|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:00 pm
He sat in the cafe contemplating how it he'd come to find himself here yet again. After his date with Jezerah had ended Thom had thought him comfortably done with the dating scene. He'd gone out, done the awkward dance of cautious flirtations, come home and never called, nor been called, for that matter. He didn't think it had gone all that badly, but there had been a mutual agreement to pursue other options for the moment. Fine with him, and so he returned to his normal routine.
But to spend his time comfortably at home as he was inclined to was not meant to be for Thom; while he was perfectly content to step out of the dating scene just as quickly as he'd stepped over the line into it, Iamel had other ideas. It was with a determined amount of prodding, poking, and general aggravations (on Thom's part, anyway) that Iamel convinced him to give it another shot.
So here he was, with a cup of black coffee he'd hardly touched, another hand selected bouquet of flowers before him, and that nervous sense of expectation coiling in his stomach. Her profile had said she was a busy, career oriented woman- and that was a strange thing to Thom, being the traditional man that he was. He wasn't against it though; his wife had been more than headstrong with him about owning her own flower business...
But those were thoughts for another time, he reminded himself. A time when he didn't have a date pending and wasn't sure how it would go. There were enough things to worry about regarding that without remembering details of his past.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:16 pm
Well, this was an unexpected sight to Jaelle. She was always, always on time, even early. However, it appeared that her date had arrived long enough before her to already have a drink before him, and... Flowers? It'd been awhile since she'd gotten flowers. Already this date was turning out better than the one prior. Tuari had been late, and Jaelle had no longer been at the cafe when he'd arrived. She didn't have time for such things, as she was no longer in high school.
As it was, Jae was slightly offset by the surprise of spotting Thom through the window [he had to be her date, or perhaps, someone else's, as that was the purpose of this cafe. How many other people would be meeting here on a tuesday morning? Not many, judging by the relatively empty cafe. This had been scheduled inbetween two of her meetings] and paused briefly out of sight, knitting her brow and entering.
The beautiful gypsy was in her business clothes, which wasn't necessarily obvious, as it was simply a tailored, close-fitting button-up [black], black slacks, and black boots with a slight heel. Two golden hoops in her earlobes, a teal stud in her upper cartiledge, and some nice bracelets and a necklace complimented the outfit and her modest, but flattering, neckline. Slightly curly, jet black hair was pulled back in a tight bun and slim sunglasses covered her bright eyes.
Once she entered the cafe, she showed no hesitation as she approached the table, sliding off her sunglasses with a smile. "Thomas?" A hand reached across the table to shake before she sat down. "Jaelle. Nice to meet you."
Well, he was certainly good-looking.
On time, too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:43 pm
Thomas thumbed the wrapping of the flowers for a moment, contemplating whether or not he'd made the right choices. A few white and red gladiolas were the center piece of this particular bouquet, representing the strength of her character, sprinkled with a few jasmine flowers and purple heather for filler, he thought it adequate enough. Though perhaps not as showy as some bouquets she might have been offered in the past... Not that he knew her history with flowers, or if she had one at all.
He looked up from the blooms as the chime tinkled over the door, and a charming smile found it's way to his nervous lips. Having her wearing a suit felt a little odd to him, but he supposed that it was better than feeling completely out of place in his own, as he had with Jezerah.
His own suit was grey with a light pin striping. A bit old fashioned for some, but Thom wouldn't have had it any other way. His shirt was white, clean and pressed and with only the slightest of wrinkle from having sat down to wait for her. His tie was red, and the fedora matching his suit perched itself comfortably upon the edge of the table.
"You must be Jaelle," he greeted, standing as she sat, and he accepted her hand as she offered it. His handshake was strong, and firm, and he released her hand after a brisk shake. Once, he might have kissed her knuckles- but that was a bit forward for this day and age, or so he'd learned.
"Flowers, for the lovely lady," he murmured, sweeping the bouquet up off the table and offering it to her with a smile, "Can I get you a drink?"
He was admittedly taken aback by her overall appearance- her skin was a bit... darker, than he'd expected, and it caused some part of him to squirm. Iamel probably would have threatened to kick his a** about this though, and he forcibly reminded himself to give her a chance regardless.
"May I get you a drink?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:59 pm
At least, Thom could comfort himself with this, she wasn't very dark. Jae's tan was indeed completely natural, however, she was light enough [the Romani were european] to have gained the tan from the sun, if it wasn't for her dark hair giving her 'away'. Her smile was quick, easy, so practiced that it looked casual. Accepting the flowers, Jaelle took her seat gracefully, teal eyes appreciative. "Why, thank you, Thomas." They were beautiful, but not showy. Just her style.
Handsome, and polite. Of course, white men, especially blondes, weren't her general preference.... But wasn't she here to try something new? Yes. Him? Get her a drink? That was a little new. It reminded her of her home, really. Men in the city weren't generally so chivalrous. She could did it.
"I would love that." Some liquor would be nice, although it was too early for such thinks. "Coffee, black? Perhaps a columbian blend."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:49 pm
Still darker than he'd perhaps expected though. His heritage was Irish to it's core; if asked he probably could have traced his family's lineage back centuries- not that he particularly wanted to though. But so far as being blond went- well, at least he didn't act like a blond? Most of the time anyway. He'd become a pretty down to earth guy since- well. Just since. Iamel had called him a crotchety old man once; that might have been just as good an analogy as any, as, he certainly could be.
"You are very welcome," he inclined his head to her slightly, before listening as she placed her drink order. A black coffee; just his style, although asking for a specific blend was still a little beyond him- what had happened to the days of just ordering a cup of coffee? No matter though.
"I'll be right back," he excused himself politely, and went up to the counter, parroting her request to the barrista behind the counter. He waited patiently, but it really didn't take all that long to pour a mug of coffee.
Carrying it back to their table, he set it down in front of her, before moving to settle back down in his own seat, his hand reaching for his own mug's handle. In his mind, he fished for subjects to start conversation off with- but he found himself coming up empty. After she'd taken a sip of her coffee though, he thought of something that might perhaps be alright...
"Is your coffee alright?" he murmured. He'd asked for what she had but he had no idea if the barrista had actually listened to him... Might've just thought he was one of those picky people who ask for a latte without foam or something.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:51 pm
"Thank you," was her murmur as the red mug was set before her. One sip later and that quick, flashing grin appeared and disappeared. "It's fantastic. Yours?" A pause, another drink and she set it on the table, for once not pulling work from the bag she'd brought in with her. Fingers interlocking on the table, Jaelle brazenly took a good look at the man across from her. She was very insightful, some said.
"You seem rather old-fashioned, Thomas. I find that intriguing considering the world we live in." Gaia, where any species was game. Half the time even the humans didn't look or act quite human. It was a statement, not a question, but it still invited discussion. That bright smile appeared on her face once more. "My family can be quite traditional, as well."
Hopefully, Jae wouldn't be too ballsy and straight-forward for Thom. If she was... Well, better to scare him off now. She could be pretty nosy. It was sort of her job.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:07 pm
Old fashioned? Hah. Had she ever hit the nail on the head! But she didn't know the half of it, really.
"Yeah, they have good coffee here," it wasn't the best he'd tasted, but then again, he had high standards and he might have remembered things tasting a little differently than they actually had back in his day. Still, good coffee was still good coffee, and even though there were a hundred different flavors he could still appreciate a good simple cup o' joe.
"I've been told my style is a bit dated," he chuckled, knowing that this wasn't what she'd been getting at; but it was fun to play, regardless of whether it was appropriate or not yet. And while Jaelle was a more forward woman than he was used to, he was determined to at least... give it a try. Things had changed a lot since the days of his kind of woman, after all. But it would still take a bit more for him to be scared off.
He took her talking about her family as a good sign though; family was important to him, and while he still felt that he had done his wrong, he could only continue on and hope that he might find a chance to redeem himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:35 pm
"It suits you." A quick grin, and Jaelle didn't mind him seeing her eyes briefly drop to scan his body and outfit before returning to his face. She was a grown woman, after all. "It's been a while since I've seen pinstripes." A low, throaty laugh and the 'doctor' took another slow sip of coffee, expression thoughtful.
"I assume this is the point where we commence small talk, however, I think we already covered a lot of that in our... Profiles." Apparently, she wasn't dancing around the fact that they hadn't met up by chance. "So let's skip that. Though, I can address some of your concerns." She sounded extremely amused. "I assure you I am anatomically female, rather than a pretty cross-dresser." A pause. "Whoever wrote your profile has a great way with words."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:02 pm
He wasn't quite sure how he felt about her giving him such a blatant look over; it wasn't... exactly unwelcome, but usually, when people gave him the once over he didn't notice it. And normally they certainly quite so forward about it.
Still, it wasn't unwelcome, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips just slightly. It was good to know, that even fourty years later women still thought he looked damn fine. He lifted his mug to his lips, feeling somewhat pleased with how the date had progressed so far, even despite her rather brash and forward demeanor.
...And then all of a sudden she was talking about his profile, and- oh god. He'd completely forgotten what Iamel had written. He choked on his coffee, sputtering against the cup before twisting his face away before he got anything on her. He coughed for a few moments, before sucking in an awkward breath, and looking back towards her with a rather embarrassed expression.
"Sometimes I strongly wonder if Iamel conspires to kill me," he mused out loud, trying to recover from this setback, "It's... good to know?" He cleared his throat awkwardly, and set his coffee cup back down, deciding that for the moment, it was best left on the table. He was fighting down a blush though, and doing surprisingly well in the battle against it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:21 pm
Jaelle couldn't help it. After assuring herself that her date wasn't dying across from her due to choking, she let out a low, amused laugh, rolling her shoulders slightly. "He sounds like a good friend." Her own thoughts drifted to Aishe, who had, shamelessly, told Jae to not come home from her date without 'gettin' any'. Of course, that wasn't exactly on in her plans for the day [Jae had a lot to do], but it seemed to her that perhaps Aishe and Iamel were two of a feather.
"I hope you didn't burn yourself, Thomas." Her tone was coolly amused and she took another sip of her coffee. If this date kept going, she might need a refill. Jae had carefully taken note of his slight smirk, and her brow rose slightly as she contemplated their situation. They both weren't quite what the other was expecting, but this seemed like it was going somewhere.
She didn't know where but somewhere was better than nowhere, that was for sure. "I also saw that you're a dancer." An easy grin, more relaxed than the ones prior. "I've been known to tap my feet to a rhythm or two, myself."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:33 pm
Finding something more to say without embarrassing himself completely was proving more difficult than he'd thought it would be. He was tense, at first, not sure how she'd take to his fit of choking on his coffee- but laughter was a good thing wasn't it? Even if it was at him...
"Iamel is... One of a kind," he shook his head, reaching for a napkin to wipe his face, just in case his coughing and sputtering had left any unwanted coffee residue on his face. This done, he smiled reassuringly, and, for a moment eyed the coffee that had perhaps cursed him. Or maybe blessed; he wasn't sure yet.
"No, I'm fine. Nothing's burning but my ego," And soon, maybe his cheeks. He smiled again; this time the expression was a little more forced and awkward, but it was a smile none the less.
The change of topic was appreciated, as- dancing was something he could probably talk about without tripping over his words about it. He recognized the new found relaxation of her smile though, and was actually considering thanking Iamel for writing his dating profile; if nothing else, it had broken the ice.
"Yes, it's a hobby I'm incredibly fond of," he replied, pleased to know that she herself was interested in dance. "Oh really? Any style in particular that catches your fancy?"
Okay, darker skin or no- her being interested in dancing was definitely a plus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:43 pm
Thom earned a warm smile for the admittance of damage to his ego. She liked that, a lot. A lot of men were to macho to even admit that type of thing. He had potential.
Another smooth shrug, and Jaelle finished off her coffee. "I really just like to move." A pause. "Although, most of my dance classes have been focused on the hips. Salsa, Calypso, and the like. I used to do a lot of swing dancing in college." The days when she'd had time to go dancing! She hadn't thought of those in a while. "Of course, Modern, too. With a capital 'M'." That was said with a chuckle, as she thought of 'modern' club dancing.
Carefully maintained nails lightly drummed the tabletop. "We also both seem to enjoy a good round of cards." An inviting grin. "Perhaps we'll play a game together, sometime." Jae wasn't afraid to show she thought things were going well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:18 pm
She had potential, too; and Thom was beginning to get the feeling that he might have to bite the bullet and thank Iamel for this. He could almost already hear the gloating... But Iamel was not the person to be focusing on, currently.
He watched as she finished off her coffee, whereas there was still a quarter of the cup remaining in his own mug. It probably had something to do with choking on his, which had deterred him from doing any further drinking; at least for the moment. He noted to ask her if he could bring her another cup of coffee, but for the moment there was the subject of dance, and coffee could wait.
"I teach swing," he admitted with a smile, "and I'm not bad at salsa. I've learned a little of everything, here and there," Well, except maybe modern. What was modern? He was so stuck in his more traditional dance moves that he hadn't even really began to explore what type of dance this era had come up with.
...That might have been for the best, though. He was going to have a heart attack when he found out.
"I might be a bit behind on 'modern' dance. Like you said, I'm old fashioned," before she could inquire about it though, he shifted in his seat. "Can I get you another cup of coffee?" he asked, ready to get up should she take his offer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:24 pm
If he'd known Jaelle at all, he'd say the sudden glint in her eye seemed very, very worrisome, instead, she merely looked charming. "Oh? You'll have to be introduced to some of the local clubs, then!" That could be fun. "You teach? I've been meaning to brush up. What studio are you at?" There weren't too many that were classy, and somehow, she figured he was a part of one of those few.
Glancing down at her cup [she'd barely noticed she'd finished it], she wondering if she really needed anymore coffee. No. Tabitha didn't need her on caffeine. Being relaxed helped Jae a lot with that redhead's ball of anger. "Hrm, no more coffee for me, thank you. Perhaps an creamosa? I'm sure they have watermelon."
Poor Thomas, with these new drink concotions. Jae usually would've gotten it herself, but she sensed that it might make Thomas feel more at ease. At least he was polite.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:40 pm
It might have been for the best that he didn't recognize that glint, otherwise he might just have ducked and covered instead of loosening up, a small smile forming on his lips once more.
"I teach at Stratford-upon-Avon Studios. People have mistaken it for a theater before though, but then again naming it after Shakespeare's birth place might not have been the smartest idea, in that light," it was a classy place though, lessons there were expensive, but not completely unreasonable.
"I'll be back with that in a moment," he assured her, having no idea what an creamosa was though, he supposed he'd find out. It really was a good thing that she just- told him exactly what she wanted, if he'd had to order something that was non-caffeinated on his own- well. That might have become problematic. He probably would have gone with a float of some kind, seeing as when he was a teen Soda shops were all the rage.
It took longer to receive the cremosa than it had the coffee, but none the less he returned with the tall glass, eying the unfamiliar liquid in the glass for a moment before setting it down in front of her. $2.70 for that? He could gulp that in half a sip! Hrrnn. Things certainly weren't what they used to be. Inwardly, he sighed, but his frustrations with the economy's inflation didn't cross his face.
"So tell me, what exactly IS an creamosa?" he figured he might as well ask, at least then he'd know, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
