Wednesday, 11/7/07 Who: Jane and Simon When: Night Where: The kitchen What: Baking cookies! And no, that's not code for something else... yet.
Simon crept through the cafeteria doors, holding his breath. He was positive he was about to get caught, that Charlie would pop out behind a corner, shining a flashlight in his face. He was positive it was a joke, and Jane wasn't going to be here, and he was going to look like a moron. But there was a light on in here, and why would there be a light if he wasn't expected? He walked past the empty tables. Everything looked ominous in the dark, spooky and foreboding. His heart was thudding wildly in his chest. He flexed his fingers, hoping they didn't set something on fire again. He shouldn't have been this nervous.
"Hello?" he called out quietly, pushing open the door to the kitchens. He'd never been back here before, and it felt strange and foreign. "Jane?"
---
Of course it wasn't a prank. What kind of woman did he take her for. She would never do something that cruel and vindictive to anyone! At least not to someone who didn't deserve it. She was in fact in the kitchen getting everything ready, the oven on preheat, the ingredients all laid out upon the counter. Of course the counter made her smirk because, well, Wesley, but she certainly wouldn't be mentioning that tonight. There were some things that people didn't need to know and that was certainly one of them.
"I'm back here!" Jane called out from the far left corner of the massive kitchen. She looked much more casual tonight than she had when she had seen Simon earlier in the day. Her chestnut hair was pulled up into a loose bun and she wore a simple white tank top and a pair of plaid pajama pants. Her feet were bare, a huge no no when she was working, but she really disliked wearing shoes, especially when she was cooking.
"I wasn't sure you were going to show up." She said when he finally appeared in view. Of course that was a bit of a fib as she would have been shocked if he didn't. Of course, when dealing with someone as young and shy as Simon, you never really could tell what would happen.
---
Simon walked around the industrial sized kitchen, running a hand over the appliances, over the counters. Everything was so smooth and shiny, and he felt like he was in a cooking factory. So this was where the magic happened, so to speak. He was wearing what he'd worn in class that day, his jeans (one of the two pairs that were still long enough) and his sweatshirt, sleeves singed.
Jane had already laid everything out for them, which impressed him. It also made him feel a little useless. "You told me to show," he said simply, admiring the glistening knives in the butcher block. The handles alone were bright and sleek, he could only imagine the blades. "It would have been rude for me not to." He was a boy with manners, and even though he hadn't been sure if she'd be here or not, she would show.
"So, is there anything I can do?" he asked, mosying back over to her at the counter.
---
Jane couldn't help but to notice the way that he was admiring things. She had to imagine that this was his first time in the kitchen here, or any kitchen of this magnitude really. She had popped that cherry a long time ago herself when she had decided she wanted to spend a few years learning how to become a Master Chef! It had been productive, sort of. At least it landed her a job at a safe place for right now.
A smile formed upon her lips at his answer and she gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Some people don't mind being rude." She knew he wasn't one of them though. He had manners. He had been brought up right, well, at least in that respect. And that was part of the reason why she liked him, that and the way that he looked at things like everything was new. And to him, it probably was.
"Of course. We're going to do this together." She smiled. "Come on over here. Wait, go wash your hands first. This could get messy." She preferred to mix things by hand, not with a spoon or a whisk like so many other people used. She liked to be able to feel what she was making.
---
"Well, my mom raised me better than that." He knew that his mother had made a lot of mistakes, and that he had every right to be angry at her for a great many things. But she had raised him to be respectful, honest and kind. Those were lessons he would thank her for every day of his life. Simon unzipped his sweatshirt and placed it gently on a counter beside the door, going to the sink and washign his hands thoroughly.
"My mom and I used to bake sometimes," he said, watching her place a few ingredients into the bowl. "We had a gas oven. She'd yell at me sometimes... I'd watch the fire really close, and she... worried." Worried was putting it mildly. "Can I crack the eggs please?" he asked. He liked to tap them against the side of the bowl, watch the yolks drip out into the mix below.
---
"I know." Jane replied, and would have felt a bit of envy if she could have heard his thoughts about his mother. She had never had one, you see. She was created, not born. And she knew nothing of parents and how those relationships worked though they fascinated her. And she always imagined that one day she would get to experience something like that. One day perhaps she would become a parent and learn about the way that worked from that end of things. But she had plenty of time for that, that is if she could even procreate. She wasn't entirely sure about that just yet.
Jane started to put some of the more usual ingredients in the bowl. Flour, baking soda, a pinch of salt, a little bit of nutmeg because it gave the cookies themselves more flavor. "So I take it you are... a fire mage?" He wasn't a demon, she knew that much for sure. She could smell one of those usually a mile away. He had to be human, or mostly. But he obviously had some sort of pyrokinetic power. "Crack away." She said, and shoved the bowl towards him, a small bowl to the side with just enough eggs for the batch set out. They mixed better if they were allowed to get slightly warm.
---
Simon cracked the eggs on the side of the bowl, smiling proudly because he could do it with one hand. "Fire mage," he said, nodding. "And part nymph, whatever that means." He hadn't known when a scout told him that's what he was, and he didn't know now. "I'm getting pretty good with my abilities. I can light a cigarette with my finger! Well, I think I can. I can light paper, so that's pretty much the same, right?"
It was suprisingly easy being with Jane right now. He'd been so nervous coming in, and when he'd first approached her in the bar... well, it had been a miracle that he hadn't thrown up or passed out. She was so unbelieveably sexy, and totally confident. It wasn't a fasle confidence either, like Cissy had. It was real and pure and overwhelming. Shooting pool with her had made him feel out of his element. Sitting in the cafeteria with her, with everyone staring at her, had made him feel self-conscious. But now, since they were alone and she was pretty much in her pajamas, Simon felt a lot more comfortable.
"So... I don't want to sound rude, but I was kind of curious as to what it is you do? You know I manipulate fire, but I don't know anything about you."
---
His smile was sweet. And it made her smile too. Simple things. Too many people forgot about the simple things. And she always wanted to remember them all. Always. She had spent too long not knowing anything about any of them. "I think that's like... Well..." She laughed. "I don't really know." She wasn't really as well versed on the supernatural as she could be simply because they never really held much interest for her. She liked humans though. She had always liked humans. She liked watching them cycle through life. It was something she could only really experience by proxy. "I take it you don't smoke either." A nasty habit, but one that she liked simply because she enjoyed the feel of the smoke burning inside of her lungs.
Jane was intimidating, sure, but she was really.. well, kind of down to earth. And she was confident. Why wouldn't she be? She was practically a God and she had been created in a rather nice image. But she was genuine in everything. She refused to live a lie. She only wanted to experience life in all of its facets.
"Hmm.." She said, and then reached over to grab the bowl of chocolate chips. "Semi-sweet. And always a good brand. Cookies are worthless if you don't use quality ingredients and the milk chocolate doesn't make it nearly as rich." She wasn't changing the subject, just explaining before she dumped those in. "Ever heard of a Djinn?" There were a lot of people who hadn't.
---
He watched Jane pour the chips into the bowl, grabbing one quickly and popping it into his mouth. "Actually, I have heard of one!" he declared, pleased. Odds were usually in favor that he would not know what someone was talking about in regards to supernaturals. But there had been a djinn at his last school, and he'd read up on it. "That's really neat. A lot more intersting than being a fire mage, anyway. Not that I'm complaining. There are worse things to be." It didn't so anyone any good to dwell on what they didn't have, or commiserate on how bad their problems were. It could always be better, and it could always be worse.
"I don't smoke," he told her, havng mulled the question over a moment. "I tried it, though, and... it sounds really bad because I know they cause cancer and all that, but I really liked it. It felt smooth, you know, and almost... natural. That probably makes sense because I've got fire running through me, but... I don't know. It doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem like me."
---
"Really?" That shocked her a little. "Well color me impressed." She teased him, a smile gracing her lips as she moved from the counter over to the cupboard to grab out the rest of the chocolate that they didn't need to use, putting the bag down in front of him so that he could help himself. "It's... well, yeah, interesting but.." Jane gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Everything has its downside. What I am is no exception to that rule." Like the constant fear of being captured again. "And, I doubt I have to say this but... let's just keep that between you and I. I don't usually tell people what I am." But he seemed trustworthy enough.
"Oh!" Jane said, looking over at him with that look that indicated that clearly she had just figured something out. "That's what a nymph is! I knew I knew that. It's.. well it's sort of like an elemental, almost, though an elemental is created by their element. A nymph, however, is sort of like.. bound to and fueled by their element. So fire and everything that goes along with it is what you thrive on." She nodded her head. "That's probably why it feels natural. Because it is." She shrugged her shoulders slightly.
---
Jane could not have found a better secret keeper. Simon nodded, assuring her that her secret was safe in his keeping. He didn't know all the specifics about being a djinn, but he did know that they were fairly vulnerable in the wrong hands. He didn't think anyone at this school would take advantage of her, but he didn't know all that many people. He was starting to learn that not everyone was what they seemed on the surface, and not everyone was as innocent as he was.
Her exclaimation surpised him, and he listened to her carefully. "That makes a lot of sense," he said, thinking about it. "Sometimes I do feel like I'm just a carrier, and everything's buzzing around in there doing whatever it wants." Mostly when he was nervous, or scared, he could actually feel his innards pulsing. He wondered how it all worked, since no doctor had ever found actual fire inside of him. Was there any way to look at magic? That would be awesome.
"I really wish I could smoke, only without all the side effects to it. I don't think lung cancer and gross skin is worth it." He stole a handful of chocolate chips, dropping them one by one on his mouth. "Mmm," he hummed, pleased. Chocolate- yum. "Cigarettes should be like chocolate- something to indulge in but mostly harmless." He let the chips melt on his tongue, smirking. There were quite a few advantages to using fire, and melting chocolate was one of them.
---
"That has to be an interesting feeling." Jane could not claim to relate. Well, there were times when she felt like her body was liquid, but that was usually due to some sort of drug that she had decided to try and had nothing at all to do with what she was or how that worked. Though how it really did work she didn't have the slightest idea.
"Maybe you can." Jane said, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. "It's possible that, considering it is such a part of you, that it won't actually affect you the way that it does other people." Or he could just smoke weed. It didn't have the same side effects that tobacco did in that sense, and it would still burn and feel just the same. "Everything should be like chocolate." She said, and reached over to steal a chip of her own.
"Okay, so now that it's all in there, we need to mix it up." And this was where it got messy. Because Jane dived in, fingers first, using them to knead the ingredients together. "I don't believe in the use of spoons for this part. And really, you can tell a difference even if some people would argue that that's not at all the case."
---
"Interesting, yeah," he agreed. "But dangerous, I think. Like if you shake up a bee hive. Sometimes it gets out of hand when I don't want it to, like when I'm nervous or if I-" He stopped, blushing hard. No way was he going to tell her about almost setting his sheets on fire. That was personal stuff.
"Maybe. Still, it's a bad habit. And it smells, so... probably one of those temptations I'll avoid." He didn't have any vices, and it was probably better that way. Life was simpler without addictions.
"I hate using spoons in cookie dough," he admitted. "If the dough is what it should be, it's too hard to stir. My mom never let me use my hands, though. At least, not while she was looking." He grinned at Jane playfully. "Then of course I'd sneak off into the bathroom and lick all the dough off my fingers. Probably not a great idea with the raw eggs and stuff, but cookie dough is just too delicious."
---
Jane noticed the way that he blushed and that was enough for her to finish the sentence for him inside of her head. She grinned like a Cheshire cat and nodded her head. "That has to be interesting." Young supernaturals. She had found a new fascination. Any supernatural she had known in the past had been along enough in years to have control. That lack of control could be... quite entertaining.
"Well I don't think it's all that bad in moderation." Jane remarked, and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Like I, for example, smoke once in a while. If someone has one and they offer it, I take it." She shrugged again. "I just never go out and buy them." She laughed. The concept of buying things, of spending money, was a bit foreign to her as well. Everything she owned, someone had given to her. And yet she had stacks upon stacks of cash, which she knew what it was for, hidden away in her room that she never spent on anything at all.
"Exactly! And then when you use a spoon, it doesn't really mix right." It made no sense to her at all why anyone would want to ruin a perfectly good batch of cookies by using the spoon. She grinned though and pulled her hand out of the mixture, holding up a finger. "That's the best part of making cookies. You get to eat the dough." She popped that finger in her mouth then. Raw eggs be damned.
---
'Interesting' wasn't the term for it. Scary, overwhelming, amazing... those were better words. But he didn't say anything, just nodded a little, focusing on the batter. He'd only had sex the one time, he was nowhere near comfortable talking about it yet. Especially not with a beautiful stranger.
Simon wouldn't have to worry about buying himself cigarettes, because he didnt have any money. But Jane's method seemed pretty smart. Social smoking, he believed it was called. That would work. He didn't exactly have a social life, so deciding to only smoke while being social would pretty much eradicate the problem.
Simon grinned when Jane did, amused with how young and innocent she was right now. How could anyone be anything but adorable mixing cookie batter with their hands? And she seemed so pleased with herself about it as well. Of course, the innocence made his next reaction to her all the more potent. She was stunningly beautiful, and incredibly sexy. She was in her pajamas, they were alone, and she was licking batter off her finger. Simon's heart fell into his stomach, a bright flush creeping up his neck. But he couldn't look away from her mouth, her lips pouty and perfectly shaped. Thank God the countertop was high and she couldn't see below his waist. Simon forced himself to look back into the bowl. Don't think about it, he told himself. Think about something, about anything else. But it was already a bit late for that. Damn his hormones, damn puberty and damn his vivid imagination!
---
In a lot of ways, Jane was innocent. But that was mostly just because she refused to grow up. And she hadn't had a typical experience in doing so regardless. But yes, who wouldn't look quite innocent in their pajamas, their hair a mess, and cookie dough all over their hands? And though it wasn't exactly her intention to illicit such a response as she did from him with her present actions, she could read him as clear as day as the flush crept up over his features and he forced himself to look away.
Now the question became this; did she mention it or did she let it go? Hmm. She had to consider that carefully for a moment as she finished up the last of the cookie dough upon her fingers. Her actions were well thought out as she reached over and smeared cookie dough down his cheek then laughed. "You've got a little something on your face."
No, he wasn't at all ready for her to take things quite that far.
---
Simon had been focusing so hard on not focusing on Jane, that he didn't notice her reaching for him until he felt the gooey glob on his face. "Ah!" he cried out, which was soon followed by a giggly "Hey!" He wiped the goop off his face, licking it off his own fingers. "Gross," he told her, smiling. He was eternally grateful that she hadn't noticed how suddenly uncomfortable he'd become, or if she had noticed she hadn't said anything.
He grabbed a bit of cookie dough between his fingers, popping it in his mouth. It was gooey and warm, but the chips were crunchy and solid. It was like how cookie dough was in ice cream. "So Jane, where do you come from, anyway?" he asked, chewing. "You don't really have any kind of accent. You from Boston?" Of course, people from Boston usually had a very distinct accent, but Simon did not know this.
---
His reaction was priceless and she knew in that moment that she had made the right decision as far as what she should, or shouldn't, do. She didn't want him to run off screaming, after all, though she did doubt that was the response she would have gotten had she decided to actually make mention of his present state of being. But why rush things? The build-up was half the fun, after all.
"I.." Jane said, reaching to grab the wax paper so she could spread it on the counter for them to roll the dough out on. "Am from everywhere." She smirked a little and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "I don't really have a home." She dumped the bowl of dough on the paper and grabbed the rolling pin. "I'm not even sure where I was created, actually." And at this next part, which she didn't typically divulge, her voice got a bit softer, a bit vulnerable, holding none of the usual confidence it displayed. "I spent the first few centuries of my existence in servitude to a Master."
Jane glanced over at Simon just before she began rolling out the dough. "That wasn't very much fun." And it was clear that that was quite the understatement.
---
"A woman of the world, eh?" he teased, putting his elbow on the counter and holding his chin in his hand. It sounded very intriguing, having nowhere to call home. A little sad, though. Where you came from helped determine who you were, at least Simon thought so. he couldn't be the same person if he'd been raised in a city, or in a secluded farm town.
He noticed the change in her voice, and it made his smile falter. He could not imagine that serving under a master was any kind of fun at all. "Oh, that's sad," he said softly. And to think, she had said centuries. He couldn't even imagine how awful that must have been for her. He could tell that she didn't like thinking about this subject, and he didn't like how the sparkle was suddenly gone from her eyes. He frowned a moment, thinking. "You're doing that all wrong," he said finally, straightening up and bumping her out of the way with his hip. He took the rolling pin gently, setting to work on rolling out the dough on the counter. She hadn't been doing it wrong at all, and he was doing pretty much exactly what she had been. But they needed to get off the topic of her past, and he wanted to be subtle about it. Making her laugh would be a bonus.
---
"A woman of many worlds." Maybe they were all terrestrial, but she had seen the world change so much so many different times that it really was like being in an entirely different world sometimes when she would decide that it was time for her to bring herself out of hiding and invent a life for herself once more.
Yes, she hated talking about her past, but that did make her who she was today. She may not have been as free-spirited, may not have had the same desire for life and the same drive to live life had she not been forced to bend to someone's will for all those years when she first came into existence. As for her doing it all wrong, well, she knew better than that, but the smile did come back, the sparkle in her eyes, as he bumped her with his hip and took over.
"You're doing it exactly the same way I was!" She remarked, then reached over to steal a corner and pop it into her mouth. "Mmm. I'm not even going to want any cookies after they're baked." A lie and she knew it. There was always room for milk and cookies. Always. Though it wasn't true what they said about Jello. Then again, she didn't really like Jello at all.
Jane reached out to steal another piece, though this piece she offered to him instead since his hands were occupied, then she went to grab the cookie cutters and lay them out upon the counter. "So what shapes are we feeling?" She asked, sorting them out.
---
"I am not!" he protested, though by the smirk on his face it was obvious he knew he was lying. "I've added a level of finesse that you could never hope to achieve." Truthfully he'd never rolled out chocolate chip cookie dough, only gingerbread and sugar. So the lumpiness was making it hard to get a smooth finish. Jane wasn't helping any by clipping his corners. "You're messing me up!" he accused, taking the dough from her fingers as chastely as possible. "Mm. Ank oo."
Once satisfied with his job, knowing Jane might need to come back and fix it properly, Simon placed down the rolling pin and picked through the cookie cutters. They were a lot of themed-shaped ones- Christmas trees, snowmen, hearts, gingerbread men. He grabbed whatever wasn't a holiday oriented shape and seperated them from the rest. "I pick these," he declared. "Though I'll probably just make some shapes up as we go." He always tried to create dragons and seahorses and cyclopses on his own, but they always came out as amorphous blobs.
"By the way," he said quietly, "thanks. For this. It's nice to get out of my room, give poor Vinnie a break."
---
"Oh, is that so?" Jane asked, a brow quirking slightly. "Are you saying that I lack finesse?" She teased him, her grin showing that she was not taking him seriously in the least. "You're messing yourself up!" She charged, and then smiled at how chaste he tried to be when taking the dough from between her fingers though honestly, how chaste could one be in a situation like that? "You're welcome."
The dough looked good enough. It wasn't like these were being distributed to the masses or anything. They were just for them and just for fun. "I am going to make a giant cookie." She announced with a grin, then reached over to grab a large hunk of dough to do just that.
The "thank you" caught her off-guard, though it really shouldn't have considering. She smiled, though, and it was her turn to nudge him with her hip. "You're welcome." She replied softly, and then added because it was true, "I'm having a good time. And I definitely think that I should get you out of your room more often."
---
"I would never imply such a thing." And how could he? Just looking at her, he could tell she had finesse, grace, appeal, poise, and about a million other traits that Simon knew he'd never possess. He still could not figure out what attracted women like this to him, but he was probably one of the luckiest men alive because of it. Jane reminded him of Cissy, but in a good way. In a nostalgic way. Baking cookies and making a mess was something Cissy would have done because it was the kind of thing nobody would have expected of her.
While Jane was shaping her giant cookie, Simon pressed a few shapes into the giant mass, picking out pieces and eating them. His mom never let him eat cookie dough, so now he was going to have as much as he wanted. Hopefully he wouldn't die from it. Of course when Jane hip-bumped him he stumbled, being pretty light and fairly easy to knock over. "Aw, now my star is going to be more like a meteor," he said, looking at the squished mess. "Ah, well. That one can be the cyclops." He smiled shyly at her. He would love for her to get him out of his room more, but he didn't want her to think he was completely pathetic. Even though he was. "I'll admit, I'm having more fun here than I was in that bar. It's just not my kind of place, I guess."
---
Jane could never and would never speak for anyone else, but as far as she was concerned, what attracted her to him was the fact that he was... well exactly the way that he was. He was funny and shy and sweet and charming in a sort of off kilter sort of way. He was most definitely a diamond in the rough and she was quite aware that not everyone would see it but she was certainly good at recognizing it and if she knew a thing about this other girl, she'd be willing to bet that she was as well.
The remark about the star becoming a meteor made her laugh and she nodded at her own cookie where she was trying to round out the edges. "This one is starting to look more and more like the blob every minute." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Who cares though, right? As long as they're edible." That was really all that mattered. She smiled and shrugged once again. "There is a time and a place for everything, even trips to a bar." She glanced over at him with a smirk tugging at her lips. "Maybe you only went because you were meant to meet me."
She plopped her giant cookie down on the cookie sheet and then reached over to get some more dough. Before too long, they'd all be shaped and ready to bake and she'd put them in the oven on the correct temperature then slide up onto a counter top to sit and wait.
---
"Maybe I was," Simon admitted shyly. He didn't really believe in fate or things like that, but it did seem very coincidental that he'd happened to strike up conversation with the one person in the bar who happened to work at the school. Or rather, James had forced him to strike up conversation. Still.
He hopped up on the counter beside her, figuring that if she was up there then it was okay for him to be as well. "The longest ten minutes ever," he said. "Waiting for cookies to bake." They sat there a little bit, in comfortable quiet. He could imagine hanging out with Jane a lot, even though there was a vast difference in ages. Now he could understand how Cissy could be such good friends with Ric. He didn't like it still, and never would, but now the concept of having a friend so much older than you wasn't so strange. "You remind me of my ex girlfriend," he said after awhile. "Meeting her was kind of an impulse, too. Not mine. Kind of like... I was fated to meet her. Like you." He looked down at the floor, swinging his feet a little. "She was way out of my league, too," he confessed. "But she didn't make me feel like that. You're both just... nice."
---
"What are the odds otherwise?" Jane asked, seeming to speak the very thoughts that were inside of his head though she had no idea that that's what he was thinking. "I was probably the only person in that entire place that knew what TJS really was and I'm the one you spoke to." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Seems a bit fated to me."
Sitting on the counter was absolutely NOT okay, but she didn't care either way. They were all sanitized every morning before use regardless. His comment made her laugh as she nodded her head in agreement, kicking her feet back and forth as she waited in silence.
His words caused her to arch a brow, however, as she glanced over at him. "Is that good or bad?" Usually exes were exes for a reason in her experience. She smiled a little as she looked forward and said simply, "I am not out of your league." She laughed a little as she added, "And I'm really not all that nice either."
--- "Okay," Simon agreed, "so let's say that it was fate. What's the purpose, do you suppose? I can't imagine it was just to bake cookies."
He blushed a little. "It's good," he said. "She was... wonderful." Simon couldn't help but smile fondly when he thought about Cissy. Despite everything she put him through, all their problems and her insecurities, she was still his first love and he would always care about her. But how could Jane not think she was out of his league? "Of course you are," he said, sounding suprised. "You're sexy and smart and fun and confident. You're in league with Brad Pitt, not some teenager." He wasn't complaining, he was just stating a fact.
Simon tilted his head to look up at her. "You've been nice to me," he said honestly. "You're patient and kind and you went to all this trouble for me. People don't... do this stuff for me. That's pretty nice." Her eyes were nice, too. She had a way of looking through a person, but there was somethign else in there, too. Playfulness. "I like you anyway."
---
"The same reason that anyone ever meets anyone." Jane said that as though that was the most obvious answer in all the world. And to her, it really was, but probably not to everyone else. And she smiled as she added, "Because there's something to be learned from one another." Simply put, that's all that life was, just one big learning experience. At least that was the way that she felt most of the time.
It was obvious by the way that he talked about the girl that he had cared a great deal about her and still did. Because of that, of course Jane was flattered. It was always nice to be compared to someone that someone found appealing in whatever way. Of course his reaction to the next part was pretty... well.. expected. She laughed a little as she shook her head softly. "First of all, Brad Pitt is entirely overrated." Not that she knew from firsthand experience, but he was certainly not the type that would typically prove to interest her. "Second, you're sweet and funny and.." Hmm. How did she word this next part. "Charming in a completely unassuming and innocent way." Jane gave a small shrug of her shoulders as she added, "I'd say that puts us on rather equal ground."
Jane smiled a little as she then pushed herself down off of the counter so that she could go check on the cookies. "I'm nice to people that deserve it." She said simply, then pulled open the oven door. Almost done. They just needed another minute or two for the tops to brown. She closed the door and looked at Simon once more. "And you seem pretty deserving to me."
---
"I wonder what I will learn from you," Simon said aloud. He only assumed that he would be the one in need of a lesson, that he wouldn't have anything to teach Jane. "Or maybe I won't learn anything at all. Maybe your sole purpose in my life is to bake for me. I'm definitely not complaining, that cookie dough was delicious."
Charming? She thought he was charming? He turned a bit pink. "No, I'd say you're on totally different ground than me." He watched Jane slip off the counter, watched her lithe body bend over to check the oven, watched her head tilt as she checked her baked goods. Watched her mouth form words, her lips soft and smooth. She was a lot like Cissy, in all the good ways. But different, too. Slipping down off the counter, Simon walked over to Jane, slipping his hands onto her waist. He pulled her close, looking into her eyes. He didn't feel scared, didn't worry that she'd turn away. Because so what if she did? If he had learned anything from Cissy, it was that he was capable of withstanding a lot more than he thought.
Her mouth was beautiful, and sensual. He pressed his lips to her, closing his eyes. She tasted like cookie dough.
---
"What makes you think that you're the one that has something to learn?" Jane quirked a brow slightly as she posed the question. If he thought that she had nothing left to learn, or that he had nothing to offer her, he was wrong. Most likely, they'd both learn something from one another. She laughed softly and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "There are worse callings in life."
Typically Jane was not one to be taken by surprise. She usually knew what was going to happen before it happened, but she had not seen this coming. And when she noticed him slide off of the counter, she quirked a brow slightly out of curiosity. She could not have seen this coming had she had all the powers of divination at the tips of her fingers.
His hands were large upon her small waist and he was quite a bit taller than she was, something she noticed just now with him standing directly before her. His eyes were quite lovely, filled with quiet determination. She inhaled a quick breath. His lips tasted like chocolate. And no, she didn't pull away, but she didn't try to make it anything more than he wanted it to be either, though her hands did move up to rest upon his upper arms.
---
Truth be told, he hadn't known he was going to kiss her until the second he'd slid off the counter. But it just suddenly seemed like the best idea he'd ever had, and the fact that she wasn't pulling away only solidified this notion. Simon deepened the kiss, pressing himself against Jane's body. He took his hands off her waist to push her arms tighter around him. He felt in control, something he never felt with Cissy. Jane was so low-key, but incredibly stimulating. His arms were tight around her, his lips parting to massage hers gently. His head was starting to go into a fog, his fingertips tingling. Kissing Jane was incredible, felt forbidden and intense. God, just thinking about the shape of her mouth was enough to arouse him.
He pulled back a little, resting his forehead against hers. This was probably a very bad idea right here. "Those are going to burn," he whispered, smiling a little. But he didn't let go of her just yet. He liked the feel of her body against his, liked how she was making his internal temperature rise. He liked taking charge of the situation.
---
This boy was just full of all sorts of happy surprises. First, he kissed her, not that that was terribly shocking under ordinary circumstances but considering that he was the way he was, it was a huge shock. And then second, and this one was pretty shocking too, he was an amazing kisser. Her body molded itself into his own and she did as she was urged, her arms tightening around him, as a whimper vibrated against his lips, unheard, mostly, but not unfelt. It did feel intense, and kissing wasn't something that always felt that way.
Jane's eyes fluttered open when he finally pulled away, a deep breath inhaled before she made a soft sound of appreciation, her tongue moistening her lips before her gaze moved up to see the smile forming upon his lips. She waited for a moment before she asked, "Are you going to let me go so that I can get them out?" She could have moved if she wanted to, could have easily escaped from his grasp, but she wouldn't dare. She didn't care to.
---
See, Simon was right. Jane was teaching him something. At the moment, she was teaching him that he had sex appeal, and could be desired. She was teaching him to be confident, to trust his instincts no matter how unlikely they felt. And that low moan that vibrated her lips was teaching him that he was apparently good at kissing. He had to think a little before he actually let her go. He didn't want to be the reason her cookies burned.
Simon unwrapped his arms from around her, stepping back and sliding back up onto the counter, waiting. He smiled the entire time he watched Jane worked, admiring her body, the way she moved. "Looks good," he said coyly, catching her eye before adding "the cookies, I mean." His heart was thudding in his ribcage. He couldn't believe what he was saying, how he was acting. He couldn't believe how confident he felt. Mostly, he couldn't believe that he'd kissed a woman who knew how many years older than he was. And he couldn't believe that, once she had put the cookie sheet down, he was going to pull her back and kiss her again.
---
But really it was exactly as she predicted, because Simon was, in turn, teaching her that sometimes looks could be deceiving. She knew this already but this was the first time she had really experienced this lesson in quite this way. He was... entirely unexpected. Confident and cool and nothing like the boy that she had met in the bar just last week and yet he was exactly the same. She wouldn't have minded had the cookies burned though she would be glad, in retrospect, that they didn't.
A smile formed upon her lips as he pulled away and she could feel his eyes upon her as she grabbed the potholder and pulled the cookie sheet out, poking one on top to test and make sure it wasn't too soft or too hard. Fortunately it was neither. Though they had made quite a mess on several of the surfaces in the kitchen and Simon was poised on one of the clean ones, the good thing about a kitchen this size was that there was always somewhere to put things. And it just so happened that the nearest clean surface was just to the right of where Simon sat.
The pan was placed down, the potholder removed from her hand and tossed onto the counter beside it. "Voila!" She said, and then glanced back over at Simon. "We are quite the talented pair, if I do say so myself. They look.. well, edible, at least." They damn sure weren't pretty.
---
She wasn't just sexy. She was adorable. He gave her a nod of approval at her 'voila'. "They look great," he agreed. "I'm sure they'll be delicious as well." Truthfully they looked, well, sad. Blobish and delapidated. But he wans't really interested in them at the moment. Simon stretched his his legs out, hooking his feet around Jane's waist. He pulled her backward until she hit the counter, resting comfortably between his knees. Simon wrapped his legs around her, brushing a few hairs off the back of her neck, kissing it softly. His hands rested on her shoulders, fingertips brushing lightly on her skin. He breathed her in deeply, his mouth moving up along her neck, trailing lightly around her earlobe, up to her temple. His right hand slid the strap of her tank top off her shoulder, his mouth following the trail. "Mmm," he purred, his fingertips growing warmer. Her skin was smooth like porcelin but tasted sweet and soapy.
Shaking a little, Simon's left hand slid down Jane's chest, the tips of his fingers barely slipping beneath her tank top. He could feel her heart beat against his palm. His breath was getting shorter and faster, his mouth kissing more frantically along her skin.
---
Jane laughed at his response and made a slight face. "Are we looking at the same cookies?" She asked, though clearly his mind was elsewhere, and she felt herself being drawn back toward him via his legs which soon wrapped around her as she rested between his thighs, his body warm against her back.
Her neck was one of the most sensitive places upon her entire body, and immediately she could feel her hair stand up on ends, goosebumps forming upon her skin in light of the feel of his lips against her skin. He was so warm and eager. His breath teased against her skin and made her tingle from her head down to her toes as her hands came to rest upon his thighs, lightly trailing fingernails up and down upon them as she tilted her neck and then her head to meet each caress from his lips.
The goosebumps didn't end just on her neck, something he would have found out as his hand moved down over her chest and fingertips lightly grazed the skin just beneath. Her heart was pounding, her pulse racing, as the fervor of his lips against her skin increased. Her own breaths were coming quicker now, a bit more shallow, and her voice came out in a breathy whisper as she asked, "Simon, are you trying to seduce me?"
---
The feel of her hands on his thighs made his heart leap into his throat, a low moan escaping his lips. This was just insane. What the hell was he doing here? This wasn't like him. He never acted this way. But then again, that wasn't a bad thing. Acting like himself had never gotten him anywhere like this. He could practically feel Jane's body melt against him, her skin popping out in goosebumps under his touch. Hesitating slightly, Simon slid his hand lower, her breast fitting easily in his hand. His mouth paused a moment, a light whimper dying in the back of his throat.
"Dunno," he told her honestly, his voice barely a whisper. He didn't know what he expected, where he wanted this to go. He just knew he wanted to touch her, feel her against him, to make the first move and see where it took him. His hand massaged her breast, rolling her nipple between his fingers. It was hard and pert, and he growled against her neck. His erection was already straining against his jeans, but he ignored it for now. His free hand pulled her hair out of its bun, watching her chestnut locks spill onto her neck. Simon pressed his lips on top of her head, his other hand slipping down to cover her other breast.
---
Her lips mimicked that light whimper of his as his hand moved down over her breast. Her nipples were already hard, straining against the skin, begging to be touched. His skin was so hot against her that her own skin seemed cool though she could feel her own internal temperature rising, a flush coming over her skin, creeping from her chest up into her cheeks.
A smirk graced her lips as he replied, her own words coming out low and soft and sultry, "For someone who doesn't know for sure, you're doing a damn good job of it." Of course she would make no attempt to advance things any further. For now, she was simply enjoying being touched, being explored. Her body responded to his touch beautifully, hard nipples growing even harder as she pressed back against him. His growl made her moan just a little and then laugh. "This is completely not what I had in mind when I suggested baking cookies." Not that she was complaining, just commenting.
Jane shook her head once her hair was released, the soft smell of her shampoo teasing her nostrils as the strands spilled down over her shoulders, both of which were bare at this point in time. She pushed back against him as his hand moved down to cover her other breast, nudging him back enough that she could slid up and onto the counter in front of him, the weight of her body now leaning fully back against his own as she craned her face towards him, soft lips seeking out the heat of his own for a kiss.
---
Simon moaned low in response to her voice. So he was successfully seducing her? Seduction led to sex... didn't it? Was that where this was headed? His heart leapt just thinking about it. But it scared the hell out of him, too. Sex was supposed to be special, and for people in love. Of course, his dick was protesting that sex was simply a biological drive, and if Simon didn't acquiesce to his request, he would kill him. It certainly didn't help that Jane was climbing up onto the table in front of him, where her body was pressing against his erection. He thought he might burn a hole through her skin, his skin was getting to hot.
He slid backward enough so she could turn and face him, covering her mouth with his. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Her hair fell across his arm. "Jane," he whispered, running a hand down her stomach. "I don't... I'm not sure if... we should..." He wanted to, really wanted to, but... could he? He kissed her again, harder this time, his tongue pushing past her lips. Yes, he absolutely could do this.
---
Seduction didn't always have to lead to sex. Sure, most of the time it did but.. if he wasn't ready for that, she would respect that. Point in fact, she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to move things along that quickly. It wasn't like she was planning on going anywhere any time soon. And even if their bodies wanted something more to happen, which was pretty obvious on his part and should have been obvious on her part to him as well, that didn't mean that either of them had to listen right now, tonight.
Jane moaned into the kiss, his arms almost too hot, his body almost too warm, but she liked it. Heat. It was one of the things she had always craved, possibly because it was always so damn hot in the place where she was created, the place where she had spent those first few centuries of life.
"Simon," Jane whispered in response, and just before his lips took hers once more, "We don't have to." There would have been more to that, but there wasn't time, so those words fell along the wayside as her tongue danced with his own, a hand moving up to stroke the line of his jaw, fingernails teasing against his skin.
---
Simon could barely think straight. Not that he couldn't, but it was very difficult. He wanted more, a lot more... but he didn't. He didn't want to ruin his friendhsip with Jane, and didn't want to turn into someone who acted recklessly. So though it killed him to do it, Simon pulled away from Jane, biting his lip. "I'm... bad idea," he said, still a little too far gone for complete sentences yet. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He still had chills running through his body.
"I want to... really, really do... but... I'm not that kind of guy." He hoped she wasn't angry about what they might have done, or maybe angry because of what they weren't going to do. "I mean... we're in a kitchen," he chuckled. "I'd like to think I have more class than that."
---
Jane let out a soft groan of protest but she didn't put up much of a fight other than that, simply accepting that he wanted to stop and forcing herself to take a deep breath as well. "No bad ideas, only bad consequences." She remarked with a laugh, her cheeks flushed, full lips even fuller now from kissing. That had been nice. Exciting. She felt like she had been on a roller coaster ride or something with how hard and fast her heart was beating.
"Shh." She said, a finger moving up to press against his lips. "You don't have to explain anything. I don't need you to. I already told you, we don't have to do anything. Although.." She added as she slid off of the counter, being kind enough to keep her gaze above his waist line. "I think you should probably take the cookies to go." And not because she was angry, which he would realize considering she was smiling when she said it, but because things could very well get out of hand again if he didn't.
"You stay here. I'll pack some up for you." He needed a minute. She did too but her issue was a little less obvious than his would be. So she was the one to go about grabbing a container to put some of the cookies in it along with a few cartons of milk from the fridge to go along with them. She did have one more thing that she just had to say, however. "Still think I'm so out of your league?"
---
Simon let Jane slip down off the counter, grateful he didn't have to get up just yet. Ugh, ouch. There was barely anything as uncomfortable as this. Worst part was that Vinnie was bound to be in their room by now. Simon sighed, trying not to think about what had just happened. Wasn't working. He felt so... well, proud of himself. He'd never done anything like this before. And while Jane might not have been the best person to try this with, since she was technically out of bounds, he had still taken that step.
"You're still completely out of my league," he told her truthfully, finally feeling well enough to stand up. "But thanks for coming to visit us in the lower ranks." There was nothing Jane could ever say to convince Simon that he was anywhere near as desireable as her. But he wasn't any less grateful that she seemed to think he was. He took what was offered to him, smiling softly. "This was fun," he said, blushing a little. "And I don't just mean the end part. We should hang out again sometime. Maybe I'll take you to a bar. Or maybe somelpace classier." Oh God, was he asking her on a date? Maybe. If she wanted to take it that way. He certainly wouldn't object.
---
Jane had to roll her eyes when he still insisted that he was out of her league. Was he just there? Did he not see what had just happened? Oh well, he would figure it out eventually. A small smile formed upon her lips as he spoke, packing up the last of the cookies and putting it all into a bag which she then held out for him to take. "I'm sure we will." When and where and under what circumstances, they could figure out later on.
Glancing around at the mess, Jane waved her hand and the kitchen suddenly looked as though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place at all. That was so much easier than staying here cleaning half the night even though she normally did things the difficult way, the human way, for the experience of it.
"Have a nice night, Simon." Jane turned her focus back to him, leaning in to brush a soft kiss against his lips before she simply disappeared.