chew you up & spit you out

DOMINIC SOMSRI. CORNELL SENIOR, PHOTOGRAPHER.

“It’s a big world.. someone has to fuck it.” — Dominic Probably

Alara tried to keep her eyes from rolling as he went on about passion, romance and love, but even she didn’t have that much control. A smirk appeared on her face, “years? Sounds like way too much commitment for me,” she continued walking along the rows of plants. Nodding along with his remarks, “I’ll be sure to remind my husband,” she commented again, making sure he knew exactly who he was trying to flirt with. Its not like Dawson and her didn’t have an agreement with each other. They were free to pursue extracurricular activities, but this guy seemed a little too young for her. “Sounds like you know exactly how to make a girl happy,” she mused, “hope you find her out here somewhere.” Funny that a young guy was trying to hit on her, but she took it in stride.

✩ 

there was a huff of laughter when she mentioned the commitment, and he clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. “i’d think commitment was no issue, for someone who’s married,” he retorted, falling into step behind her but keeping a safe distance as to not come off too pushy. dom was merely flirting- she could walk out of the door at any moment and he wouldn’t follow her out. he knew when to take no for an answer. “oh, i do,” and while he never usually divulged this information to everyone he was trying to woo, it seemed to dominic that she was trying to scare him off with the mention of her husband, but he wasn’t so easily swayed. “and i make her very happy. doesn’t mean i can’t make others happy, too, does it?”

“Is that you way of saying you missed me?” She said softly, laughing a bit before bringing her drink to her lips. It was nice to see a friendly familiar face upon her return, all of it adding to making her return that much smoother. “The experience was amazing — clothes even better than that. I was staying near this local bakery and baguettes were always the first item sold out, still it was nice having different things to choose from.” She strayed away from saying anything negative about the experience, wanting to keep those memories in the back of head while she focused on the good.

✩ 

When Alma had first arrived in the states, the thought of settling down and finally getting the dues of hard work had been one of her primary motivations. She’d been living for some form of survival for a long time, every sense strung out because the moment one boundary was crossed another had been tossed up. 

He had a small point, though. There was a reason she’d venture out on her own. After a while, playing the good wife got old. Alma wasn’t built for battles of who made the best chip dip in the neighborhood or tailoring costumes for the entire cou-de-sac for community theatre. 

“When’s the last time you did? I don’t have a reason to trust your judgement yet.”

✩ 

“I’m not in my twenties, so if I’m drinking, I’m looking to savor it,” Alma said, cherry plucked from her empty glass and taken into her mouth where it burned her tongue with the alcohol that swelled from within it. “If you’re gonna get me anything to drink, I’ll take it with cherries.”

She turned to face him, a small tilt of her head that swayed a dangling curl from where her hair was tried back. Alma had begun to note familiar faces that lingered in the bars she went to, wondering just how many people had begun to fall into a lull or routine and think they were striking adventure, but she wasn’t sure about him. It was possible that they were far from the same circles, though she wondered what invited him to cross over. 

✩ 

dom scoffed at the response he’d gotten, though his eyes followed the cherry to her lips without any attempt to be discreet about it. just because he disapproved of her taste, didn’t mean that she wasn’t attractive. “cherries i can do, but turning down shots?” he shook his head, leaning in slightly to continue with his voice lowering, like he was divulging a secret just for her to hear, “just because you’re getting older, doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun.”

Alara grabbed at the door, letting herself into Flourish for the third time this week. She stress bought plants whenever she had to deal with PJ and started to fill the home her husband and her shared with his son with plants to distract herself from being a step mother. There was the small chance that there would be something new at the small boutique that had popped up since leaving Ithaca. Brows raised as she heard the quiet voice bring her mind back to the present, “I always preferred peonies,” she muttered softly, her fingertips running against the soft petals of the orchid he had pointed out. A smirk came to her lips, “my husband knows better than to do that,” she turned her head towards him, “and what do they mean?” She was curious to see what drivel would fall out of his mouth.

✩ 

she could surely already tell that he was flirting, and her body language hadn’t suggested that she wanted him to leave, nor did she back away when he approached. all of these were good signs- great signs, even, and the mention of a husband didn’t deter him in the slightest. “mm, peonies only last about a week, maybe two if you’re really attentive. but orchids? they can last for years with the right care.” and being a photographer and artist, he’d come to learn these meanings to convey messages through his art.. but it sure helped with successfully woo-ing people with his knowledge. “red orchids symbolize meaningful love, romance, and..” from the edge of the petal, his finger went to stroke down the middle of it as he continued after a slight pause, “a fiery form of passion.”

She’d never admit it, but Diah was grateful for Dom’s company that night. She didn’t have to admit it, because she was sure he was already thinking it, the permanent glint in his eyes and smirk on his lips a dead giveaway of the pedestal he put himself on, both in his mind and hers. Normally, she’d be quick to knock him down a peg, or at least attempt to, but no amount of quick quips or sharp retorts ever seemed to shake that damned look off of his face. It was as infuriating as it was endearing, but she rarely, if ever, let him in on her feelings about the latter. 

Her mind had been a jumbled mess since Bediah’s residence in town had been revealed to her, and with the work week that’d followed since that infamous lake party, the night out at Daddy’s was exactly what she needed. The two shots set atop the counter were slid into her waiting hands, a nod of thanks sent towards the bartender before she journeyed back into the crowd, swallowed whole by the sea of bodies surrounding them. Despite the amount of people there that night–any night–Dom was located amongst them easily, her body falling in line with his, moving to the music blaring overhead. 

One of the two glasses was passed wordlessly to his empty hand, hardly any attention paid to the liquid that sloshed over the edge and onto her skin. “We should make a toast.” This was not their first drink of the night, evident in the slightly slurred edge of Diah’s words, nor was it their first toast. “To…” They’d already toasted to him, to her, to everyone in Daddy’s that night–hell, even Daddy himself, whoever he may be, and her brain had begun to run low on creativity…allowing for the person she was doing this to avoid the thought of to slip right in. Her eyes met Dom’s with startling clarity, glass half raised in the space between them. “To Bediah fucking Boregard.”

@domsomsri​​

✩ 

in the midst of the bodies surrounding them, dom really couldn’t be blamed for not taking notice of diah’s absence when she went to go get them drinks. the music could be felt even more than it was heard, calling attention to the bodies moving to it- he could only imagine the view from the upper level down to the floor, a capture of the scene surely mirroring star clusters; densely packed stars held together by gravity, each with their own light. and though astronomers couldn't find evidence of black holes in the middle of any star cluster in the known universe, they hadn't been to ithaca. hadn't seen dominic somsri and diah boregard, middle of the crowd, gravity so strong that nothing could escape. that was how he saw it, at least, wanted to capture the image himself– but how could he do that, without being apart of it? that was the only bad thing about his choice of poison, that most of the time he could only be behind the camera and never apart of the art.

his selfish nature, dominic coudn’t even pretend to be delighted at diah mention of her brother, thinking only of how hard he’d worked the past years to keep the two from running into one another. did they think of him at all, seeing each other without it being planned by himself to witness the two boregards meet? maybe if he was any less than four, five drinks in and more than that many shots, he’d have filtered his response.

“bediah? fuck–” he threw the shot back, first, fist closed around the glass, “you weren’t supposed to meet without me.” it’d been an elaborate ruse, all of the favors cashed in over time and his planning to get the two to meet at just the right moment, and for him to not even get to witness the coincidental meeting? it just wasn’t fair. he knew it was possible, even dominic couldn’t work miracles to prevent any possibility of the two running into each other around town.. but he’d prevented it for so long, that he’d grown quite the assumption that he could.

Sage laughed, crashing easily into Dominic’s side. “I forgot, you’re too good for regular tools. Something gilded then, that’s what you’d use to chop me up, fertilizer-style.” Dark eyes cast over at him, and her brow canted. “Be honest, have you ever actually used garden tools? I feel like you’re not the type, I’m getting zero salt of the earth vibes.”

✩ 

“salt of the earth vibes?” while dom had absolutely no idea what that meant, he was offended that she thought he gave no impression of it. “i can give salt earth vibes. i’ve woken up in the botanical gardens before, you know. i don’t remember how i got there, sure, but like.. it happened.”

As Dom moved back to get in line, Henley slid closer to the counter as well, leaning back against its high edge while shaking his head. “I was just startled,” he insisted, both shoulders and tone easing into something far more relaxed. “It’s not everyday that a stranger accosts you over a bagel.” Okay, so that was a little dramatic and maybe the claim that he had trust issues wasn’t wrong at all. Skittish to his core, Henley had the nasty habit of assessing every possible option before ever voicing his opinion – even when it became a detriment. “Do you only eat blueberry bagels?” he asked in disbelief, brows jumping. “Raisin ones taste just as sweet.”

✩ 

dom couldn’t even argue against accosting him, because.. well, it was a pretty accurate description. he pretty much harassed the guy for his bagel, but did he feel bad enough to apologize? no, not really. did he feel bad at all, actually? nope. henley had declared him the winner of this bagel battle, and he was certain that in the future, he’d also win the war. “do you only eat blueberry bagels?” dom repeated the question back, “raisins just suck. the best bagels are blueberry, everything, and cinnamon crunch. you know, the ones where they put the crumbly brown sugar topping on it? it’s always out if you come after, like, six thirty in the morning though.”

location: flourish plant shop

location: ithaca commons

location: loco cantina

location: somewhere in the woods

“You don’t trust her, and so she shouldn’t trust you,” He said with a nod, chin tilted into his chest as leaned against the shelves. His hands returned to his pockets as if to count the inventory of every little thought Dominic had shared with him in order for Bediah to create the full picture. “Rent’s easier when it’s split, Dom. You could change that, but it would be harder to hide and to get your way if you helped her there. There’s not much blame in trying to pinch a few pennies.”

Though, he wouldn’t exactly suggest cohabitation. Bediah had witnessed the mess of it first hand, though that hadn’t exactly been his intention when he lived with Skyler. Things had just happened, and they ended just as quickly when it was time to define it. He couldn’t fight Dom on not wanting to take that step with the way things were now. He just wouldn’t accept her living situation as the trigger for his wandering. 

“It might just be easier if you didn’t put a label on it, man. That’s all I’m saying. You don’t need to make a clean break if there’s not much to break at all.”

✩ 

dom scoffed yet again, finding it increasingly harder to take any of what bediah said seriously. as if willa would accept his help in that way; even after the time they’d been dating, no matter what grandiose thing he’d offer, from something as small as getting her her own place to a trip to lake como, willa was content doing it all on her own. her independence was something that dom loved about her, though.. she didn’t want his money, she just wanted him. it was why he loved her. it wasn’t surface level, it was deeper than anything he’d ever experienced in the past. but how did he explain that to someone who didn’t seem to understand?

“you know i’m rich, right? but, like, willa.. she doesn’t care about that. she doesn’t want my money, she doesn’t care. and i’ve told her i can get her a place, but she wants to ‘earn her way by herself’ or whatever. anyway, rhys is a fucking dick and i don’t trust him- but i trust her. i’m not letting willa go, no matter what happens.”

Otto grinned, but the expression was all teeth— something between a snarl and a laugh, all serrated. Dominic had a mean glint in his eye and he had half a mind to catch whatever cruelties he cared to release sear his tongue before they even left the other man’s mouth: he could taste harsh words on the back of his teeth, they’d revel in it. “Haven’t tried you out, Somsri. Guess I’m not that desperate yet.” He canted a brow, “Bet you’d like that though, when you get all hot and bothered and work out a new insult for me.” Otto lifted a shoulder, “Invite Willa over when you actually consider doing something about it— I could knock out two birds with one stone. Y’know, there’s always room on the summer roster.”

✩ 

“not for lack of trying, eh?” dom was quick to retort, clicking his tongue against his teeth with a shake of his head. there was no one quite like otto, to match his callous nature with something just as wicked. no one else would dare to speak to dom the way that he did, and he found it equal parts engaging and infuriating. “you know, if you’re really that desperate for it, i could let you watch. fuck her with you in the corner, just watching. getting hot and bothered,” he used otto’s words against him, “i’ll even think about it, genuinely, if you wanna beg for it.”

location: hoffman building