chainshipping week day 2: first meet
"oh, fuck," was the first thing adam thought when he laid eyes on the man across the room from him. "it's that guy."
doctor lawrence gordon. forty-something. blond. married. likes to sleep with women who are twenty years younger than him. not the best, but adam's seen worse. plus, his case is easy money. and free entertainment, too.
lawrence had only been a few simple pictures to him for so long. he lurked in the shadows, snapping shots of moments the doctor probably never thought twice of or didn't worry about. now, the photographs on adam's shitty walls were coming to life, breathing the same thick air he was.
technically, this was their second meet. the first official one that both were aware of, but lawrence met him a long time ago. probably doesn't even remember me. i was just another face in the crowd. that's for the best, though.
adam remembers it surprisingly wellβ a sticky july afternoon, hiding in the shade of the alleyway behind the starbucks lawrence had decided to stop by on his lunch break. normally, adam would've followed him in and pretended he was meeting up with someone, but the flash on his camera was going wild, flickering every few seconds. not something you can take inside.
adam tried everything he could think of. the damn thing was nearly dismantled by the time he brought it home, defeated. he's going to kill me. i'm not going to have his photos in timeβ
"excuse me?" a polite voice cut through his internal rambling. adam looked up, expecting to be met by a barista telling him off for loitering.
but instead, it was him.
lawrence's eyes flickered down to the cigarette resting between adam's lips, a moment of silent judgement, before he fixed his face. "i'm sorry to bother you.. but it's rather hot out here, isn't here?"
"yeah, it is." adam spoke around the cigarette. "sweltering."
"certainly. forgive me if i'm overstepping, but i couldn't help but notice your choice of attire." lawrence gestured to his long sleeve shirt and jeans. laundry needed to be done, and his clothes weren't dry yet, having to be hung out since his damn dryer busted a few weeks ago, and he couldn't afford any repairs.
lawrence held out a bottle of water. fresh and cold, given the clouding and condensation dripping from it. "we wouldn't want you to get heatstroke."
adam furrowed his brows, then grabbed the bottle and set it by his feet. "thanks.."
lawrence smiled again, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. how many times have i captured that exact smile? "no need, i'm a doctor, it's what we do."
don't i know it. adam began to mumble a reply, but was interrupted by a beeping coming from lawrence's waist. he grabbed the pager and checked it, then frowned. "i'm sorry.. i have to leave. have a good rest of your day."
"you too, gordon." came the reply before he could even register it. he was expecting lawrence to whip around and start laying into him, but thankfully, the doctor was gone by the time he finished his farewell.
"close one. you're losing your touch.." adam mumbled to himself, putting his cigarette out, then unscrewing the lid from the bottle and taking a generous sip.
who would've thought we'd meet again?
