Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been a few days since Aurelie had walked into the café that she so happily worked at. The snow outside wasn’t helping one bit, but she did dress for the weather. As she rounded the corner, she saw the door open and close to the café, though she wasn’t entirely sure who it was that had just walked in. A sigh escaped her slightly parted lips as she hurriedly walked towards the door and pulled it open, spying a familiar figure at the bar at this time in the morning! With a smile, Aurelie quietly shut the door behind her and crept over to James, without even taking her jacket off, and she slipped behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Hopefully he wouldn’t retort in an angry way, since she had snuck up on him. He smelled of smoke, though it didn't bother her since she was a smoker herself, though she only smoked cigarettes from time to time. For a moment, she just lingered there, against him before realizing that he may not be too comfortable with that.

“Bonjour…” She whispered in his ear, before pulling away from him completely and removing her jacket. She chuckled a bit as she set her jacket on the back of a chair, revealing her clothing for the day; blue jeans, a black sweater that buttoned up and went down to her knees, and black ballet flats, which had a part in why her footsteps were so quiet when she entered. Her bright, blue eyes settled on James as she took a seat beside him, “We’re not open yet, I believe… but would you like something anyway?” She asked, tilting her head to the side and absentmindedly twirling a stand of auburn hair on her fingers. It seemed that all the time she had spent here with James was causing her to not be so uncomfortable around him, and she even had a bit of a surprise for him in the back opening of her messenger bag, which was currently on the chair with her coat. She would get it out later though, and see his reaction then.

Aurelie placed her finger to his lips when he spoke her name and she giggled. “Aurelie… Like… Are-uh-lee.” She said slowly, so that he would be able to pronounce it right the next time. The tone of her voice wasn’t one of annoyance though, because she knew her name wasn’t that easy to say. “And I’m doing just fine, James.” Nodding to him after this, she hopped off of the stool and rounded the bar before going into the kitchen to prepare his tea. About five minutes later she came out with a steaming hot mug of tea, filled to the rim almost for his liking. She set the tea down in front of him and smiled. “How have you been doing? It’s been a so long since I’ve seen you… or, at least, it feels like it’s been too long.” It was true, since James was basically the only friend she had right now. Her boyfriend had gone and left her for no apparent reason, and all of her real friends lived back in France. She leaned on the counter with her elbows, chin rested upong her fists as she kept her eyes on him, watching him.

Aurelie noticed the look in his face, but she decided not to comment on it since he looked a tad uncomfortable about it. The smile on her face only faltered a little, but it remained as he spoke. When he asked a question about her, she tilted her head to the side and sighed. “Well, I believe not much has been going on with me. Just living and dealing with different things every day.” She shrugged, not really wanting to elaborate on all that she had gone through with that terrible ex-boyfriend of hers these past few days. Her reason for being here right now was to get her mind off of it, and she was sure that James would do wonderfully at helping her out, even if he didn’t know that he was doing so. Standing up straight, she arched her back and stretched her arms before walking around the bar and going to her bag. She fumbled through it for some time, looking for something it seemed, but she didn’t say a word as she went through the bag, until a few moments later, when she produced a magazine, holding it out to James with both hands.

The front cover had a picture of her in the clothing that she had described to him the last time they had talked, and a slight blush was seen on cheeks as she showed it to him. “You said you wanted to get your hands on a copy, correct?” Of course, she knew he had been joking at the time, but she couldn’t help but wonder what his reaction would be at seeing the actual picture. It was a complete contrast from the winter edition of the magazine last year, due to the fact that she was in a bikini. The only thing “winterish” about it was that she had on boots, gloves, a scarf and a hat, plus she was throwing some snow into the air and it was falling back down on her. She was even laughing in the picture, blue-green eyes looking upwards. “So, I figured… why not pick up a copy for James to see.” She giggled a bit, holding the magazine up a little higher to cover her face; a least from her nose down since she was blushing so much.

Aurelie’s blush was now completely exposed as he took the magazine from her and laid it on the counter. She smiled at the compliment though, but didn’t exactly expect a hug from him. Her own arms wrapped around his neck and she rested her head on his chest, since he was a bit taller than her. The pink tint to her cheeks had disappeared some, but it remained somewhat as she pulled herself closer into the hug. ‘I didn’t think of it as a gift… but I suppose that works.’ She thought, smiling as she pulled away, though just enough to look at his face. “I’m so glad you like it.” She managed to say, pulling one arm from around his neck and poking him on the nose with her finger. She giggled some, though her other arm just stayed around him. His hugs were definitely warm, which was a nice change from the weather outside. Speaking of warmth…

“We should go sit by the fire and talk there, if you want to?” She asked, before biting her bottom lip. They had spent all their time by the bar, so she figured it would be nice to see if the fire was indeed as warm as it should’ve been, plus the couches looked comfortable at the lounge.

Aurelie was feeling the same way as he pulled away from her. She didn’t think it would be a good idea to linger in his arms too long. With a smile, she lead him over to the sofas and sat down on the one nearest the fire. Turning towards him, she watched him closely with her eyes, and then she turned away and looked at the roaring fire. As soon as the two of them had sat down, she felt the warmth of the fire and it brought a smile to her face. She leaned over on the arm of the sofa, chin on it and arms hanging over the edge. Her feet were pulled up on the sofa, though not to be in James’ way. She was wondering if he thought it at all weird that he was sitting beside the model who was on the very front cover of the magazine that he was holding. Aurelie was a lot more modest than people took her for, at least around certain people-- with James, she wasn't going to act like she was so much better than him, or rub her fame in his face, like she did to so many other people. Nope. James was different and she only wished to make him happy and keep him as a friend, not lose him.