writers_muses | 52.1.E
52.1.E. “There are also higher risks. You’re an entrepreneurial spirit, and I am quite sure that you understand this. Risk and reward.”
[Follows THIS and THIS]
Riley glanced at himself in the mirror as he quickly buttoned up his light blue dress shirt. He screwed his nose up as he analysed his appearance. A blue button-up and jeans were alright for going to the movies, right? He brushed his hand through his curly hair which was being mostly tamed by a small amount of product. The glasses had been abandoned in favour of his contacts, yet he still had a nervous uncertain sense as he tried to convince himself he was doing the right thing.
Typically, a chat with Tab had gotten him thinking. It wasn’t that he always listened to her advice. He was her brother, he wasn’t supposed to always listen to her and it was his job to argue her points, but he always took on board her opinion and usually processed it after the fact. It was this process that had him texting Evie later in the afternoon after originally cancelling their morning coffee plans to ask her if she wanted to go to the movies with him that night. He hadn’t cancelled out on her to avoid her. He really hadn’t been feeling well that morning and still wasn’t 100%, but not enough to really avoid her. He didn’t think he even wanted to avoid her, even if the whole sex and relationship prospect worried him of late. He enjoyed her company and as the hours ticked by after chatting with Tab, he realised that he did want to meet up with Evie again before the weekend. He was down to sixteen days now and at the very least - whether anything happened between them or not - he would welcome the distraction as the HIV test veered closer and closer.
Still, it didn’t stop his typical nerves. He wasn’t a natural-born people person. He was shy whether he liked it or not and he had to stop hiding out in his comfort zone and bite the bullet. From what he’d seen of Evie so far, she wasn’t backwards in coming forward and he appreciated her taking the reigns when he was still on unsteady footing himself. And she was so different to Beth. Not that he was comparing them, but it was impossible not to a little. He knew he still loved Beth; he would always love her, but he had never dated anyone like Evie before.
Not that they were dating! Not really. Yet. Yet? Would they? Riley gave himself a small shake and ordered himself to stop overanalysing everything. Just do it. Take the risk and enjoy it. At the end of the day, what’s the worst that could happen? They’d go back to their respective departments and maybe nod at each civilly in the hallway. He couldn’t shake the nerves, though. Movies was always a sort-of date. He wet his lips and glanced at his watch. He was meeting her there in about half an hour and they were going to decide together what to see. His stomach was still acting up a little but he knew now it was more nerves than the meds he was on.
He’d never been a risk-taker. Those genes went to Tab. Sure, he’d been forced into risk-taking situations by the likes of Tab and Lachlan, but it always came with stress and uncertainty. It had even taken Lachlan months to get Riley in the same room as Beth all that time ago because Riley kept roadblocking him with being fixed up. But this time there was no matchmaking and there were no other intervening circumstances. It was just him and Evie with Evie letting Riley call the shots with the pace of things. He might not know what the fuck he was doing, but one thing he was more than certain about…
Evie was worth the risk on some level, even if he wasn’t particularly sure what he was risking.
Evie Miller [imnotdoctor], Tabitha Browne [asinthecity] and Lachlan Campbell [drcampbell] referenced with permission
Word Count | 648
[Follows THIS and THIS]
Riley glanced at himself in the mirror as he quickly buttoned up his light blue dress shirt. He screwed his nose up as he analysed his appearance. A blue button-up and jeans were alright for going to the movies, right? He brushed his hand through his curly hair which was being mostly tamed by a small amount of product. The glasses had been abandoned in favour of his contacts, yet he still had a nervous uncertain sense as he tried to convince himself he was doing the right thing.
Typically, a chat with Tab had gotten him thinking. It wasn’t that he always listened to her advice. He was her brother, he wasn’t supposed to always listen to her and it was his job to argue her points, but he always took on board her opinion and usually processed it after the fact. It was this process that had him texting Evie later in the afternoon after originally cancelling their morning coffee plans to ask her if she wanted to go to the movies with him that night. He hadn’t cancelled out on her to avoid her. He really hadn’t been feeling well that morning and still wasn’t 100%, but not enough to really avoid her. He didn’t think he even wanted to avoid her, even if the whole sex and relationship prospect worried him of late. He enjoyed her company and as the hours ticked by after chatting with Tab, he realised that he did want to meet up with Evie again before the weekend. He was down to sixteen days now and at the very least - whether anything happened between them or not - he would welcome the distraction as the HIV test veered closer and closer.
Still, it didn’t stop his typical nerves. He wasn’t a natural-born people person. He was shy whether he liked it or not and he had to stop hiding out in his comfort zone and bite the bullet. From what he’d seen of Evie so far, she wasn’t backwards in coming forward and he appreciated her taking the reigns when he was still on unsteady footing himself. And she was so different to Beth. Not that he was comparing them, but it was impossible not to a little. He knew he still loved Beth; he would always love her, but he had never dated anyone like Evie before.
Not that they were dating! Not really. Yet. Yet? Would they? Riley gave himself a small shake and ordered himself to stop overanalysing everything. Just do it. Take the risk and enjoy it. At the end of the day, what’s the worst that could happen? They’d go back to their respective departments and maybe nod at each civilly in the hallway. He couldn’t shake the nerves, though. Movies was always a sort-of date. He wet his lips and glanced at his watch. He was meeting her there in about half an hour and they were going to decide together what to see. His stomach was still acting up a little but he knew now it was more nerves than the meds he was on.
He’d never been a risk-taker. Those genes went to Tab. Sure, he’d been forced into risk-taking situations by the likes of Tab and Lachlan, but it always came with stress and uncertainty. It had even taken Lachlan months to get Riley in the same room as Beth all that time ago because Riley kept roadblocking him with being fixed up. But this time there was no matchmaking and there were no other intervening circumstances. It was just him and Evie with Evie letting Riley call the shots with the pace of things. He might not know what the fuck he was doing, but one thing he was more than certain about…
Evie was worth the risk on some level, even if he wasn’t particularly sure what he was risking.
Evie Miller [imnotdoctor], Tabitha Browne [asinthecity] and Lachlan Campbell [drcampbell] referenced with permission
Word Count | 648