Who: Inara Serra escort & Dorian Gray portraitof What: Wine Shopping When: Early May Where: Fine Liquor Store Rating: General Audiences Warnings: None Status: Closed/Complete upon posting
~*~
Dorian was still trying to decide on the perfect way to ask Vanessa to move in with him. For most people it would be a simple question, but Dorian Gray never did anything simply. Dorian needed things to be exquisite and elaborate and over the top for even the most basic of things and this was certainly one of those occasions. His current plan was to invite Vanessa over for dinner, but instead of eating in the dining room, they would have dinner on the large patio out back surrounded by candles and music and he’d ask her then. Chances were this idea would change again, but what he did know for certain was what kind of wine he wanted that evening. He was planning on stopping at Flower Alchemy to see if he could put in an order for more Belladonna, but at the moment he was at one of the upper scale liquor stores he frequently bought from.
~*~
Alcohol was used frequently to dull the senses, alleviate pain, make someone forget their problems for a while. Inara had always found it ironic alcohol was what people turned to when they were low when it was considered a depressant. Why would one seek out a depressant to alleviate depression? Wasn't that defeating the point? Was it some strange part of human nature to always reach for punishment instead of a reward?
People tended to be their own worst enemies.
Inara was buying wine because it complimented the dinner she would be eating alone instead of with her lover. He had moved on. He was worth more than the life he'd had in Orange County. His purpose was a greater one. The wine was to celebrate the fact someone she loved was off achieving their potential---or possibly even exceeding it. Conner had been special to Inara not because he had been special but because he'd loved her for only herself.
"Dorian?"
Inara put the bottle she'd been holding into her basket as she smiled at the man. He looked well.
"Namaste. You look well. Are you? Well, I mean?"
~*~
Dorian turned at the sound of his name and smiled as his gaze settled on Inara, “Hello, Inara. I’m well. How are you?” He hadn’t seen the other woman in some time, not since his last visit to the Need/Want, which had been some time now. Since before he’d started seeing Vanessa, but he had spoken to her a few times since on Valarnet and he had been wondering how she’d been doing since their last conversation.
~*~
"I am choosing to see the positive in life. Change can either cause fear which makes one want to try to reject it or it can inspire courage which makes one want to rise to the challenge it presents."
Inara had not wanted to have to get used to seeing clients haphazardly once more. She'd been thinking of taking some time for herself with her young lover. Money was something she did not need more of to keep her happy or healthy. Inara had few financial needs. It was easy for her to set her own pace in her line of work given how well she had things situated financially. There was enough padding in her accounts to allow her time to come to grips with the loss of a lover.
Smiling, Inara shrugged lightly, "I consider myself well, but what does one really know of such things? I wonder sometimes if it would be easier or harder if I could see the future. Do you ever think of such things?"
~*~
“Positivity is always better than negativity. At least that’s how I always try to look at it.” Just because Dorian lived dangerously at times and did whatever he wanted without thinking about the consequences didn’t mean that he didn’t think positively while he did it. When he was trying to seduce someone he had to think positively after all, because he would never succeed if he thought negatively, “I have felt that way before. Sometimes I wonder, if I’d known what was going to happen to my parents would I have somehow tried to stop it? Would I be any different if they were still alive or would I have gone down the same path? And is it worth it to wonder if I could have changed it?” One thing he did know for sure, if his parents were still alive, he wouldn’t be quite so free to do whatever he wanted despite his age, because they would have wanted him to do something with his life instead of the life of parties and debauchery that he had been living in for the last couple of years.
~*~
People with positive attitudes were a refreshing change for Inara. It was little surprise she met mostly those who were sad or even depressed. Those who were surrounded by friends or lovers didn't need to hire an escort for companionship. Some chose to do it because they enjoyed the power, the control of ordering their companion as if they were picking one out of a catalog. Inara had never minded being anyone's companion for any reason though she did have lines she would not allow a client to cross.
"We have no control over death any more than we do over life. I think you're wise to choose positivity. I know I am sorry for the loss of your family. It's terrible to lose one's family. Mine is very close to me in spite of our great geographical distance."
Dorian had the look of a man on a mission. Inara hoped he was planning something lovely.
"Are you shopping for yourself or for sharing with a special someone?"
~*~
“Thank you,” Dorian had gotten over the loss of his parents some time ago, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t appreciate Inara’s kind words. Despite what some people he worked with on behalf of his parents thought, he did miss them, but that didn’t mean he had to talk about them all the time or become sad when someone did talk about them. Everyone had to move on when someone died eventually.
In response to Inara’s question, Dorian felt his lips turn up into a smile and he nodded, “I am shopping for someone special actually. My girlfriend, Vanessa.” It was strange to call Vanessa his girlfriend, because until now, Dorian had never been in an actual adult relationship. Dorian had always flirted and seduced and hooked up with whoever caught his fancy, male or female, but there had never been anyone who had cause his attention and heart the way that Vanessa had.
~*~
"Congratulations on your relationship. That's wonderful."
Inara smiled brightly as her mind spun with thoughts of what kind of woman Dorian would have picked for something more than a once-over. He had given her a night to remember without seeming to hold anything back. Men were often too closed off. Inara never took for granted those men who were willing to share themselves rather than hide behind masculine bravado to 'save face' or make themselves feel better about their own weaknesses.
New love was a fleeting thing to be savored.
"There's nothing like new love. When you're with someone for a long time, you either learn every day how to fall in love with them a little more or you learn how to appreciate them a little less. There seems to be no in-between. I wish you the first kind of love. Fall in love with something new about her every day."
~*~
Dorian smiled, “Thank you, Inara. I am very happy at the moment.” Being with Vanessa made Dorian happier than he had been in a long time. Not that he’d been unhappy before Vanessa, but there was simply something about his significant other that was unlike any other woman or man he’d ever been with.
Dorian had always been very open about who he was and what he wanted, especially when what he wanted was a specific person and when he got them he believed that he should give them something to remember him by so he always made sure that those he’d been with were properly taken care of instead of only thinking about his own pleasure. “I do. She is one of the most fascinating women I have ever known.”
~*~
"You've lifted my spirits, Dorian. I think I'll get another bottle of wine to toast your good fortune."
Inara felt more at peace with life since speaking with Dorian. Even acquaintances were good for lifting the spirits when they had positivity to pass around; Inara would never close herself off to the happiness of others. That was the way to find bitterness. It was the way to blacken a red, beating heart. Darkness could consume a person's spirit easily if they could not find a way to shine brighter than its shadow could cover.
She was not willing to allow darkness to have her spirit.
"Thank you for sharing your happiness. I hope to cross paths with you again."
There was always time to share joy. Inara nodded a farewell as she made her way to the whites to find something brighter, something sweet and light as first love.