Just a day, just an ordinary day. who: Eden and Jasper what: When a nerd meets a beauty queen where: Washington Monument when: Friday Afternoon warnings: Cute
Eden had decided to take a half of day of school and do some sight seeing around the nation's capital. She had never been to DC before and really wanted to do some touristy things. She was currently by the Washington Monument and was wondering why a giant penis made of stone was a cornerstone of Washington. She shrugged to herself and took a picture anyway, wanting to post them on her facebook later. After some pictures she started wandering around, thinking she might need a cup of coffee.
Jasper had finished a tour and was walking around DC for what felt like the bazillionth time. Truth be told it probably was the bazillionth, if not more. Being a tour guide meant he went around the city multiple times a day and after a couple years of doing so, repeatedly, he'd definitely discovered something new every time he made a trip. Today that something new happened to be a beautiful girl who looked a little like she might be lost, or at least new to the area. Probably a tourist considering his luck, but he couldn't just let her walk on by and not at least catch her name. So he mustered up his courage and took himself over to the girl with a flash of a smile. "Hello, love." he murmured, offering out a hand. "Forgive me for saying you look a little lost. Are you new to our nation's lovely capitol?" he asked.
Eden certainly wasn't expecting to hear a British accent, especially one belonging to a proper looking man who was actually pretty adorable when she laid her eyes on him. She smiled and took the offered hand. "I'm just sort of wandering. I just moved here." she said. "Though it wouldn't be your nation with that accent." she said a bit teasingly. "I'm Eden."
"Well no." he said admittedly. "At least not from birth. I'm from England. Ipswich actually. I'm sure you already figured that out by the accent though, so forgive me again, this time for babbling like a fool." He chuckled nervously and felt like a complete fool. Damn these gorgeous American girls. And this one with her country twang that he didn't hear very often around these parts. And a name that was the most beautiful of all. Eden. It suited her. "But, it's my nation now since I'm a citizen." he finally finished. "And my name is Jasper." he added. "Jasper Osbourne."
He did talk quite a bit, but she found she was more than happy to listen. American girls were a sucker for a British accent. "Nice to meet ya, Jasper Osbourne." she said with a smile. "I was actually looking to get some coffee. Could you show me where there's some good coffee?" she asked, hoping he would agree and perhaps even join her. He was very charming for all he was an obvious nerd. The bow tie sort of gave that away.
"I could show you where to get just about anything around here." he admitted. "See, I'm a tour guide so I know the city better than most people who live here do." he chuckled. "But yes, I can show you a place to get some good coffee. There's a quaint little cafe not far from here if you don't mind me accompanying you there. It's a bit more difficult to direct than to just show." he murmured, eyes wandering over the girl again. She really was beautiful. More than beautiful honestly, if there was such a thing.
Her eyes lit up and she beamed. "Great! How about I buy you a cup of coffee then maybe you can show me some out of the way places normal tourists don't know about." she said. Eden put her camera around her neck and slipped her arm into his. "Shall we?"
He was surprised when she slipped her arm into his, but he was happily surprised. He grinned at her and nodded. "Sounds like a lovely day to me. I don't have another tour until later this evening so we've got plenty of time to explore. So, are you a tourist, Eden?" he asked her.
"Fantastic." she said as they began their walk to the cafe. "Today I am, other days I'm a student and just recently I'm also a landscaper." she said, her eyes dancing. Eden liked to tease and joke around and something about him brought out her playful side.
Student. He immediately assumed college because she carried herself like a girl in her early twenties. That wasn't very much younger than him, so he didn't worry about it much. He had no idea, however, that when she said student, she meant high school. "A landscaper? Really? I have to admit that I wouldn't have pictured you as a landscaper, love." he grinned.
Eden chuckled and couldn't help but get the warm fuzzies every time he called her 'love'. British accents were so hot. "Well, I'm more of a gardener as it were. I have a little extra help in that department." she said, wiggling her fingers at him to indicate magic.
He arched a brow at what she had to say. "Help?" he questioned, his voice a bit knowing if anything. "How so?" he asked her, playing dumb. "Are you a witch, Edie?" he murmured teasingly. "I knew there had to be something about you. Bewitching nature and all. I'm right, aren't I?" he grinned.
Eden laughed as her cheeks flushed a bit red from his little nickname for her. "Not quite." she said. She glanced around and found a small patch of flowers beginning to wilt. She all but dragged him over and leaned down, plucking one of the half dead flowers. Using her power, the tulip bloomed with new life and she offered it to him. "Guess again."
Well that was surprising. He couldn't help but look a bit awestruck when she bloomed a flower right before his very eyes. "Outstanding." he breathed out as he reached out and plucked the flower from her fingertips. "Beautiful. I suppose this means that you've got the green thumb to beat all green thumbs?" he asked. "An elemental. Earth."
The look on his face put an even wider smile on Eden's. "That would be correct." she said with a giggle. This was the most carefree she had felt in quite a long time. There was something almost magical about a simple day out and about, no stress, just fun. In a world full of chaos, these were the times Eden held most dear. "Ever need help with a garden, I'm the one to call."
"Well I suppose it's grand that I've run into you." he told her. "You see my thumb is anything but green." he admitted. "I swear plants run in horror when they see me. Wilting immediately and curling up to die. They know it's inevitable that it'll be their fate regardless." he chuckled. "Perhaps I'll need your services at some point. Though I might need them multiple times if you want your lovely work to do any good." he chuckled. He really was a horrible gardener.
Eden laughed as they continued on their way to get coffee. "I'd be more than happy to help. Everyone deserves the beauty of flora around them, even those with black thumbs." she said, smiling up at him.
"Mine's most definitely black." he told her. "You'll see if you ever do find your way to my home. There isn't a sign of plant life for miles." he teased. He wasn't quite that bad, but he wasn't exaggerating all that much.
She shook her head with a wide grin. "I'll have to fix that." she said as they came to the cafe. The smell of the baked goods coming from it was intoxicating and it made her stomach rumble a bit audibly, which caused her to blush. "Sorry...lunch was a bit ago apparently." she said with a giggle.
It was adorable, that flush on her cute little cheeks. He flushed a bit himself when he spent more than the required time admiring that bit of scarlet that had taken root on the girl's face. "Well if you're up for a snack, they have wonderful croissants."
She smiled up at him. "That sounds good to me." she said as they went in. She ordered herself and raspberry mocha truffle latte and a warm croissant with boysenberry jam and handed over her bank card. "Get anything you like." she said to him as she noticed some teenage girls looking at her and whispering. She was hoping to go a few weeks before being recognized but it seemed she was out of luck. "We should go eat outside somewhere, it's nice out. Maybe some little out of the way place you might know of?" She was wanting to avoid being spotted as much as possible.
Jasper, while she was busy looking at those girls, handed the man his own bank card. He wasn't going to let her pay for herself, let alone him. He ordered a croissant and a coffee for himself before tucking his card into his wallet again and handing hers back to her. "I've got this." he told her. "Can't let a lady pay for my meal." he pointed out with a smile. As for her question, he nodded. "I know a quaint little park. There are a few benches out of the way, beneath a large oak. I'm sure you'll love it."
She looked up at him with a quirk of her lips and the moment their coffee and snack were handed to him, rushed him out of the cafe just as the girls were taking pictures with their cellphones. Perfect. Just what she needed. Once those hit the Internet, she was doomed. The whole country would know where she was. She could kill her mother for forcing her into pageants and in turn making her a kind of celebrity. "Thank you for the coffee and snack." she said, seemingly much more calm now.
He wasn't sure what the hell had just happened, but he nodded at her gratitude. "Don't mention it." he murmured. "It was my pleasure." He started off in the direction of the park that was luckily not very far away. "So, where are you from, Eden?"
She sipped her coffee as they walked, taking in some of the sights. "Texas." she said with a smile. "My accent likely gave it away." She had been drilled to speak properly for the pageants, but her accent was still thick even if she didn't use any of the slang.
"A bit, yes." he admitted. "Though I can't really fault you for an accent when mine is as thick as yours is, if not more so." he chuckled. He was actually quite fond of her accent. It was adorable.
She chuckled and as they round a corner she guessed this was the park. "Oh this is nice." she said with a smile. Once they reached the glass she kicked off her shoes and help them, letting the plants about her spring up without scolding them.
"It is." he agreed as he led her over to a bench beneath a large tree, shaded by it's branches. "This is the spot." he told her as he sat down and let her sit as well. "Quite and out of the way, just like you requested." he smiled.
"Thank you." she said softly as she sat beside him, the tree branches leaned down almost as if to pet her, making her giggle as she returned the favor to the tree. "Yes, you're beautiful." she crooned to the tree.
Those words were true of Eden as well. Beautiful. It was a word that certainly described the pretty little thing. "I'm surprised she doesn't want to shrivel up with me around. Or scold you for being in my presence." he chuckled.
Eden laughed. "No worries. My bright green thumb cancels out your back one." she said, her eyes dancing with mirth. She shooed the tree so she could eat, leaning back on the bench and soaking in the sun like a plant would.
"Good to know." he said as he tore a bit of his croissant off and ate it. Something so simple as being on a bench with a pretty girl had him in a spectacular mood and he hoped it would continue on into the evening. "So are you staying in D.C. or are you going back to Texas?" he questioned after a moment.
"Staying." she said firmly as she sipped her coffee. "I like it here, and I know my brother needs the company." She always worried about Landon, being alone in his house. She liked the idea of staying with him and keeping him company. Not to mention taking over chores she knew he disliked. And she was away from their parents. It all worked out.
He wasn't sure what made her leave Texas, but he didn't feel it was his place to ask her so he didn't. He smiled though, at her words about her brother. It was nice to see someone who actually gave a damn about their family when most people didn't. "I don't have any siblings." he admitted. "Do you just have the one brother?"
"I have one brother and three sisters." she said with a crooked smile. "I'm the baby of the family." Eden had never minded much being the baby, especially since Landon had always tried to treat her like a kid and not like the pageant girl she was. Even now he was trying to let her have a childhood, even though she was already seventeen. "Sometimes I wish I was an only child or it was just me and Landon though."
"I think that always the way of it." he told her. "When you've got one thing, you always wonder what it would be like if you had it the other way. Curly haired girls want straight hair, middle children want to be only children, grass is always greener on the other side sort of thing." he shrugged. Sometimes he felt a bit bad for his own child for being the only one and growing up with a single parent. He didn't, however, mention that just yet. He already had being a dorky guy working against him, springing a child on the girl wasn't the smartest thing to do, he thought.
"I guess you're right." she said with a smile. "I'm happy now, being here though. It is just me and Landon here and I have a lot more opportunity here than I did down home." Here she could be an actual person and not Miss Teen USA. Of course, that lingering fear of being spotted too soon was there.
He nodded. "I understand that. I feel the same way. England is marvelous, don't get me wrong, but I just felt that we had a lot more opportunity here than there." he smiled. "America has always been the land where dreams come true after all, right? Guess that's no different where I'm concerned. Is Texas a lot different than here?" he asked. "I mean I'm sure there aren't hay fields completely covering the state or cows wandering down the road, but I've never been to Texas."
She noticed he said we and felt a little down, thinking he must have a girlfriend. She was probably posh and British. Just her luck. "Texas is a lot different in both negative and positive ways." she said. "There's a lot of redneck racism and stuff like that but there's also beautiful landscapes and I definitely miss horseback riding."
"Well I know there are a couple stables around the city." he told her. "Perhaps not as elaborate as Texas stables, but it's better than nothing at all. And there's some beautiful landscape to take in here as well." he added with the flash of a smile. "But we are a bit less redneck. I think."
She laughed. "I'm definitely glad for the lack of rednecks." she said with a grin. She liked the diversity of DC. Even on the pageant circuit it was assumed she a racist for simply being Miss Texas. Here she could blend in much more. "You know, I'm really glad I met you." she said with a smile.
"I'm glad I met you as well." he murmured. "And I assure you I'm the farthest from redneck as possible." he told her. Gently pulling his shirt a little away from his neck to prove it to her teasingly. "See, not a trace of red." he chuckled. "Perhaps you'll decide to see me again if I'm lucky."
Eden grinned and peeked as his neck, her eyes playful. "Nope, nice and pale." she said with a giggle. "And I think we're both lucky. I'd love to spend more time together. You can show me all the best things about DC so I don't get lost every time I step out the door."
Well if she was going to spend time with him, she should probably know that he had a bit of baggage, not that his son wasn't the most amazing baggage he'd ever been fortunate enough to know. "Well I'd love that." he murmured. "But most of my off time, especially evenings, aren't spent alone so if you'd be willing to have company a few times more than just myself, that would be lovely." Goodbye, nerdy daddy, goodbye.
Now she was confused. She wanted him to hang out with him and his girlfriend? Weird. "Um, sure, I guess...Are you sure your girlfriend will be ok with that?" she asked, feeling a bit awkward.
"Girlfriend?" he said, surprised. "Oh, love, I don't have a girlfriend. I mean not anymore. It's a long story." he sighed. "An extremely depressing one, honestly, which I'll tell you at some point I'm sure, but no, I meant my son. Lennon. He's seven."
Eden blinked several times before her face went bright red. "Oh! I'm sorry, I just assumed...Sorry." she said, rubbing the back of her neck, completely embarrassed. "I definitely don't mind sharing time with your son though...I love kids."
"No need to be sorry, Edie. I mean I guess I should have explained before. It's just the two of us. His mother died during childbirth." he elaborated. "Then we moved here and honestly I haven't even thought about dating very much since then. It's been a rough road and all, but if you don't mind spending time with him as well, then you can have me whenever you'd like." That had certainly gone better than he'd expected.
When he mentioned dating, she blushed yet again. Eden hadn't done a whole lot of dating in her life but maybe it was time. "I'm sorry it's been so hard for you..." she said, gently taking his hand. "I'd be more than happy to spend time with both of you." she said and gave him a smile.
"No need to be sorry." he told her once more. "But thank you all the same. I'm sure he'll win you over with one lopsided grin. He knows he's adorable." he explained. "He uses it to his advantage. I think he's a cute ninja or something, I swear. Or a little mini superhero and his power is cuteness. It can get him out of anything he's in trouble for." he laughed. Shifting, he reached into his pocket for his wallet and opened it to a picture of his son. "See? Adorable. It's irresistible."
Eden's face lt up when he brought out the picture of his son. "Oh, he is adorable!" she cooed, looking over the picture. "Hey, here's an idea. Maybe we can have a little picnic here one of these day, you, me and your little man."
"That sounds like a splendid idea." he told her as he closed the wallet and put it back into his wallet. "But only if you're sure." he murmured. He didn't want to feel like he was forcing her into hanging out with him. He wanted it to be her decision.
"Of course! I'm not going to not be your friend just because you have a kid. I'm from Texas. Most 14 year olds have kids there." she said with a laugh. "I'm warning you though, I'll likely spoil him." She was already thinking of ways to spoil the adorable little man.
Well, that made him feel better. Not that fourteen year olds had kids in Texas, but that she didn't mind being friends with him even if he did have a child. He grinned at her and pushed some of his hair away from his face. "So, should I ask for your number or give you mine?" he questioned. "Or both?" Both sounded like a good idea to him.
"We'll exchange numbers." she said, pulling out the rank new iphone 4S she had just splurged on for herself. She put her arm around him and leaned her cheek against his, holding up her phone. "Smile!" she said and took a picture of them both for his contact pic.
He smiled, and flushed all at the same time. "You'll have to send that one to me." he commented once she began to start storing the picture. He gave her his number and then reached for his own phone. It was much less fancy - and he found himself envious of her iPhone if he was being honest - but it worked and that was all that mattered.
Eden saved the picture and his number, then sent him the picture. "There, now you have the picture and my number." she said with a smile. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon and she knew Landon would be home from work soon. "As much as I hate to say it, I have to get going. My brother needs to be fed." she said.
He grinned and went ahead and stored her number and picture into his phone. He frowned a little at knowing she was about to be leaving, but he agreed with a little nod. "I should be going too." he admitted. "But it was lovely meeting you, Eden." he smiled. "Don't hesitate to call or text me. I'm getting the hang of texting. It's quite fascinating actually. If you'd believe it, Lennon seems to be more adapt at it than me." he chuckled.
She chuckled then leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the coffee and company. I'll talk to you soon. You're welcome to call or text me anytime too." She got up from the bench, shouldering her bag. "Have a good night, Jasper." she said before giving him a little wave and trotting off. Her first new friend. She was so excited!
He flushed so brightly that he was sure she could feel the heat against her lips. "You're welcome." he murmured, barely managing not to stutter the words out. "You too." he said as he watched her walk off into the sunset. He wasn't sure he'd ever see her again, but at least he'd made the first step in actually having a conversation with someone. For the first time, he didn't even feel guilty. A step in the right direction.