RP: Lipstick Lies
Players: CharlotteCarrendar (Brock), LadyBelz (Pandora)
Live Roleplay Session on Titanpad: June 14-15, 2014
CharlotteCarrendar: 11.45am – Outside the Wild Ginger on 3rd.
Dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans and smart shirt, Brock checked his watch for the time, knowing that he had made reservations for the pair for lunch in the Thai restaurant for 12 noon. After having a brief phone conversation with his brother, Orson, Brock was more than a little anxious to see Pandora again. He knew that in Pandora’s going to her old apartment building, that she was more than likely to have passed Simone and Erica’s. Would anything have happened? He wondered, and if so, would it affect her mood with him that day? He already knew what her temper was like, and after reading her morning message, he hoped she was still in the same frame of mind.
Just to be sure, he put a call through to her and hoped she would pick up.
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LadyBelz: So far, her day seemed to be shaping up to be a good one. There had been a tentative repair to Simone and Pandora’s friendship, and the shock of learning of her pregnancy had finally worn off.
As she told Brock, she’d gone to Jake’s to determine the status of her bike and was pleased to find out that he had just finished up the repairs on her baby the day before she left Hawaii. He took her to see it and she was grinning from ear to ear when she saw that the bike was in way better condition then when she’d originally purchased it. Jake was a credit to his profession.
After settling the bill, she was anxious to take her for a spin and even purchased a new helmet while she was in the shop. Outside, Pandora was just slipping her helmet onto her head when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She set the helmet down upon the handle bar and pulled out her phone to see Brock’s smiling face on the caller ID. She quickly answered it.
“Hey, sexy. What’s up?”
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CharlotteCarrendar: “Hey love, I made reservations for us at Wild Ginger on 3rd for about midday. Can you come meet me there?” He asked, looking at the traffic that was going past. He could hear her voice was cheerful and for that he was thankful
“I hope you like spicy food.” Brock said, as another couple passed him and entered the restaurant. The aromas from the food cooking wafted out the doors, and Brock’s tummy growled just a little. He knew that since she was picking up her bike, that she might want to take it for a spin first, and he waited patiently to see what she would say about their lunch date.
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LadyBelz: “Oooo I haven’t been there in ages. Of course I can meet you there.” she smiled. “And the spicier, the better. Makes things…hot.” She added, knowing the way she spoke always got to him.
“I just got my bike from Jake’s and I can be there in 10 minutes. Get us a good table and I’ll see you in a few.”
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CharlotteCarrendar: “Right. I’ll be inside. I promise to get us a good table, don’t you worry. And don’t do anything crazy on that bike. I just got you back, don’t want you up the hospital again.” Brock was a bit of a worry wart where she was concerned, which wasn’t so unusual really. He hung up from the call, and then went to the door to enter the restaurant. Approaching a waitress, he was then directed to a good table with a window view as he waited for Pandora.
No doubt she had a lot to tell him. Was he going to need a drink?
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LadyBelz: Oh it was a thrill to be able to ride her bike again. Grinning with delight, Pandora rode through the city streets, blasting past other cars and pedestrians, zooming through changing lights with the ease of a long time and experienced rider. No doubt if Brock saw her doing it, he’d blow his top, possibly going so far as to haul her over his knee for a right spanking. She grinned at the thought.
But this was a freedom she could never give up. The feel of the wind over her body, making her feel more alive then ever. The rumble of the engine between her legs like a lover’s caress. Oh yes! It was a joy indeed.
She spotted the restaurant and directed her bike to a parking spot right in front. With a single roar of the engine, she pulled in and stopped on a dime, revving the engine before shutting her down. She pulled off her helmet, shaking her hair out like she was in a shampoo commercial before settling the helmet on the handlebar. Pocketing her keys, she headed inside, pulling off her sunglasses as she looked around for Brock. She spotted him by the window, having a clear view of the street, so he would have been able to see her arrive. She walked toward him and before he had a chance for a greeting, she planted her hands against his cheeks and planted a hot, passionate kiss on him, leaving him stunned before she sat down, the grin never leaving her face.
“Hi, lover.” she grinned.
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CharlotteCarrendar: The way that she kissed him was so unexpected that Brock was almost left breathless. Yes, he had seen her pull up on the bike, but then was ordering some drinks for the couple when she wandered through the restaurant to greet him. The cheeky expression on her face summed it all up in one. “Should I be jealous of your bike?” Knowing how she was after sex, she kinda had the same glow about her. Course, he was jesting. Sort of.
“Hi yourself.” Brock said, still feeling the tingling sensation of her lips, and then wishing to hell that he hadn’t worn such tight fitting jeans. He tried to adjust himself well out of sight from her and then saw the waitress coming back with the drinks tray. He had taken the liberty of ordering a bottle of white wine to enjoy with their meal.
“Thank you so much.” He said to the waitress, who set down the bottle and two glasses. “We will order in a moment.” Brock was taking charge it seemed, but mainly because he wanted the chance to talk with Pan, before they really started lunch.
“So..how did things go at the apartment?”
Obvious question is obvious.
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LadyBelz: Pandora wasn’t as oblivious as people liked to think. She smirked when she saw Brock was shifting a bit uncomfortably and resisted the urge to laugh. But it was a close thing.
A waitress brought over a bottle of something with two glasses, Pandora rightly assuming Brock had ordered for them. She didn’t mind, he had good tastes. He asked her how things had gone at the apartment.
“You never know how much junk you have until you have to move.” she snorted, remembering the boxes she had stacked in the hall. “I think I have about 30 boxes, all told. I put them in storage until we get the keys to the house. And then…and don’t get grossed out…I had to clean out the fridge.” She shuddered in remembrance at the 2 week old carton of milk and the moldy cheese. “Don’t ask me for details. I think something tried to make a home in the head of lettuce.”
She shuddered again.
[youtu.be]
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CharlotteCarrendar: Brock was pouring Pandora a glass of wine, as she recanted her packing experience at the apartment. 30 boxes wasn’t too bad really, considering just how much stuff he had wanted to take to the new house, then thought it would just clutter up the works. One thing he remembered about the women in his family was that they liked their houses a certain way. Brock was more than happy to let Pandora do the choosing for whatever she wanted inside the house. And the garage. He had to keep reminding himself that the garage was off limits.
Setting down the glass of wine in front of her, he tried to keep a straight face, when she mentioned the fact something was living in a lettuce in her fridge. Not to mention she had things growing in a carton of milk she left behind two weeks ago.
“I really don’t think I want to talk about moldy food before I am about to eat, love.”
Least he was honest. Finally, Brock decided to broach another difficult subject.
“Err….uhm.” He wasn’t sure if he should say her name or not, but again, he wanted to get any unpleasantness out of the way. “Did you…happen to see..Sim..Simone?” He reached for his glass of water, and took a sip.
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LadyBelz: She giggled at the look on his face when she was talking about the food in the fridge. But she did agree that it was a subject best left alone right when they were about to order Thai food.
“You have a point there, darling. My apologies.”
They remained in companionable silence for a moment and Pandora noticed Brock shifting uncomfortably, this time not from anything she’d said or done, but by something else all together.
She waited for him to say what was on his mind.
He asked about Simone, clearly a subject he was not comfortable with.
“Yeah. I went and saw her. We talked. Well…more like I yelled and she cringed.” she shrugged. She waited until he was taking a drink of water before she dropped the big one on him.
“She’s pregnant.” She waited for his reaction…and was not disappointed.
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CharlotteCarrendar: Brock spat his mouthful of water across the table when he heard Pandora say that Simone was pregnant.
“Oh GOD!…Fuck no”
Yes, he completely started to have a melt down. Right in the restaurant. The poor man started to hyperventilate, and his eyes went red. “No…oh baby..no.” He then buried his face in his hands, practically falling apart. Why wasn’t Pandora screaming at him? This was torture. Literal torture.
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LadyBelz: Brock went into a meltdown of epic proportions. She was only thankful he didn’t go Spider on her at the announcement of Simone’s pregnancy. As it was, she needed to get him to calm down before he did morph. Moving around the table to his side, she pulled his hands away from his face, bringing his attention to her words.
“Baby, calm down! It’s not yours! Breathe for me, love! Come on! In and out! Slow and steady!” she murmured into his ear. A waitress hurried over to see what the commotion was about.
“Is everything all right?”
“Fine, fine. Just a bit of news that got him all out of sorts. Just give us a few more minutes here.”
“Take your time.” the woman nodded, walking away slowly, glancing back at Brock every few feet.
Pandora returned her attention to Brock. “Still with me, darlin?” She wondered, gripping one of his hands with one of hers as her other rubbed up and down his back.
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CharlotteCarrendar: When Pandora took Brock’s face, it was plain to see that the poor man had a big enough scare that would age him ten years. Don’t you just love how women spring things on men in the worst possible places. He didn’t seem to understand what she was saying at first, only that she was begging him to calm down, but already he seemed to have lost the plot. At some point of her talking, she said it was not his.
“It’s not?” he answered almost tearfully. The poor guy. (Someone should slap her)
The waitress coming up asked if everything was alright, and he mumbled, that he really didn’t know. Again, Pan came back at him, asking if he was okay. Brock looked frightened and confused. Was this all a joke? Were there hidden cameras? Was she about to gut him? She asked if he was still with her, and almost in a daze he answered.
“I don’t know…am I?”
The poor thing.
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LadyBelz: Pandora felt a slight bit guilty at seeing the tears in his eyes.
“Aw shit.” she muttered to herself. She took his face in her hands so she could look in his eyes. “Baby, pay attention. It is not yours. Simone’s 3 months gone. Unless you have some kind of super-sperm, she’s pretty confident of the father’s identity.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” And she meant it.
It tickled her silly a slight bit that he was horrified at the thought of getting another woman pregnant that wasn’t her. Not that she herself was ready for motherhood, she felt she was too immature for that step at the moment. Although it did bring to mind of Hope, and she knew that was in her future, with Brock, but she knew that neither one of them were ready for that just yet.
“Brock?” He had yet to reply coherently and she needed to know if he was okay.
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CharlotteCarrendar: Now, you don’t just dump something like that on a man and expect there not to be consequences. As Pandora explained AGAIN that the baby was not his, and that even the remote possibility of it being his was a trillion to one, Brock felt…sick.
He couldn’t help it. Brock pushed his chair back and then placed a hand over his mouth. He mumbled something about being sick, and then bolted for the rest room, leaving Pandora probably sitting there, wondering if he was really okay.
Inside the men’s restroom, he ran into a cubicle, while another patron was doing a whiz in the stalls.
“You okay buddy?”
~BAARRRRRRFFFFFFFFFF!~
“Shit…damn. What you eat, boy?”
Brock was leaning against the wall, his temperature having sky rocketed.
“Err…just…got a shock.”
“No worries, man. Last year I found out my wife left me for her yoga instructor. Should have seen me decorate the bathroom. Hope its not that bad, buddy.”
Brock glanced up and let out a sigh. What would have happened if the baby had been his? That was what had frightened him more than anything. Flushing, Brock then flipped the lid down and then sat with his head in his hands. He was going to need another minute.
The other patron left the restroom and then sung out to a waitress “You’re going to need a cleaning crew in there.”
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LadyBelz: Pandora watched Brock run off to the bathroom, feeling like a right bitch for the way she announced Simone’s pregnancy. She could have done it a different way, eased into the conversation, and not spring it on him like that.
The high of getting her bike back waned and she dropped her head to the table, thumping it against the rough surface over and over again.
“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” she muttered, ignoring the headache that was forming. A man came from the direction of the bathroom announcing the fact that there was going to be a cleanup needed and that just made her feel worse.
Sighing, she got to her feet and headed in the direction Brock ran to. She stood outside the closed door and lightly knocked. “Brock? Are you okay?” she called out to him. There was no answer and she grew even more worried. “Talk to me, please? I didn’t mean to break it like that to you. I was going to explain in more detail, and I wasn’t really thinking about the way that came off.” Again…no answer. “Would it help if I told you the identity of the baby’s father is Wolfgang Ritz? He’s that German berk that was in the news recently for trashing that hotel room in Vegas.”
She waited a few minutes more to see if he would respond.
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CharlotteCarrendar: The door to the restroom opened, and Brock’s face was wet. He had splashed cold water on it to try and lower his body temperature. His hair copped a bit of it, and he looked at Pandora weakly.
“Who? Wolfgang Ritz? The rock star?”
Brock came out slowly, as a cleaning lady muttered in Spanish and went in after him. There was no mess in there, the other man had just been exaggerating. Brock glanced around to see many a patron was now staring at the couple, and he felt sheepish for reacting so poorly to the news. It all started to sink in now, and he went back to their table with Pandora. Sitting down, he picked up a napkin and dabbed his face with it.
“So, she was already pregnant?” Now it was all clearing up. Still, he hated being reminded of what he had done. “Sorry about that.” Brock felt foolish, as he set down the wet napkin on the table.
“Did you want to order?”
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LadyBelz: He finally came out the bathroom and he looked slightly pale. His hair was sticking up all over the place and she wanted to laugh, she really did, but bit her lip hard enough to draw blood until the urge had passed.
“Yeah. Him. One night stand. She wasn’t too chuffed about him leaving either. The jerk.” she snorted, offended on Simone’s behalf. “Prick is married with kids of his own, too.”
They returned to their table and sat down again, Pandora sitting beside him instead of across from him like she originally had. He was surprised over the fact that she was already pregnant when they…hooked up…to put it mildly.
“Yeah. She didn’t know either. I went to her apartment, ready to rip out her hair by the roots when I found out, thinking it was yours. She told me the truth then and I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic. She didn’t ask for this…her life is all upside down and inside out.” She sighed, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. “I have a feeling she’s going to put the baby up for adoption. She doesn’t think she’s ready to be a mom. She enjoys her freedom too much.”
He asked her if she wanted to order. “Hm…only if you are. How’s your stomach?”
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CharlotteCarrendar: Brock felt Pandora rest her cheek to his shoulder, and if she listened closely, she would still feel his heart racing. He wasn’t really sure if he was hungry anymore, but he didn’t want to ruin their lunch date, even though technically he already thought he had. Brock listened to how Simone’s life was pretty much in the shitter, and that Pan almost tore into her. He could only imagine how horrid that would have been – having been on the receiving end of her temper before.
He did agree on one thing though. Simone really wasn’t mother material, at least not from the way he saw her carry on around town. She was more a shopaholic, cosmopolitan guzzling, Sex in the city type, than a stay at home mum. Maybe her putting the kid up for adoption was not such a bad idea, under the circumstance. Brock did have one question though.
“Are you and her still friends?”
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LadyBelz: That was a very good question and she had to think about it for a few minutes as she looked over the menu on the table. Her own appetite had waned slightly and she just looked over the food choices as she thought how to best answer him.
“We have a…tentative…camaraderie, for lack of a better term…at the moment. She knows she broke my trust and hurt me and she wants to try and earn back that trust. And I want to give her that chance. She’s like a sister to me…and I missed having her around. We’re not close like we once were…but it’s a work in progress.”
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CharlotteCarrendar: That being said, Brock could only offer a polite nod. He knew that the friendship, even if they came to terms would be rocky at best. He was thankful however, that she had given him a second chance. Picking up the menu, he offered one to Pandora and then started to peruse the offerings.
“I might have a number 23” (Massaman Beef)
He glanced over the menu and then showed a half smile.
“Order anything you fancy, love.”
Oddly he wasn’t as chatty as when she arrived.
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LadyBelz: Their waitress came to the table to see if they were ready to order. She waited for Brock to make his selections before she made hers.
“I’ll have a spring roll and the Pad Si-Ew. And could I have a side of Moo Ping?” she wondered. The waitress nodded and wrote down their orders before she took their menus and walked to the kitchen.
There was a strange silence between them and she toyed with her napkin, twisting it into odd shapes as she wondered what to say.
“I’m sorry, Brock. I shouldn’t have sprung that on you like that. I feel like a right bitch.” she sighed, staring down at the twisted fabric in her hands.
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CharlotteCarrendar: Brock reached across the table and took her hand in his. His eyes implored her not to be sorry. “It’s my fault, really. If I hadn’t been so stupid, you two would still be good friends and I wouldn’t have all this guilt.” It was true to say that he was still feeling the weight of what he had done, regardless of the things he said and did back in Hawaii.
“Please, don’t feel bad about it. I kinda overreacted, and for that I am sorry.” He was willing to admit when he was wrong about things. In a way this was just another obstacle to get over. There were probably going to be more days like these as they continued on. Little did he know that drama was lurking around the corner. Literally.
He noticed all that Pandora had ordered and he arched a brow. “Are you going to need a doggy bag?”
It was a reasonable question.
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LadyBelz: If there were two of the most guiltiest people on the planet, then Brock and Pandora were it. She chuckled as she thought about it.
“God, we are such a mess.” she giggled. “Let’s just agree to put this behind us. We have so much going for us right now…and I think our relationship is much stronger then before.” she stated with some certainty.
“What else can go wrong in our lives?” she asked.
Oh wasn’t that the Million Dollar Question.
Across the street, George and Denise had followed Brock from the hotel, unaware that Pandora had left earlier and to their shock, had seen the woman in question arriving to the restaurant on a motorcycle. Denise was scandalized. George was drooling into his coveralls.
Pandora was oblivious to this fact, her attention focused on Brock for the time being.
“No I’m not going to need a doggy bag.” she snorted. “I’m actually kind of hungry. I skipped breakfast.” she grinned.
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CharlotteCarrendar: Just then, Brock’s phone rang. Brock furrowed his brow and then went to take it.
“Yo.”
“Brock, its Tyson. We need you to return to Lisega….NOW!”
“Wait..what are you on about?”
“Sky castle has been hit. Dad’s on it! Nigel and Billy are racing to Lorewall. Dude..get your brother and get your ass home!”
“But…I..”
“Brock…it’s our world at stake!” -the communication starts to get full of static-
“TY!”
Suddenly Brock gets up from the table, madly fishing about in his pockets for money.
“Baby…I’m sorry…” he throws down a one hundred dollar bill and then…in full view of a restaurant…he vanishes.
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