Zeus is not the god he used to be. (olympianlord) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-01-29 20:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, tessa, zeus |
Who: Zach and Tessa
Where: a restaurant
What: A blind date set up for charity
When: 1/26
Warnings/Rating: PG-13 for flirting
Status Complete
Zachary wasn't sure why he'd agreed to do this. He'd never been on a real date before, sure. He'd never been kissed by a girl, sure. And he'd never had sex, double sure. But a blind date? For him? It sounded funky.
The only good part was that it was for charity at least.
He sat there, nervous, fidgety, waiting and wishing he had his computer, not just for something to do, but because he had just started running checks on his brand new operating system.
Tessa wasn’t sure what she’d gotten into, either, but it was for a good cause, and it would get her out of the house. And she’d been enjoying getting to know her Orange County neighbors. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was okay with that. Spontaneity was a good thing.
Zachary was a geek. The last time he had been around a woman, he had fallen down a flight of stairs in his nervousness and ended up in traction. He stood at the table as she came in and his eyes went wide. “Holy Spaceballs!” He stepped forward, away from the table, stepped on an untied shoelace and promptly faceplanted on the floor.
“Ow.”
Tessa stepped forward as the young man tripped and fell, but she wasn’t quite quick enough to catch him. It occurred to her that he might have been even more embarrassed if she had, but that didn’t stop her being concerned.
“Ouch. Are you okay?”
Zachary sighed as he levered himself up, saw that she was, indeed, as hot as his glimpse of her had told him and sighed again. So much for good first impressions. “Hi, ah, yeah. Nothing hurt by my pride.” He rubbed his nose, but it felt intact.
“I, ah, Hi. I’m Zachary Jupiter.” He rubbed his hand on his pants, and then stuck it out to shake.
“I’m Tessa.” She shook his hand, warmly, firmly--taking a moment to study his face. He was probably older than he looked, but he seemed younger, when he got so flustered. “Sorry if I startled you when I came in. Do you mind if I join you?”
She knew she was supposed to join him anyway, but she was just trying to break the ice.
“Of course. Nice to meet you, Tessa. You’re gorgeous! I mean... yes.” He moved around to hold a chair for her, smiling hopefully. Oh God, he was such a spaz! He was so doomed. Once she was seated, he settled to his chair and smiled. “Would you like something to drink?” He had a glass of water, but he could use something else, he decided now.
He felt nervous, but also excited. Because, wow, she was hot!!
Tessa smiled. Zachary might be a bundle of nerves, who blurted out whatever he was thinking, but he still somehow managed to be a gentleman and pull out her chair. It was kind of endearing, actually.
“Thank you,” she said, “Something to drink would be good.”
“Y-you’re welcome.” Why was he here again? Oh wait... hot woman. he swallowed. and he waved a hand to catch the waiter’s eyes, made bold by her presence and praying he didn’t spaz out. He had to keep it cool. The therapist was sure he could do it, if he only kept his cool. He could do that, right? Right.
Oh boy.
”Water or wine, or...?”
“Maybe I’ll start with water,” she said, “That’ll give me a chance to peek at the menu, eh?” She wasn’t sure if ordering something to eat would make things easier, or harder. Her date seemed almost painfully shy. “If that’s okay with you?”
She didn’t want to make him any more uncomfortable than he already was.
“Water is good!” He waved a hand and then ordered water for both of them, and he grinned at her. The menus and waters came quickly, and he practically dove behind his, only popping up his head to smile at her. “Ah, so, what made you decide to go on a blind date?” He kept his head up, not wanting to seem a complete loser. If that wasn’t already too late.
She was hot. Wow.
“Good question.” Tessa smiled as she considered her answer. “I guess I’ve always been a little bit adventurous, and I needed a change of pace from my usual running around frantically, saving lives. And it seemed like a good way to meet someone new, so I figured, why not?”
What was the worst that could happen, really?
“You s-save lives? Are you a superhero?” Yeah, well,he was a geek, so his mind went there. He grinned at her. “I was put into it by friends, but since the fee was for charity... I figured w-why not?” The stutter came and went. And he smiled a little.
“I never imagined I’d face a woman as g-gorgeous as you.” He flushed bright red, ducking his head again.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been called a superhero before,” she said, “But some days, I kind of feel like one.” She smiled. “I’m a paramedic. So...” Yeah. She got to be there for all kinds of triumphs, and defeats, and sometimes for the mundane little annoyances that didn’t necessarily require the presence a superhero--like when some lonely old curmudgeon called 911 because he had a simple case of heartburn but called it a heart attack because he just wanted somebody to visit him. “I probably work too much.”
Zachary blinked, then smiled wider. “D-definitely counts. Y-you are a superhero after all.” He grinned at her. He could definitely imagine her in spandex. Yum. “Have you ever considered spandex?” then he clapped his hands over his mouth, not having intended to actually ask that. His cheeks were violent red now and he couldn’t look up as he breathed faster..
Tessa’s brows rose a little, but she hardly missed a beat as she parried, “Before, during, or after the eighties?” She was sure she’d worn some Lycra bike shorts in her preteens, or something. Back when she’d first started wearing a sports bra. “Personally, I prefer leather, but they don’t really let us wear that with our uniforms.”
He chuckled and blushed more, then nodded. “Leather would look good with your c-coloring, I think.” he smiled a little shyly at her. She was nice with a good sense of humor. That was nice, and she didn’t take offense easy. That was also cool.
“W-what do you do when not saving lives or going on b-blind dates with the luckiest man alive?”
Tessa was flattered that he thought himself so lucky, just for having won a blind date with her. He seemed like a sweet sort of guy, under the bashfulness. “I study martial arts, teach women’s self-defense, and sometimes take dance classes,” she said, “But I also enjoy movies, and sometimes get together with my brothers for Sy-Fy Friday parties. It’s like Monday night football, but less jock-y. Although we haven’t been meeting as religiously since Stargate went off the air.”
Zachary smiled, nodding. “W-wow. You do a lot!” He grinned, and listened and enjoyed her talking. “I know! I have been wishing for something to replace it ever since! But Warehouse 13 and Fringe are both too out there for most people.” He chuckled. “We need a solid semi-military sci fi show again. Like Star Trek or Stargate.” He nodded.
“I probably do too much,” she said, “I just have trouble sitting still.” Even when she wasn’t working, she made sure to fill her time with something. Like now. This was something. “I like Warehouse, though, it’s fun. The humor, and the camaraderie between the characters is nice.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “So what else do you like? Who’s your favorite superhero?”
“I like it t-too. It makes me grin with it’s w-weirdness.” He smirked as he watched her. he relaxed a little, talking about science fiction. She was pretty cool! And pretty! Wow! He nodded..
“I l-like computers, which is what I w-work on for a living. I, ah, well, I am a engineer, sort of? The sort who fixes minor stuff...” He blushed hotly, not used to talking about himself. “I l-like the internet and, ah, comic books?” He smiled a little.
“Spider-Woman. She’s pretty kick ass and she never really has to r-rely on anyone else to save her.” And she was hot, also.
Tessa smiled. She’d figured all she had to do was find a topic that Zachary enjoyed, to help put him at ease. She was glad she’d hit on a good one so quickly. She wanted him to be able to enjoy himself, and their time together. “I guess I know who to call the next time my computer breaks down,” she said playfully. “It’s always nice to be able to work at something you enjoy. And Spider-Woman? She’s not one I’ve heard a whole lot about lately, even with the new spin on The Amazing Spider-Man. Though to be fair I haven’t read many graphic novels. Just a few here and there.”
Zach didn’t mind helping at all. “Sure! I’d love to help if you need it.” he nodded, enthusiastic. He liked making things work right. And with her around, sexy as she was? Bonus! He smiled at her. She seemed really nice, too, and that made him relax a little. He just wanted to have fun.
“I like doing it a lot. Computers are logical things, and follow rules, and it’s easy to make them work once you figure out how, for me.” He bounced a little. “Yeah. She’s pretty awesome. She even would look a little like you, I think, in real life.”
“I could give you some if you like.” Give, not loan. he never loaned out comics.
“That’s very generous of you,” she said, noting the way he worded the offer. Did he just have stacks of comics lying around, or was he secretly rich? Or was he just that generous? “Are you sure you can bear to part with them if they’re your favorite?”
Zach shook his head, smiling ruefully. “N-not that generous. I collect, but just for reading. If I, ah, can help someone e-else also enjoy them, th-then that’s really good!” he nodded. he would give a lot to help someone else enjoy comics. But truthfully, he would just give away.
“I can. because, I will always r-remember I gave them to s-someone who rem-minds me of the character.” he hadn’t talked this much to anyone in a long time and he was flushed red, and somewhat feeling tired even, but also exhilarated. She seemed nice and less intimidating!
Zach smiled at her, and nodded. “Do-do you play video games?”
“That? Is really cool,” Tessa said, grinning at him. Not just smiling politely, but actually grinning. Zach seemed like he could be a lot of fun when he opened up. She liked that. “I don’t play a lot of video games, but I’ve tried out a few here and there. Do you play?”
That grin made his heart pound more and his cheeks flush even more. Oh God... that was an awesome grin. Man. She was hot, and nice, and was grinning at him. He was so doomed. “I d-do. When I am working it passes the time and helps me relax when not out. I use it t-to not think about uy life, you kn-know?” he smiled softly as he looked at her.
“M-maybe we can play sometime, together.”
“Maybe we can,” she agreed, willing to at least try. She would try just about anything once. “What sort of games do you play? What platform?” She narrowed her eyes a little in pretended debate with herself. “Am I dating myself if I say I used to be pretty darn good at Frogger? Because I used to kick my brothers’ butts on the Atari.”
“I have an Atari, a Commodore 64, a PS3, a DSi, a 3DS, an X-Box 360, and a gaming PC... so, ah, all sorts of games on all sorts of platforms?”
Was there anything Zach didn’t have, for gaming? Tessa didn’t imagine there was much. But then, he was practically a professional, so it stood to reason. “I’m surprised that anybody has Atari that still work! Last time I played Frogger, it was on PS2.” Still fun, but not quite the same.
“I had to remake it, and refurbish games, but that’s my hobby, old infrastructure. Helps keep my mind keen for work.” And talking about this, his stutter was practically gone.
She noticed the change, and tried to keep him talking. It seemed she’d finally found his comfort zone. “It sounds like it would be a piece of cake for you to rebuild old consoles. Am I right? What if I told you I still have some of my brothers’ old games in my closet?”
“I could, and I can... Yes... really?” His eyes went wide, then he smirked. “How would you like me to build you one? Or three? And we could play a little one on one?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“I’d bring the beer?”
“Yes, well, the old Atari equipment was still at dad’s when I moved out, so I took it with me. I kept meaning to find some way to recycle it, or repair it, but I never did. So it’s just been taking up space.” She shrugged her shoulders, and smiled. “If you want to take a look at it sometime, and see if there’s anything you can salvage, you’re welcome any time.”
Zach smiled. “Well, then, what about after dinner? We can go, and I can see if I can turn on your system and make it run smoothly with my fingers and brain. What do you s-say?” Only realizing the possible entendre at the end, he was nonetheless flushing at the end...
Tessa smiled back at him, debating whether or not to respond to the double entendre. She opted to go easy on him for now, if she could. Sometimes her mouth just ran away with her. “I think that sounds like a plan.”
“Good.” The waiter came and they ordered, and then Zach smiled at her. “I’m glad I came today.” He shook his head. “I was sure this would be a disaster.” And now he was hopeful it might be far from it.
“Oh! I have a present!” he dug out a small black box from his pants and handed it over. Inside were earrings made of circuitry in the shape of the infinity symbol.
“Oh? You didn’t have to get me anything!” Tessa certainly hadn’t expected a gift from a blind date. But it was a sweet gesture. She peered inside the box, and her face lit up as she studied the details of the earrings. “Did you make these yourself?”
“Yeah. I ah, when I started working on computers, i ran out of money fast, you know? So I started using spare circuits or messed up ones, and the soldering iron I whipped up to make new jewelry and sell them for money. Now I don’t need to, but I like it.” he blushed and smiled at her.
“That is really cool,” she said, reaching up to trade her plain studs for the infinity circuits. It was clever, and unique, and she could definitely say that she didn’t have any other jewelry like it. She struck a pose, then, arching her brows at her date in her best Audrey Hepburn impression. “How do I look?”
He watched her and blushed hotly, looking down. When she struck a pose, he swallowed, and whistled and affected a Bogart accent. “Dame, you look like a million bucks. Trinkets like those in ears like those?, could make a man stop thinking for a moment and do something silly, something... wild.”
He grinned, blushing more.
“Well, then,” she said, batting her lashes, and leaning forward on her elbows. She moved slowly enough that he could dodge her if he wanted, but if he didn’t move, she intended to at least kiss him on the cheek. “Let’s do something wild.”
Zach stared and jerked, unsure what she was doing. And somehow, his lips were on hers. And he groaned as he felt those oh so soft lips. His heart pounded and for a moment, he kissed her back, hard, wanting, needing that single moment. One hand, driven by something more, landed, inadvertently, on one of her breasts, startling him.
When he felt himself shuddering, he pulled back, heart pounding loud in his head, breath coming fast. “Worth it.” Were the words he spoke before his system, pushed to the anxious max, overloaded and he fainted.
Tessa saw him start to go, and was out of her seat in a moment, easing Zach’s unconscious body to a more comfortable position. She flashed her medical ID at any onlookers and waved them back as she checked his pulse. The last thing she wanted was for him to come to, and panic because he was being stared at.
Zach woke quickly and looked up at her, cheeks flaming. “Sorry.” He gasped it out and slowly managed to control his breathing, and nodded, sitting up slowly. He smiled faintly at her, not looking around. “I guess my brain and body are not quite... always agreeing on what we like.”
“It’s all right,” she said softly, slipping into her calm, soothing, professional voice for a moment. She reached for his glass of water and offered it to him when he’d managed to sit upright. “I should probably be the one to apologize. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I liked... I liked the kiss.” He blushed and smiled at her. He took the water, and nodded, sipping it. He reached for her hand and caught it, and squeezed it, his face scarlet.
“Good.” She squeezed his hand in return, pleased to feel the strength in his grip. He’d be okay. “I didn’t realize I could be quite so...overwhelming.”
Zach smiled hesitantly. For once, being around someone beautiful wasn’t completely clouding his mind. He swallowed and grinned. “You are smart, and strong, and gorgeous, and you kissed me. I think my system overloaded.” He blushed hotly.
Tessa resisted the urge to apologize again, not wanting to fluster him even more. She hadn’t meant to trigger any anxiety issues, but at least he seemed to be recovering quickly. She laid her other hand on his shoulder encouragingly, and compassionately. “I’ll try to take things more slowly from now on.”
Zach blushed and smiled. She was gorgeous and she seemed, well, she made him somehow relax. And he liked that. Her hand on his shoulder made him shiver, because it was warm. His heart pounded and he found the memory of her lips on his flashing through his mind, and the sensations of it too. A small gasp came from him and he flushed a purple, even as he shivered.
“I- ah, I... I think I like that idea.” His eyes found hers, filled with warmth and worry and hope, all at once.
“Okay.” Tessa rose gracefully to her feet, and offered her hand to Zach to help him up as well. “I’ll start by staying on my side of the table until after we finish eating. If you’re still game? The food should probably be here soon.” After that, they could play it by ear.
He smiled softly, and rose, then nodded. “I am very game, and definitely ready.” He rose and sat again, and smiled a little. Then he looked down. “That was... my first.” He was blushing bright red.
Tessa’s brows rose, and her lips parted in surprise. No wonder Zach was so anxious. “Well,” she said, after a moment, “I’m glad it was memorable, at least.” Her own cheeks warmed a little as she smiled at him. “It’s been awhile since I was anybody’s first.”
He smiled softly. “It was a really awesome kiss.” He flushed and smiled at her, then looked down. One lip was nibbled on a little as he grabbed for some water to swallow down.
“I- ah, what sort of movies do you l-like?”
“Oh, let’s see. Science fiction, obviously. Action-comedy. A dash of Foreign and Independent films. Do you want me to get into specifics?” She could list a few titles that stood out in her mind, though whether they were great icons of cinematic achievement or just sentimental favorites was somewhat subjective.
“I mean, I don’t want to get into a muppet Yoda versus CGI Yoda debate or anything.” She winked. “I get the feeling I’d be way out of my league in your presence, anyway.”
“Sure? I love sci fi! Don’t know a lot about foreign movies, though.” He rubbed his chin and shook his head. and then grinned. “Dunno, you strike me as someone who might just know more than she lets on with geeky matters.,” A little flirtation, oh dear. His cheeks were flushed and he was having fun even as he was terribly anxious. He gulped his water and kept grinning.
“Favorite Music?”
“Now, when I say ‘foreign,’ I am mostly referring to martial arts movies,” she said, “But some of them end up being pretty popular over here, so that hardly counts.” She shrugged. “As for music, hm...I sort of grew up with a lot of Queen and the Stones--and all the greatest hits of mullet rock--because that’s what my brothers were listening to. My dad listens to mostly classical. And I’m kind of a fan of groups like Mumford & Sons, or Florence & the Machine. Though, yes, at one point in my teenage years, I probably did know all the words to MmmBop. I would never have admitted it at the time.”
He chuckled and listened, nodding. “I suppose not. I like a few of those.” He liked Jackie Chan, but not Bruce Lee. Never had.
“All good music. I’m a fan of all of those, really. “ He grinned at her words about songs and old things she knew the words to. “Nothing wrong with that. YouTube songs get caught in my head a lot.”
“YouTube songs can be fun,” she said, laughing softly. They could also be ridiculously annoying, but they could be fun. “I like the Lady Gaga slash YuGiOh parody. The Leather Pants song. Or the Epic Rap Battles of History. And--oh! Not technically a YouTube song, but the opening theme from Phinneas and Ferb gets stuck in my head for days at a time. And so does the ending theme from Blackadder.”
“Both awesome, and definitely. I also like the Time lord’s Doctorin’ the TARDIS and the song and video for Neon Pegasus.” He chuckled as he poked her lightly. She was fun.
“Do you like swimming? Rollerskating?”
She grinned, resisting the urge to whistle the Doctor Who theme. Alas, it was going to be stuck in her head anyway. “I do like to swim, but I have this irrational aversion to swimming pools,” she said, “Maybe I’m just sensitive to the chemicals, but I’d rather swim in saltwater than chlorine. And--gosh--I used to love to skate when I was little. I should get back into it. I think my last pair of skates had Care Bears on them.”
“Newport Beach isn’t far away, making swimming in saltwater easy. And Cool. We should go skating sometime... if you like.” He grinned shyly at her. “I liked the care bears when i was young too.” He smiled a little, and nodded. “I watched a lot of cartoons.’
“I think I could be persuaded,” she said, smiling back. She didn’t want to overwhelm him, but if he was brave enough to ask her to go, she couldn’t very well turn him down, could she? Not that she really wanted to turn him down. “I used to have a small collection of stuffed Care Bears. Tenderheart was my favorite. And there was this one cartoon I used to watch that I’m not sure anyone remembers. I named my generic teddy bear after the title character--Kissyfur.”
Not that Zach wanted to know all about her teddy bear collection. She blushed. Now who was getting nervous?
“I actually have one. A Care Bear ” He coughed. “still.” he waved a hand in the air. “He’s in my closet.” He nodded. “Kissyfur? I remember that!” he chuckled. “Dude, that is cool!” he smiled at her, eyes warm. “I have like a few figures I collected from when I was young. Like, you know, some comic book ones.”
Which made him blush. “And comics, too. A lot of them.”
Truth be told, Tenderheart, Sharebear, Birthday Bear, Lovalot Lamb, Kissyfur, and Snuggles--yes, the bear from the fabric softener commercials--still lived in Tessa’s closet as well. Sometimes they lived on her bed. She didn’t have her Care Bear skates anymore, though, because she had outgrown them.
“I have some manga that I bought at a used bookstore, just because I liked the artwork.”
He grinned. “You should read some, sometime, but not all of it. Some of it is really gross.” He nodded, shivering.
“I don’t think I got anything too crazy,” she said, “Or too graphic.” She’d heard stories. “I borrowed a few installments of Sandman from the library, too, a while back. Somebody at work said I look like one of the characters, so i had to check it out.” Little had she known how much she would have in common with the perkiest of Grim Reapers.
Zach smiled. “That’s okay. And did you like them?” He grinned at her. Sandman was really good in places, but he had the uncommon fandom opinion that it sucked in a lot of places, too. He nodded. “I can recommend a few, even give them to you, if you like.” He liked her, and he bet she would like some of the ones he knew.
“Parts of it,” she said, “I have a hard time giving a solid review, since I haven’t finished the whole series yet. But I’ll try just about anything once, so feel free to recommend away.” Zach seemed like he really knew his stuff, so she expected he’d be able to suggest a good variety.
“You will, huh? Good to know.” Grinning, and blushing a little, Zach nodded. “My therapist recommended a number of series to me, so, ah, maybe you can come by sometime soon, and I’ll show them to you?” He grinned at her hopefully.
Tessa grinned back. Why, yes; yes she would try anything once--and not just in the literary sense. “That sounds like fun. We should exchange numbers, and you can text me. Or something.”
Her grin made him blush, and feel rather hopeful at the same time. “I like that idea. I, ah, yeah.” He smiled at her, blushing. “I would like to see you again, for sure.”
Tessa nodded, and slid her phone across the table to Zach. She figured, as a tech guy, he’d have no trouble finding her contact list and adding his information. “Before we get distracted with dinner and forget.”
He took her phone and his fingers danced as he glanced down at it. “Nice model.” He added his number and email to her contact list and uploaded his work schedule link to her calendar. Just because.
“Here you go.” He handed it back, blushing, but grinning.
Tessa took the phone back, and promptly texted Zach a kissy-faced smiley. Just so he would have her number. And maybe to see if flirting via text was any less nerve-wracking. Then she settled back in her chair to wait for their food, as if nothing were amiss.
He chuckled when he got it and entered her number in his phone. And then texted back thanking her for the number and telling her he planned on using it often, and appreciated her humor and great tracts of land.
And then he smiled as the food arrived, thinking the evening might be a very good one.
FIN!