It had been awhile since Lorin had been in wizarding London, especially since she had been spending so much time in Ireland since she graduated. She never thought she'd like being away from home so much, not that being home was
bad necessarily. She found that she liked her job, she liked where she lived, and she like the company. Donnie really wasn't that bad once she got to know him. Initially she had been very unsure. He was an old family friend, but that didn't mean they got along. No, Lorin had always hated Donnie. He was dirty and crass, spoke with a thick accent and cut the ends off of words. He sounded like he was low class and uneducated, though he was anything but. He was a smart man, a whiz with numbers and his intelligence rivaled, if not surpassed, her own. This was rare for Lorin, as she always was exceptionally bright. She thought that, perhaps, he just had more experience than her, not more smarts, but the result was the same. He impressed her, which was often difficult to do.
Lorin had initially signed on for a three month temporary job while she was looking for other work, but the job just kept extending. Three months turned into four, five, six. She knew she couldn't work there forever, but she was reluctant to go. She liked the company of living with him, and she knew he needed her, too. He needed someone to cook and clean and make sure he was taking care of himself. She was happy to be that person. She had always been a homebody. When she had lived with Theoren she had made sure his house felt like a home. She had dinner on the table when he got off work, and his clothes were folded and pressed. She liked making a home, and thought often about being a wife, though she knew she had a long time before that could even be a possibility.
Things with Seth had not been going as she expected. She had thought that now she was out of school that he might suggest they become boyfriend and girlfriend, but he hadn't yet, and she was growing tired of waiting. Maybe she should make an initiative in that regard. They still saw each other frequently, every week or two, and more often than not she ended up staying the night, but that wasn't the same as being in a relationship. She wanted more from him. She wanted him to let her take care of him, love him, and be there emotionally. She wanted to be the girl he came home to, the one he depended on and shared with. While she knew he didn't care much for other girls and while she knew he let few people in as much as her, she still felt like he wasn't sharing like he really could be. She wanted him to trust her. More than that, she wanted him to love her back—or at least let her love him openly. They always played a game of chess, her moving her pieces carefully, to avoid seeming too interested. She didn't want to some on too strong and scare him off, but she was getting tired of the games and wanted to
win, finally. Maybe it was time she made some kind of move. Maybe she really should push him a little. At the very worst... well, he wouldn't want that, and she would be where she started. She might waste less time on him if she knew his true intentions. Nah, she wouldn't. She would be heartbroken, but maybe she could move on from this place she was in. She would have to ask Emily her thoughts the next time they spoke. Emily always had good advice.
Unfortunately. Emily couldn't make it today. They tickets had already been bought, though, and the date saved. Lorin needed a chance to get away, to have some fun, and to do something interesting. Today, she was at a quaint little painting shop, doing a lesson called 'moonlight magic.' It was a paint studio that did lessons where groups of people came together, drank wine, and painting the same picture. In this case with was a moonlight tree, surrounded by magically twinkling fairy lights that were charmed and animated so they flickered in real time. Lorin had never been an artistic sort. She was entirely left-brained, but she thought the picture was pretty and she wanted to try something different than sitting around an apartment and drinking wine. She wanted to drink wine in public, but not at a bar. This seemed a good alternative, but last minute Emily had an urgent matter come up. Lorin was left there alone. She could have canceled, but not tonight. She needed a night out, and if it was by herself, then so be it. She already had a bottle of White Zinfandel under her arm as she walked into the shop—it was BYOB—and she took a seat near the front where the presenter showed, step-by-step, how to create the masterpiece. Lorin put an apron on over her outfit and pulled her hair out of her face while she waited to begin. The clock showed she was only a few minutes early, yet the class was strangely empty. Would it be a private lesson, then? Perhaps she would be the only one making 'moonlight magic' tonight, after-all.
@Kate Duenas 
