’t been into a club since my early twenties… can’t say they’ve changed much.”

“I feel you. It’s why I sometimes go to the beach at midnight. If only to seem more mysterious on my most mundane of days.” She mused with a shrug. At his question, she let out a laugh. “Unfortunately, I’m here more often than I’m not. It makes me feel like I’m not in Moorbrooke anymore. Like I’m in a big city and am someone I’m not... despite the fact it’s still a club and half the people in here could use a tip or two about what to wear.” Cat paused. “What? You mean you’re not freshly 21 and this isn’t your first club? Sorry, that was a shit excuse for a joke.”

closed starter for @callme-cat​

The first week back to school after break was always tough. Remy was definitely feeling it, so after he had finished with his classes for the day, he texted Cat to see if she could meet up. He could definitely use a friend to talk to right now. Smiling when he sees his friend, he lifts his hand in a wave, walking over to greet her. “So how’ve you been? What’s new with you?”

When she’d gotten the text from Remy, she couldn’t have been more thrilled. It had been far too long since the pair had met up or hung out. Thankfully, wedding season was really in the Summer so she only had a few client meetings before she was able to meet with him. 

   grayson couldn’t help but beam at her compliments on the pastries; he even stood up a little straighter; he can’t remember the last time someone actually took the time to call his baked good, well, good. he usually baked them, and the cafe would sell them; there wasn’t much room for customer interaction. “ah! cream cheese, you say? we have some fruit and cream cheese danishes freshly baked! they’re normally better at breakfast, with a nice cup of our delicious coffee, but it’s never a bad time for a danish. how’s that sound? don’t settle, either; we have a whole bakery full of stuff i could recommend you.”

Location: Club Leziate Time: 1:15am.

“Don’t get me wrong yeah, it was nice of her to ask me out on this date but never did I think it’d be here.” James couldn’t remember the last time he’d stepped foot into a nightclub, but what else did he expect when his twenty six year old client asked him out for a drink? It was a nice gesture and it did make Jim feel wanted, although he had no idea where she’d been hiding for the last forty five minutes. Thank god he’d bumped into someone familiar. “I’m quite tempted to ditch to be honest mate, is that bad? I feel like a granpa standing ‘ere”

@moorbrookestarters​

“Can’t say a club is exactly the best place for a date. Maybe a second location or if you’re looking to reignite the spark.” She mused, leaning against the bar as she finished off her drink. “If you’re already tempted to ditch, it’s not gonna get any better. And the age of the clubgoers isn’t going to get any older the later it gets so it’s truly up to you.”

   grayson wasn’t generally on the register, but today was one of those rare days that the guy took another person’s shift that didn’t involve being stuck in the kitchen. whenever andrej wasn’t on shift, which he wasn’t, it wasn’t exciting around delia’s for grayson, and he often found himself zoning off into a world of his own. it wasn’t until he heard the little bell above the door ring that he ended up snapping out of his daydreams, smiling brightly at the woman who entered, “what’s good here? what’s GOOD here? m'lady, you happen to be talking to the baker of this fine establishment!” he laughed, heading over to the display case of different pastries, “what are you in the mood for and i’ll go from there? sweet, plain, creamy? also, if you’re in the mood for coffee, i highly suggest snagging a cup of our freshly brewed pot.”

“Yeah, what have their bedroom sets said about them?” She asked. “I run the motel just off the edge of all of this. I don’t know what the bedrooms of those along the counter look like, but I know what some of their fantasy preferences are. Those are some pretty good insights. I wonder if they have anything to do with how they perform. Some people need the theatrics, you know?”

“If I’m honest, I think I may just purely be too stubborn to go home when I should do. I’ll be in my fifties and I still won’t allow any creeps to scare me away from the dancefloor.” A laugh left Stevie’s lips and she took a sip from the drink in her hands. Even if they were hiding, that wouldn’t stop them from at least attempting to enjoy themselves in here. In the corner, with their new friend. “I honestly can’t tell which is worse,” she decided after eyeing up the two men the blonde was pointing to. Sadly, it wasn’t even uncommon to have people like them in here and Stevie wouldn’t have even been surprised if they were regulars. “I used to work here years back, I’m just not in the mood to have some reminiscent conversation with my old co-workers. They’re nice enough, but I’m just not in the mood tonight!”

RAVI.

‘doctor.’ ravi laughed at how she said it but they’d be lying if they said they didn’t enjoy it. maybe this was the reason for the tens of years of schooling… to have someone say doctor so seductively. they listened to cat recap her life and were saddened that they left her such a mess. if it were up to them, they never would’ve moved away but they did what their parents had asked. ‘hey, i’m sorry that i just… left. i would’ve liked to stay. my parents just weren’t about to ignore their careers to listen to the cries of a 14 year old.’ they reached over to hold her hand as they walked, just wanted to feel that way again. ‘well i… studied and i studied. i was in antartica for a while, studied more. uhh, had a few relationships but nothing that really stuck. in high school i got stuck in this really bad pattern of helping someone destroy their lives and just.. yeah. it was shitty. they used me a lot, i let them and yeah. now we’re friends again. or rather, we’re trying. that’s kinda it. nothing too special.’

RAVI.

‘let’s get out of here so we can actually hear each other’s compliments.’ ravi smiled so widely as their hand slid around hers. it felt just like before and somehow even better, and honestly already his favourite reunion in moorbrooke. they had wanted to search her up but the heartbreak he’d felt at 14 was intense and yeah, things had moved on but still. their first love. ‘dr. ravi mudrik! i do like the sound of that, but you don’t have to call me that!’ he opened the door and led them outside, taking in a breath of the fresh air. ‘so tell me everything! what do you do? how are you? what’s new?’

she couldn’t help but smile like an idiot as they made their way out of the club. cat had always wished the pair would meet again, maybe that’s the reason she had stayed in moorbrooke for so long. “it could be fun. shake things up a bit, doctor.” cat echoed, letting it roll off her tongue. 

she thought through their questions, wondering what all she wanted to ask him. “alright, alright. well... became sort of a nightmare after you left, realized i’d been a little shit once i went to college, studied abroad, fell in love while abroad, had my heart broken abroad, came home, graduated, interned at an event planning company in new york city for a summer, then opened up my own wedding planning firm here and have been helping people find their happily ever afters ever since. as for how i’m doing, i’m swell. better now that i know you’re back.”

“Now that you mention it…” Audrey allowed the sentence to fade as she considered the new referrals she’d received recently. “I have seen a handful of new clients recently. I chalked it up to the holiday season. Figured everyone wanted to give their family a fighting chance in the spirit of starting fresh for the new year or whatever. I didn’t know I had my own personal elf to thank for the business.” 

“There must be something in the weather. Or maybe it’s in the eggnog.” She teased with a grin. “As a wedding planner, I’m usually pretty good at sussing out which couples will be together forever and which will be getting a divorce as soon as the ink dries. I like to call it my matchmaker gene.”

Smirking, “I wasn’t too terrible,” shrugging, “I was the oldest of six, so we all did shitty things to piss our parents off, I just set the standard,” he joked with her. He no longer had five younger siblings… their family had gotten smaller now. He always complained when his parents told him he was having yet another sibling, but he loved them all and couldn’t imagine a world without them, now, he had one less.

Nodding, “they are popular locations for women, also on the back of their neck and ankle,” he smirked. Nodding, “that narrows it down a bit, it makes things a bit easier when it comes to picking something.” He looked at his sketchbook, drawing a general shape, “whatever you’d want would have to go in this circle. Some people opt for script, or something floral, but whatever you want, I could definitely come up with something.”

“Can’t quite relate. Only child.” She mused, pointing towards herself. Not that she hadn’t always wished for siblings, but it simply wasn’t in the cards. She still loved her parents, even if they weren’t always the warmest of folks. 

Cat crinkled her nose at the ankle. “Sorry, sorry. My grandmother always spoke out against ankle tattoos. Can’t quite shake her less than polite phrasing.” She looked towards the circle. It looked so small, yet maybe that was better. “What about something... pop cultury? Do you do that?”

Where: Seahorse Cocktail Bar

When: Happy Hour

Who: Audrey 

“If you’ve gotten an uptick in referrals, it might be because you’re the name I list when couples are drafting prenups.” She paused. “Not that I expect any of them to fail but some are very thorough when it comes to what they expect.”