#solomonemsworth

It had been days since Noah and Solomon last talked. No texts since Noah had gotten his number. No nothing. Was that so surprising? He’d sworn to contact him only when he could buy Solomon drinks - and he was poor as fuck.

Today? That was going to change. He was determined.

For several hours now, Noah had been set up outside of Talk Is Cheap, his violin case open, his fingers flying over the strings of his fiddle. He’d collected a good few tips - but it wasn’t until an older woman who’d been swayed by Noah’s wink and charm dropped a solid handful of bills into his case that he considered his work day done.

Now? Now it was time to be a bother.

Noah nudged the door to the coffee house open with his slim hip, sauntering slowly in with a million watt smirk as he played his fiddle. On and on he walked toward the counter, his eyes locked on the surly manager behind it, a spark of utter amusement in his gaze. Slowly he came to a stop, finishing the song with a flourish - and, when startled applause rose from some of the guests behind him, he gave a bow to them before turning back to Solomon.

You’re out of your mind. Out of your fucking mind.

The thoughts played over and over in Evelyn’s mind as she checked her makeup, smoothed away a stray hair from her forehead. She wasn’t a fool. She understood the risks she was taking right now. A single woman, living on her own, inviting a perfect stranger into her home for a booty call? Absolutely ridiculous.

He’ll slice your throat and leave you here and take your valuables.

It inspired her to pull out her phone, to send a quick text to an old friend back home - the standard if you haven’t heard from me in half an hour, check in, I’m meeting someone new, here’s my outfit and my new address, no, don’t judge me. Another glimpse at herself in the hall mirror from the waist up, scandalously dressed in the red and green negligee and matching panties, plus the pair of her favored stilettos that got her into character, and then there was a knock at the door.

[txt: Solomon] Dear Solomon, I have a very important question that requires your advice [txt: Solomon] I do hope you feel obliged to assist me

[a picture of the neck down to just above the navel finds its way to Solomon’s phone, tawny brown skin and soft cleavage coated with a few shining stretch marks filling out an emerald green lacy bustier that manages to leave yet a bit to the imagination]

🍻- For something bad/mischievous you did as a child or teen that your parents don’t know about

“God — where do I even start? Okay, when I was six, I stole a whole sleeve of Oreos from the mini-mart across the street. Mmm, eight, I skipped school and beat up a girl ‘cause she was being rude and pushed me off the swing. Ten, I stole a pack of cigarettes from this eighth grade poser and smoked like, three of ‘em. Thirteen, I think? — when I stole my oldest sister’s driver’s license to use as a fake. My parents weren’t exactly parents of the year. The list goes on; when do you want me to stop?”

💃- For a talent that they like to keep hidden from others

“I’m…. actually a really good artist. Probably the one class I didn’t fail in high school. I liked to do still-lifes, but sometimes I’d get high or trip or whatever and paint something more abstract. My art teacher actually told me to apply to some schools and shit, but ya know… didn’t exactly have the money to do it. So… here I am. It’s kind of dumb; I don’t do it much anymore.” 

🌟- For a secret wish or desire of theirs

“For real though? I wish I wasn’t addicted to heroin. That’s it. It fucking sucks.”

📲- Talk about someone/something you dislike, but only pretend to like

“Controversial opinion — salty and sweet things at once. Chocolate-covered pretzels, trail mix with M&M’s… I guess I don’t pretend to like it, but I definitely don’t talk about how much I hate it. People would probably come after me with pitchforks and torches if they knew.”

🍻- For something bad/mischievous you did as a child or teen that your parents don’t know about

“This is going to be the nerdiest thing ever, but I joined the literature club in high school without my parents knowing. And you’re going to say, wow Will, what an awful thing, you joined an academic club at school! — but seriously, my parents were so gung-ho about me being a doctor, they would have thought it was an absolute waste of my time. I told them I was just studying at the library, so it came as a huge surprise when I had to tell my parents I wasn’t going to med school after undergrad, and that I majored in English. They were honestly pretty upset for a couple months.” 

🌧- For a heavy, emotional secret

“Uh — okay, when I was like ten or eleven, I caught my parents fighting in the middle of the night. I was just getting up to get a glass of water and I overheard them in the living room. My dad had apparently cheated on my mom with someone, I don’t know with whom. I kind of just ran back upstairs to my room and didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. The whole time I was thinking that in the morning, when I’d get up, either my mom or my dad would be gone, or they’d announce a divorce or something, but when I did get up, everything was back to normal. It was so weird, seeing my parents act like nothing had happened. They’re still together now, but it’s always been something I’ve thought about in the back of my mind.”

[my muse’s secrets meme] - accepting!

🌧- For a heavy, emotional secret

“I think the first time I learned I could keep my little sisters safe from my dad was when I was…four? We were all born too close together - each one of them was a year younger than me - and even then I knew that every time one of us was born, my parents lost their ability to love us that little bit more. My youngest sister is the last of seven kids, and they…basically wished she didn’t exist. But giving her up to someone who might love her was a sign of weakness, so…

“Anyway, I, ah, I remember this day she was crying - she hadn’t eaten in hours, she was scared because my parents were screaming at each other, and when my dad shouted for my mom to shut her up? I had to do something. So I broke a knick-knack we had, right on the floor. Made my dad turn on me so my mom could actually feed my sister.

“I don’t think a four-year-old kid should learn that.”

🍻- For something bad/mischievous you did as a child or teen that your parents don’t know about

“I lost my virginity in my parents’ bed while they were at work purely out of spite. Not saying any more about that, thank you!”

🌜- For a ‘weird’ habit or tic that no one knows about

“When I’m trying to flirt with someone, I play with my shirt collar. I don’t think anyone has ever really noticed, but - well. I have certain positive attributes that work to my advantage.”

[my muse’s secrets meme] - accepting!

🙃- For a lighter, slightly embarrassing secret

“So, uh…when I get really really drunk, and I see one of my friends that I wasn’t expecting to see, I get this tendency to burst into tears? It’s really silly. I just get so excited to see them, and then I tell them how much I love them, and then I find out who my real friends are because most of them never wanna see me again!”

🌟- For a secret wish or desire of theirs

“…there are a lot of people I wanna kiss that I don’t think I’m allowed to kiss right now. Let’s just put it that way.”

💃- For a talent that they like to keep hidden from others

“I sing! I think I sing all right - a lot of people say it’s pretty damn good. But I just…I feel weird sometimes singing still? I had to practically relearn how to do it once T started affecting my voice, and I always get spooked it’s gonna crack right when I don’t want it to. It’s a process getting over being so nervous after this long, I guess.”