forum Roleplay ^-^

Started February 16, 2018 by @Oakie Dokie

tune

"yes, definitely!!"
Aspen yelped with delight when the dude left, pumping his fist in the air and doing a little dance on the wooden floor. "I've got a date…"

(next morning)
Aspen sat silently as the engine of his Land Rover pinged to a stop and stepped out of the car into the early morning fog, locking the car and stepping across the sidewalk to his storefront, unlocking the door and turning on the open sign.

It was early. So early, in fact, the sun hadn't quite begun to rise. Jay was wearing his trusty windbreaker, yellow hair covering his piercing blue eyes as he spun his ring around his finger, waiting outside the front of the locked cafe. It was.. weird, he felt, coming here at this time but he hadn't been able to sleep and thought that maybe he'd just wait for Aspen at the door when he came to work.

Aspen went to unlock the front door of the cafe but stopped short.
Jay was out front.
He threw open the door and beckoned him in, offering him fresh coffee, and began to power on the machines and restock the baked goods. "What brings you out here this early?"

"Was thinking. Couldn't sleep." Jay looked into the coffee, his mind feeling clouded. He gazed into the blackness as Aspen passed by from behind the counter a few times. After a third time seeing him come out, he stood, and as Aspen would walk back into the bar, he stopped him, leaning against the wall and shadowing over him in a way that wasn't threatening. "Can I ask you a question?" He asked quietly, nervousness in his voice.

"Umm… sure," Aspen replied, slightly nervous. "What's up?"

He pulled back, standing straight to let him pass, kicking himself for being intimidating. "I was talking to someone, about meeting you; about how you were kind to that other girl, and to me, and, well.. all that. And y'know, how I asked you to hang out?" He scratched the back of his neck, grumbling awkwardly to himself. "They said you may have took it as a.. date." his nose pinked a little bit. "Not that it would be a problem, but. I gotta know. Were you flirting with me?" He tugged at the collar of his shirt, feeling warm and uncomfortable.

Aspen's face went as red as the tomatoes he had been slicing and he looked down at his Converse. "Would that be a bad thing…? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, I just… I don't know. I mean, I'd love to… Umm…"

Jay covered his mouth, his heart pounding. He just.. didn't know what to do. His coffee rippled a bit as he shook a small bit. "I've never been in any real relationships before. A-and, well. I've never met a cute guy who happens to like me. Frankly, I've never been with a guy." His face burned.

"Y-you think I'm cute?" Aspen glanced hopefully at Jay, shaking with emotion.

His eyes connected with Aspen's for a moment, nodding, still covering his face, before looking back down into the coffee.

"Here, sit down," Aspen conceded, motioning to a nearby booth and grabbing himself a breakfast croissant. "Before we get into some sort of blushing contest, let's have an actual conversation. Where are you from, and why are you here?"

"I-I can't go into all that." he sat nonetheless, sipping his coffee and getting himself over it. It wasn't different than, his other encounters with women, except for this was a guy, should be, more relatable, right? "I live here now, and like I said, I.. work in IT."

"Yeah, that's a helluva job right there. I have a degree in Mental Health, but my old boss gave the cafe to me, and… I guess I just couldn't bring myself to leave. How's your job suiting you?"

"It's okay, it's a cubicle job." he gazed at Aspen's ear. "Is it nice to be connected to a place like that?" He asked, taking another sip.

"It's alright, I guess. It takes a lot to interact with everyone in a friendly way when sometimes you just want to wipe that smug look off of their face. And a little more money wouldn't hurt," He added, glancing at his Land Rover. "I've had that thing since I was sixteen. It's a piece of garbage." He took a melancholy bite of his croissant.

"It's the good kind of vehicle, though." He glanced at it too. They were known to be pretty reliable. 'And I get what you mean. Some customers call me and try to tell me I'm not doing my job right." He chuckled.

"Exactly! Like, if you want to tell me how to do what I've been doing for years, then I'll gladly let you do it. You know, come to think of it, I haven't been home in over a year because I'm the only one who actually shows up to work anymore, now that Elaina quit." Aspen sighed in exasperation and took a sip of his coffee, which was black and strong. "Sorry. I'm just… I don't know. No one ever asks me how I feel, you know? Yet I always seem to bend over backwards to get them talking."

"Yeah, I got the vibe you were that kind of guy." He smiled a little, "I'm sorry for not asking yesterday. And you should really stop buying customers food and drinks if you want to save money." He chuckled a little bit.

"Well, do you have $16.55 to cover everything I've bought you- I mean, one of my customers bought you?" Aspen quickly looked down at his phone, pretending to check a text. Like anyone even bothered to text him. Like anyone even had his number. "Hmm. Maybe it is time I got rid of this rathole, got myself some new stuff. Maybe even move back to Texas."

"You should hold off on the Texas thing," he replied, smiling at Aspen with interest, "Besides, I've got $16.55 plus dinner tonight. If you want." he finished his coffee, moving the mug away and resting his arm on the counter.

"O-oh? I'd like that," Aspen murmured, running his paw nervously through his hair.

Jay grinned, closing his eyes and showing his teeth, "Cool," he pulled a napkin from the dispenser and a pen from his pocket, and wrote on it, then handed it to him. "I'll pick you up after your shift, that cool?" He stood up, leaning forward and gently pinching the soft fur of his ear with his finger-pads and poking out his tongue, before turning to leave.

(sorry guys. was gone longer than I thought I would be)

Oyoyo walked back to the coffee shop. She had nowhere else to go. It was strange that she felt the coffee shop was her only place where she wasn't treated like she was an evil beast.

Aspen watched Jay go with a goofy grin sprawled out of his face of rosy pink. His ear tingled where he had touched it. Come on, Aspen. Back to work.