RP: Lori, Patrick Who: Lori, Patrick Where: Haven When: 15 Sept 2025 Summary: Lori attempts to get out of his shell, Sandy style.
The past week had been something of a revelation for Lori. Between work, which was growing far more interesting by the day, and being alone at night, he'd had a lot of time to think. He'd gone over every decision he'd made in the past year, and he was pretty sure he could pinpoint the start of the curse to the Spring Solstice celebration at Eros. Which meant it had to have been placed by Jacob. He didn't know why, or what Jacob had thought to accomplish, but it hardly mattered now as Lori had no desire to see or talk to him again. He was disgusting, and Lori felt disgusting for even having been slightly attracted to him at the beginning. Now that he could see things clearly he could see how the curse had affected him, and how foolish he'd been. Never again, he'd vowed, would he let anyone take advantage of him that way.
None of this fully explained why he was where he was tonight though. He'd never been one to enjoy dancing or drinking, yet here he was, at Haven, sipping a red wined flavored water, and watching through detached eyes as the denizens of the castle attempted to relax, and have fun. There were a number of men dancing together, shirtless, and it reminded him of Eros. Instead of letting himself be embarrassed, he looked them over objectively, cataloging their attractions one by one, and trying to sort out if he was attracted to any of them. He didn't know any longer what he liked, or what had been exaggerated by the curse, he could only say that extremely dark and swarthy men made him feel uncomfortable and dirty, and more slender, fair haired men reminded him of Scorpius, and neither was an association he wanted to explore.
Instead, he focused on the attractive, well muscled man with shaggy brown hair. Patrick. Sandy had liked him, he recalled. They'd had...something. Casual shagging most likely. He could certainly see the appeal of Patrick. He was good looking, had an open smile, and a very nice laugh. He seemed to know the people here, and put them at ease just with his presence. He was opposite of both Jacob and Scorpius, and yes, Lori could admit that he was attracted to him. Though it was more of an aesthetic appreciation, as he didn't know Patrick, his likes or dislikes, his family, his career goals; but from a strictly physical point of view, Patrick had everything.
And since he'd decided that it was time to stop being so afraid of everything physical, and just try to enjoy life in the present, he tossed back the drink in hopes of some false courage. It was time for a little experiment, and Patrick was going to be his first variable.