Jasper Cain Valente (ridethebullet) wrote in oblivionrp, @ 2009-04-07 23:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | jasper, jasper and muse, muse |
Salvaging the Night
Who: Jasper and Muse (with a cameo from Aileen!)
Where: VIP Suite 1
When: Around 2am
After leaving Jamie and Brodie, Jasper led Muse out of the depths of the ship, which meant climbing stairs rather than taking the elevators. He wasn't up to testing those out quite yet, preferring to let other passengers make sure they were in complete working order before he climbed aboard one. There were a great number of people on his floor working to clean up-- the pools and the splash park had made quite a mess, and the exercise equipment didn't take well to being flung about-- so he headed up one more floor to Muse's room. With only two VIP Suites on the ship, he figured she was in one of them. "How are your feet?" he asked, holding a hand out to her as they climbed over a fallen chair wedged in the hallway. In his other hand was a bottle of champagne, spared from the wreckage before completely leaving the main floor.
For someone who had just been through massive trauma, Muse was in terribly good shape, really. Okay, her head hurt and every once in a while she felt lightheaded, but it was possible she was running on adrenaline at this point. Probable, actually. She had no problem taking the stairs, never complained or appeared any less bouncy. They had survived! Yay! "They hurt a little, but you're a good nurse." she answered, grinning. "I'll wear shoes for a few days. It'll be fine. How are you?" He looked like he'd fared pretty well, at least.
At her door, Muse didn't have a key - for the simple reason that she would absolutely never remember it. Instead there was a keypad, and she quickly punched in a few numbers before opening the door. "Ta-da!" she said, flicking on a light and taking a good look around. Silks and pillows were in heaps everywhere of the Indian-decor styled room, but nothing appeared broken or dangerous.
While Jasper had suffered a couple of blows to the head and a few knicks and bruises, he was pretty much fine. There had been a few close calls that could have made his injuries far worse, but he'd handled the situation much like he might have handled a rock climbing accident. The thing that bothered him the most was that he hadn't wanted to be "rock climbing" at that moment. Seeing as how he wasn't the only one lacking control of the situation, he didn't see the point of complaining... yet. "I'm fine," he smiled. "Nothing a little Asprin couldn't fix."
Though her room was in disarray, he immediately felt like he'd entered into a harem's headquarters, or something similar. It was the theme, he decided, and the abundance of pillows. "It's very fitting," Jasper grinned. "The colors and the light. Like they made the room especially for you."
Muse grinned as she lead the way through towards the small dining room and kitchen. "They did." she said. "Kaz's too, I think, but I haven't seen it. This is a lot like my tour bus was in the summer." The room they had entered was a bit of a mess, but she headed around the island counters to take a peek inside the cupboards. "Not a lot broken, anyway. Looks like I picked the right theme."
"Better than a room of crystal, that's for sure," Jasper said as he looked around. It wouldn't surprise him if there were a couple of rooms that were dangerous to enter based on their theme. "Got a corkscrew in there?" he asked as she peeked through the cupboards. He couldn't imagine them not providing one, no matter what her age. "So did you tell them the theme ahead of time, or did you just pick the colors?"
"Aileen sent it in ages ago. It's part of my contract rider." Muse answered, looking around until she found a corkscrew and two unbroken glasses. She happily provided those, before leaning forward against the island. "Do you want to go check out your room?"
"I think I'm going to let them mop of the floor first, if you don't mind me hanging out here," Jasper said, taking the corkscrew from her. He wasn't sure what the state of his room was, but if it was fine, then she could return to her room and he his. That... wasn't what he was aiming for. "I don't want to cause an imposition though," he said as he opened the bottle.
"That's fine." Muse answered, grinning again. Aileen might pitch a fit if she came back and found a strange man here, but odds were good she wouldn't return until she'd made a few crew members cry. She righted one of the fallen barstools and took a seat, stretching her legs out to look her feet over. She'd made out pretty good, all things considering. Especially considering the shape Jamie and Brodie were in. "I'm happy to have the company." she said, looking up at Jasper again. "I've spent a lot of time alone in here. Jet lag."
"I'm always glad to provide company," Jasper smiled, pouring her a glass of champagne. He wasn't completely sure how he'd ended up there, since he'd have assumed Muse practically untouchable until a few days ago. He'd always heard that traumatic events brought people together, but he'd never actually been a part of such an event. Now he was living out a perfect example. "I'm just one floor down, so feel free to knock on my door anytime," he added. It was an offer he might regret, knowing Muse, but what the hell. "To surviving the storm?" he asked, holding up his own glass.
"You may regret that." Muse said with a smirk, unknowingly echoing his thoughts. She managed not to tell him about how she'd just broken into Jamie's room yesterday for happy little wake-up call. She didn't have much of a verbal filter, especially coupled with a head injury, but she knew that might be a bit too much information. Especially since Jamie had been awesomely naked. She grinned and held up her glass. "To surviving the storm." she echoed, clinking it against his. "Cheers."
Jasper clinked his glass against hers, then took a sip of his champagne, smiling as he swallowed. "You know, I was thinking that, but I can't imagine ever being bothered by you." He was sure he sounded ridiculous, but it was true thus far. She was far too amusing to bother him. Amusing and intriguing. "So should we kick back an relax? Throw these pillows into some kind of order or is there none?" While he planned to continue drinking, they didn't have to sit around the island to do so.
"Oh, I'm very skilled at bothering." Muse said, grinning as she sipped her drink. Yay bubbles! She got up and nodded, leading the way into the living room. There was a couch, upholstered in the same purple and pink silks, and a few lounges and benches, but Muse went for a pile of pillows near the balcony doors. It was the same decision she would have made were the room not a mess. "Make yourself comfy." she said, grinning at him. She couldn't help but look outside, and was a little surprised with how calm it was. "So much for calm before the storm. Looks like we got it backwards."
He followed her to the pile of pillows, taking the bottle with him. He had no interest in sitting on the couch when she'd found the most comfortable place in the room. Jasper slipped off his shoes before joining her, crawling in his very rumpled tux. "It might be backwards, but I'm glad for it. I needed some calm after the ride we went through," he grinned, then took another sip of champagne. "I didn't think a boat this big could rock like that without capsizing, but if we're one in a million, then I'm glad for it."
Muse took a moment to sit up and open the balcony door to let some fresh air in, but there was really nothing in the way of a breeze. "The air smells fantastic. I love the ocean after a storm." she said. She leaned back and got comfy, and pushed her hair behind her as she settled and focused her attention on Jasper again. "Me too. It's good to look on the bright side of things. You know if we'd been in here as opposed to a place like a restaurant it might have even been fun. Lots of comfy things to fall on."
"It certainly would have been a lot less dangerous," Jasper laughed. "No hanging on for our lives. Instead we'd have been rolling around with pillows." He wasn't sure that was exactly true, but it didn't hurt to imagine when it wasn't the case. He took another sip of champagne, enjoying the bubbles even if he didn't voice it. "But if you'd been in here, I wouldn't have seen you again, so I can't complain. And you've got a great story to tell about New Year's Eve," he pointed out. He doubted anyone would believe him.
That actually got Muse thinking a bit. "I wonder if they'll make a big deal about this." she said, tilting her head to the side. "I don't think anyone died or anything, but it's not every day stuff like this happens." If it was a big deal, she expected she'd have a lot of interviews to do when she got back. Aileen would probably see to that.
"I'm sure they'll make a good deal of this," Jasper smiled. "It's not Titanic material or anything, but going through a storm like that? It can't happen all that often." Otherwise cruise ships wouldn't be considered safe vacation choices. "So now that you're done performing, do you just enjoy the rest of the trip?" he asked, finishing off his first glass of champagne and refilling it.
"Mm-hmm." Muse answered, sipping from her glass again. "And 'be seen'. I think I'll be seen relaxing a lot. Especially now that my band is full of injuries. No random shows for me." she said, chuckling softly. "I don't think this happens a lot either, though. I remember it being on the news a few years back when a ship was caught in a cyclone. It was awful."
He may not have been a star of any sort, but their schedule sounded almost identical. Relax and be seen. Hopefully it would be easier done going forward than it had been tonight. "I'm honestly surprised that no one has come to our assistance yet. This is normally the sort of thing that brings the coast guard out or something. Though maybe it's because we're in international waters..."
"Maybe they still will." Muse said. "They might have to take some people to a hospital." She hoped that wasn't the case, but there were an awful lot of injuries. "Seems like they should come and check on us, at least. I don't really know how it works though." she admitted, shrugging.
"It's probably the kind of thing where we can go to sleep and it'll all be taken care of by the time we wake up," Jasper said as he loosened his tie. That should be the case, if someone really was coming to help them. And he couldn't imagine why they wouldn't. Ships didn't go through that kind of storm every day. "Like it was all a crazy, messed up dream."
Muse smiled a bit and nodded. "That works for me." she decided. Not so much for poor Jamie and Brodie, probably. "It was an adventure, at least. And it could have been a lot worse." She'd been scared at the time, but it took a lot to dampen Muse's spirits.
Jasper grinned, liking her line of thought. He preferred to think of life as an adventure and was always looking to test it's limits. The only thing he hadn't counted on was having it tested without his permission. "I've always enjoyed a good adventure," he said. "Now I can check sailing through a storm off my list. And even if this isn't necessarily sailing, I think what we went through was much worse."
Muse giggled and sipped her champagne. "I think it still counts. It was physical enough to be sailing." she pointed out. They had a good workout, that was for sure. "What else would be on your list?" she asked, grinning again.
If Jasper ever purposefully sailed through a storm, he'd be far more prepared and not wearing a tux. "Things I've done have been sky diving, bungee jumping, rock climbing, that sort of thing," Jasper said, setting aside his drink to shrug off his jacket. Now he was actually starting to get comfortable. "I'm a bit of an adventure seeker," he said with a little smile.
"Are you?" Muse gasped, looking enthralled. "That's great! I'd love to do that sort of thing." She was pretty sure Aileen would have a heart attack, though. "How'd you get into it all?"
"Just something I picked up over time," Jasper grinned. "I started small and found I liked the rush. Then I just kept pushing myself. If you wanted to do something that's not quite as wild as sky diving, we should go scuba diving at some point. I'm sure they have little day excursions that would take us out." It was a Caribbean cruise after all.
"I love scuba diving," Muse said with a grin, that being something she'd actually done before. "I was planning on going once we got to Bermuda." The initial plan had been to drag some of the guys along, but she didn't see how that was going to work now. Maybe she'd just have to find out where Jasper was staying so she could continue to pester him.
"See, then, that's a start," he smiled. "I'm sure you take to the water like a mermaid." Jasper could actually picture her as such a creature, her hair flowing in the water. Scuba diving wasn't quite the same, with the mask and all, but that was okay. "If you don't mind the company, I'd love to join you."
"Excellent," Muse replied, glad that she hadn't even had to ask. This arrangement was going to work out quite well, she thought, and she liked knowing she'd be seeing a lot more of him. She was easily won over by the pretty. "It's planned then."
"It is," Jasper said, taking another sip of champagne before offering her more from the bottle. He couldn't be more pleased with his situation at the moment, sitting with a beautiful girl on a pile of pillows, drinking champagne. It would have been a perfect way to end any night, especially New Year's Eve. "So, can I ask, do you have a boyfriend?"
Muse grinned again as he refilled her glass. "Meaning, is some bloke going to be very annoyed with you sitting here with me?" she asked. "No. Half the time I'm far too busy, guys that aren't in the business wouldn't want to put up with it. And guys that are in the business, I'd absolutely never see." she answered honestly. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She had assumed not, since he was on a cruise by himself.
"Yes, meaning exactly that," Jasper laughed. It was the one way that the night could turn very bad, very fast. "No, I don't. I would never consider dating a girl I met at work, and I often work too much to meet anyone else." It was a similar situation to her own, plus the fact that he was picky as hell and rarely took interest in the girls that were fawning over him. "I have to say, I feel rather lucky to steal some of your time."
"Sounds like we're a lot alike then." Muse pointed out, stretching briefly before turning a bit on her side to face him. "Why wouldn't you date a girl at work? What do you do?" she asked, not actually knowing much about him. Besides what kind of cake he liked. That part was important.
"I work on Wall Street, on the New York Stock Exchange," Jasper said, deciding that she really wasn't the sort he had to worry about chasing after him for money. She probably had far more than he did. "Most of the girls at work aren't actually in the same line of business. They just happen to work in other parts of the office. And they like the idea of nabbing a guy with a high paycheck. I'd rather date a girl that's interested in getting to know me."
Wow, so on top of everything else... Jasper had a brain. Muse was clueless about that stuff. "I'm horrible with money, my manager handles it all." she said, shaking her head. "And people that would try to get close to me for it. That's pretty handy. But she doesn't trust anybody." she added, grinning. "She'll probably hate you."
"Just for being here?" Jasper asked with a mischievous grin. "Do you mind her hating me?" Those were two very important questions. Because if it bothered Muse for her manager to dislike someone, then he needed to be much more careful where he tread. But if she didn't mind, then it was easier to throw caution to the wind.
"Absolutely for being here." Muse confirmed, looking amused. She quite liked that look on his face, actually, so even if she had been as distrustful as Aileen, it would have been hard to keep up. "And not at all. As long as you don't mind being hated."
"I don't mind," he smirked. "I was just wondering... if she's already going to hate me, it can't be that much worse if I steal a kiss, can it?" The answer didn't really matter to him, since he was looking for Muse's reaction, not that of her manager. From where they were, it would be so easy just to lean in and kiss her, taste the champagne on her lips.
Muse grinned and tilted her head to the side, pretending to think that over. Really, it required absolutely no thought whatsoever. God, Aileen was going to kill her. "She's going to hate you anyway, you ought to get what you can out of it." she agreed.
Now there was a dangerous proposition. Jasper had to remind himself how young she was, and that he really shouldn't steal more than a kiss. It earned her a wicked grin though, as he moved in, the hand by her waist holding his champagne. "Very good point," he smirked, then brushed his lips across hers in what started as a gentle kiss.
Oh she liked that grin, wicked suited him so well. And he probably knew it, too. How couldn't he? She grinned back and met his lips, which tasted slightly like her own from the champagne. It was a little late, but at least she got her New Years kiss.
He could feel her smiling against his lips and so he kissed her again, taking his time so long as she was enjoying it as well. It was probably a bad idea to keep it up, since kissing seemed to be addictive, but he really saw no reason not to. She was hot, and she tasted good, and she made him laugh. That alone was more than most girls could manage.
Kissing was addictive, and really, not something Muse got to do as much as she liked. Especially with wickedly gorgeous men who were just made to get her in trouble. It was healthy to get in a little trouble now and then, or at least that was what she kept telling herself. She brought her free hand up to the back of his neck, and there was no doubt that she was enjoying herself.
Since she was encouraging him, Jasper set his champagne aside, or at least tried to. It might have spilled, but he really couldn't give a damn at the moment. His hand rested at her side, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss, then sliding around to her back. Briefly he remembered the look he'd gotten from one of her boys, but any fight they put up would be worth it, he could already tell.
Aileen had indeed raised some hell, and had been in a state of utter fury until a crew member had told her that he'd spotted Muse heading back up to her room. She was still a touch annoyed -- that girl needed to be looked over, first priority -- but if Muse had felt well enough to head upstairs, that was fine too. She was wondering how the girl was fairing when she let herself in, and wondering if she could get a doctor to come up here, when she entered the living room and saw for herself what sort of state Muse was in. Which was to say, she appeared reasonably healthy.
"Excuse me," she said, crossing her arms and planting herself firmly. "Who is this?"
Muse had been on her way to supremely happy with the universe when Aileen interrupted. She should have known that was coming. Muse pulled away from Jasper just enough to look at Aileen and offer a bright smile, as if nothing had happened. "Hi, Aileen. This is Jasper. Jasper, this is my manager, Aileen."
Even without the introduction, Jasper figured that the woman was either a very pissed of lesbian lover that had yet to be mentioned or Muse's manager. Since he'd been busy kissing Muse, the first seemed rather unlikely anyways. Which was almost too bad, since her manager was fairly attractive herself. "Hello," he smiled, not moving away because, in Muse's eyes, he'd done nothing wrong. Plus, it was fun to watch women get their panties in a twist.
Aileen's gaze shifted between the two as she took a moment to decide what to do. She had plenty of questions for this man, until she realized she didn't particularly care what his answers were! So -- focus back on Muse. "Do you really think this is what you need to be doing right now?"
The question sent Muse into a giggle fit. Absolutely could not be helped. Aileen playing den mother was usually funny enough, but the question in this context... she knew Aileen would not care for the answer. Because yes, she was rather sure this was exactly what she needed to be doing. Up until Aileen had walked in. She put her face in her hand and really tried to compose herself, but every time she was close she burst out all over again. Oops.
Muse's laughing just made Jasper smile wider, which he was fairly sure would infuriate Aileen, but he'd never been all that concerned about her opinion of the matter. "It seemed like a fairly good option," Jasper answered for her, since she was currently overcome with giggles. He could only wonder what was in her head at the moment.
Aileen knew, just knew that she should have insisted on bringing a bodyguard. She'd like to see how smug he was when he was singing soprono for an amazon-bred black man named Boomer. That mental image helped her head explode a little less. "Very cute." she said, giving him an icy look. "I think you need to leave now."
Muse knew she wasn't helping her case, but the look on Aileen's face made her laugh even harder. Until she said Jasper needed to leave. That was a lot less funny. "Oh, come on! You can't be serious." Although she had the feeling that Aileen was quite serious, and she was really going to hear it for this one.
"I'm not here to see you," Jasper said, clearly not taking orders from Aileen. If Muse thought he should go, he would, but just because her manager thought it was time he left didn't mean she would. Unless manager was another term for babysitter. Muse, as far as he could tell, was not a baby... though he could understand the need to have someone watching over her. At the same time, he was slightly insulted by the idea that he'd do her harm.
Aileen continued to glare for several seconds, full of things she'd like to say, but would probably mortify Muse. She was only looking out for her, afterall. The girl had just been through a trauma, and by looks of it now there was alcohol involved. Muse would thank her for it later. In a few years. Probably. So she dismissed him with a roll of her eyes and set her gaze on Muse. "I need to talk to you."
Ah hell. Muse sighed and weighed the pros and cons, of what she wanted to do, and probably should do. Wasn't this the time she was supposed to be making all the stupid decisions in her life? She looked back at Jasper to give him an apologetic smile. "How about I come see you tomorrow?" she whispered.
Well fuck. Even if Jasper hadn't expected to get any, he officially thought of Muse's manager as a cock-blocking bitch. He was sure she'd appreciate it. Would probably even take it as a complement, then slap it on her resume right under her ability to manage her client's finances. "Until then," he said softly, then pressed one more soft kiss to her lips. "Sleep well," he said, rising to his feet. He had little to grab, just his tux jacket and his shoes... and the bottle of champagne. He couldn't leave that behind, since Muse was officially underage.
Aileen seemed content to keep quiet now that she'd won, so Muse got up to see Jasper out, lest Aileen try to slam the door on him. "You too." she said, smiling brightly. "And don't mind her." she whispered. "This is pretty normal." Not that she did this a lot. It was about par for the course for what she'd expected, though.
"I figured," Jasper said, calm and cool about the whole thing. He could care less about Aileen's opinion of him, so long as she didn't change Muse's opinion of him. "You know where I am?" he asked, just to make sure. She'd originally met him just as he was coming out of his room, but he didn't expect her to remember that one little instance. He hadn't even been sure he'd see her again, except fate seemed to tip their way.
Muse grinned as they stopped in front of the door and she leaned against the wall. "I think I'll be able to find you." she said. Even if she hadn't seen him coming out of his room earlier, she was pretty sure she could have managed tracking him down. Breaking and entering hadn't been any problem!
He trusted that Muse had her connections, even if he wasn't sure what they might be. There probably wasn't a staff member on board that wasn't willing to give her whatever her heart desired. Tracking him down would be a piece of cake if she really wanted to make it happen. "Don't let her ruin your night," Jasper winked, then kissed her cheek before letting himself out. He was glad he was going to miss the rampage that would follow.