Zoie - First Kiss

From Masq
Date: Setting:

IC:  08/17/2008
RL: 03/08/2011

Rio Grande River Area -- Riverbank near Central Avenue -- Albuquerque

Just a few steps away from the cars zooming along Central Avenue is a different world. This riverbank overlooking the Rio Grande is rich with vegetation, quite a contrast to the desert landscapes one might expect of New Mexico. Suitably named the "Great River," the Rio Grande is 1,878 miles long, extending from the foot of Stony Pass in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. In North America, it is second only in length to the Mississippi/Missouri combination.

Brown muddy water laps gently against the shore and a variety of insects buzz near the water, snapped up by the occasional toad or even turtle. There is a large flat rock near the shore that might provide an excellent view of the surrounding area. Cottonwood and Russian olive trees dominate the banks of the Rio, and the bosque (the Spanish word for woods) they form is considered a wetland.

A riverside trail leads off to the northeast, one of the many restful walks available in this section of a park known as the Rio Grande Nature Center. Not too far from here is the Albuquerque BioPark.


Cast:
Log:
There is nothing more cryptic than a text message asking for a man to meet a girl on a full moon, at night, by a river bank. In fact, Richard Marx' song Hazard may have started like this to be honest. However, should he choose to meet the odd girl in question. He will find Zoie shoeless sitting on a flat rock. Her bare feet are dipped in the dirty water and god knows what infection she might be getting. A blanket is spread to one side with a quaint and overdone wicker basket. Tonight, Zoie is dressed in a light summer dress that sometimes rustles in the winds around them.

Well, why not? It's night, but Jake seems perfectly comfortable in the dark - and, well, it's not pitch black out here. The cars above and the street lights provide light well enough. Regardless, he arrives a few minutes earlier than the time given, enjoying the pleasant weather. He's not dressed too fancy; t-shirt and jeans as per usual. And, upon spotting her, he heads over thataway. "Hey."

Zoie turns to look over her shoulder at him. For a moment, the poor girl looks haunted by her thoughts until she focuses on his face. There is a splashing noise as her features light up and Zoie comes to her feet. In the next few moments, she's attempting to throw her arms around him. "Jakey!" The happy tone is hard to miss. If she was a dog, her tail would be wiggling her whole body. "I wasn't really sure you would be coming."

"'course I was." Jake grins as she hops up, and he greets the enthusiasm with a warm hug as she throws her arms around him. His mood seems light, and he's not a walking zombie like the last couple of times she's seen him. A plus! "I told you I would. Even though--" He pulls back a fraction to give her a look with a wry grin. "--'down by the river' sounds kind of scary. Like, Deliverance-scary. If it hadn't been you, I would've been Concerned." Yes, with a capital C and all.

Zoie reaches up her fingers to attempt to trace his lips. "You sure do got a pretty mouth." Then she winks to him and grins like an idiot. "Well I was thinking of having banjo music playing as you came down and the sound of riverboat pirates or something. Then I thought to myself that I didn't know what a riverboat pirate sounded like." She gives an even brighter smile to that. Jacob grins, not pulling away. "If I would've heard banjo music down here---" He trails off with a lift of the brows, leaving the gentle teasing there. He glances aside to what she has set up, leaving one arm 'round her waist. "So what all do you have planned here, hm?"

"Well I'm going to feed you some food. Then when you are in food coma, I'm going to have those southern boys show up." Zoie looks nervous suddenly. She's kidding right? The real reason for the nervousness is when she comes up on her toes to try and kiss his cheek. "I just made um.. turkey sandwiches and um.. some of those kettle chips. Oh! I also brought some cheesecake. It's really basic, so don't expect much." Her lips curve into that shy smile of hers. "I hope that's okay."

"Oh, so that's your plan, huh?" He grins as she kisses his cheek, but it softens a little. "That sounds great." He looks back down toward her, giving her a little squeeze with that arm still around her. "Was thoughtful of you. --c'mon, let's sit down before a bear shows up and takes off with the whole thing. Or, well. I don't know what they have here instead of bears. Coyotes, I guess."

Zoie smiles at him and snuggles just a bit into his side. The poor girl cannot seem to stop smiling no matter what, even threats of bears. Oh my. "You will protect me right? I mean you will spend your last ounce of life to protect sweet little me. Then I will live and find out that I'm pregnant with your child. Then I will raise the child and think of my love for only you." She goes quiet. "Okay, I should probably lay off the chick flicks for awhile." She does move to sit on the blanket though and to dish out the food.

Jacob chuckles. "Well. I thought we were getting together -because- you were having my kid. I feel tricked." He's teasing, though, and he heads over to sit down, too. "Though if I protect you from bears tonight, I don't think there's much risk of you finding out you're pregnant," he muses with a wink, and settles on the blanket. "Anything interesting happen lately?"

Zoie turns bright, bright red. "Jacob!" It is that shocked insulted tone to the question as she bats his arm lightly. "Don't you think you would be there if I..." Those green eyes open wide. "I mean, not that I thought of you in that way and not that I think about sleeping with you. Welll maybe sleeping but you know. I don't like /fantasize/ about you. I don't.. um I mean.. I.." She pauses and just stares at him for the longest moment. "I should stop talking, can you give me something to put in my mouth?" Her hand extends towards the food.

"Sorry, sorry," he laughs as she bats at his arm, holding up a hand. "Right, some things aren't great to joke about." He obligingly passes her a sandwich, at least. "It's alright. Nothing you say is gonna bug me, trust me." He sends her a look over that's a little thoughtful. "It's nothing to get embarrassed about."

"You know that is like telling a zebra that they don't have to wear black and white all the time." Zoie offers. "I just embarass easily. Amanda was more the girl in the spotlight." She chews the sandwich and swallows before inching a bit closer to him. "So how was your day?"

"Pretty lazy," he admits, selecting a sandwich for himself. "I slept in til past noon, did some errands, then watched some TV. Had the night off, so-- yeah, I was going to enjoy the day. Exciting, eh?"

Zoie studies him for a few moments. "Well maybe the next time you have a really good day off, I'll come hang out with you." She also brought soda. The can is opened as she takes a drink, muttering just before swallowing. "... in bed."

"Is this like one of those fortune cookie things?" Jake wonders, apparently able to take very little seriously at the moment. "'You will have great fortunes. ...in bed.'" Now it's his turn to hush and take a bit of sandwich. "/That/ said, you're welcome to come over any time. My apartment's kinda...bare, right now, but we could do a movie night or something."

Zoie looks at him for a few moments. The poor thing is all but wearing her thoughts on her features. There is a minute to which she looks hurt for the joke. "Oh.. yeah, totally. It was a take on those fortune cookie things. Hah." She clears her throat and takes a drink. "Oh! Can we watch like zombie movies or something like that? I mean I would suggest Saw, but I'd be cowered into your shoulder and covering my eyes through the whole thing."

Jacob is perceptive enough to catch the hurt, and he blinks once and then mentally kicks himself. "Ah, sorry, I can't take a hint sometimes." He gives a crooked, apologetic half-smile. "I thought -you- were giving me a hard time." Good going, genius. Ahem. He looks a bit guilty, but then takes up the latter bit, at least. "Yeah, sure. There's a whole zombie /show/ that I've been meaning to watch. Walking Dead?" He muses over that. "Saw-- not really my thing anyway. Or Hostel. Or anything like that."

Zoie gives a bright smile. "It's okay." It really is that easy for her to be over the slight as she moves to tentatively lean against his side a bit. "Oh! I totally heard about that show. I would love to watch it. I could make dinner if you want. I can cook, I just didn't today. I'm still looking for an apartment and a job."

Jacob at least provides a good leaning-post. "No, you did plenty. This is pretty awesome." He sends her a little half-smile. "You probably cook better than me. For all my talents," that's a little wry, "I never really learned to cook very well."

Zoie grins to that. "I don't know how to mix a drink, so you have more talents than me." She is silent and offers an odd comment. "I don't know if I still think that Alex is gay. I mean I thought he was just a touchy-feely gay, you know?"

Jacob hesitates. "--yeah? What makes you think he's not?" He sounds a little dubious at that. And trying so hard to be casual. He just sounds casually dubious.

Zoie turns her attention towards him. "Well there was this blonde at the ice cream shop and she was going to town on her ice cream cone, you know? A straight guy would be like offering her cash or a ring. He was staring at her with an open jaw and stuff." She smiles a bit to him. "Then he kept his arm all wrapped around me."

"Huh," Jake muses, looking sidelong over toward her. "Well, y'know--maybe he swings both ways or something." A beat, and he adds, "If he was hitting on you, too, that's... a pretty big sign." Wry, that.

Zoie looks up at him and shakes her head. "I doubt he was hitting on me. I was talking about you the whole ti.. I don't think he was hitting on me at all. I mean we are just friends. Oh I was thinking about maybe asking him if he wanted to go in half on an apartment or something." She looks over at him and then grins. "You should try the cheesecake."

Jacob's brows arch a little, but he shrugs. "Yeah? That'd be a way to get a place cheaper, I guess. Living with roommates is -- well, depends on the roommates, I guess." He gives a bit of a crooked grin, and then looks down and over at the offer, looking into the basket she brought for the aforementioned deliciousness.

Zoie watches his reactions to it. "Yeah. I mean, I thought more about it when I thought he was gay. Now it might be awkward. Do you want a ro.." Zoie gives a nervous chuckle and then hands him the cheese cake. "You know it is so beautiful out when the moon is full." She looks up at the big circle in the sky.

"Do I want a what?" Jake quirks a small smile at that, accepting it, and then at her latter comment casts a glance skyward, but it's pretty brief. "Yeah, it is. Bet it would be pretty amazing further out when you get away from the city lights, but the desert isn't usually exactly very--" He ponders the word, shifting a little so he can put an arm around her, "--welcoming?"

"Nothing. It was something that was just going to be one of the most stupid things that I said. I like you too much to see how fast you can run home from here." Zoie teases before she nods her head. "We should try to take a trip out there sometime, just to see the stars. Like we don't have to stay long or anything, I just think it would be pretty to see."

"Yeah," Jake replies, pondering that for a moment. "Not ...sure what's the best way to get out there. I've lived pretty much my whole life in New England, we don't have deserts." A wry grin, there, but he sobers a moment. "So. Can I ask you a question?"

Zoie frowns. She has that deer in the headlights look of right before the car hits you. She coughs and inches a bit away from him. "Have I talked about you too much to Alex? I'm sorry. I guess I .. I.. I didn't think."

Jacob looks a little baffled at that, though a bit amusedly so. "What? No. It wasn't going to be anything -bad-."

Zoie takes a deep breath and releases it. "Okay. I'm ready for it then. It's just been a hard year when people get all serious and want to talk to me. I'm sorry, Jake." " "Ah," Jake replies, a bit apologetically. "Sorry, then. Didn't mean to --yeah." He does, though, continue on that train of thought. "/I/ was just wondering--" And, he doesn't look nervous, really; he has that sort of calm ease about him, even as he reclaims that bit of ground she scooted away from. "--if it'd be alright with you if I kissed you." Oh, chivalry isn't entirely dead. "--I hope that's not a 'bad' question, anyway."

Zoie lowers her brows in a bit of confusion as if she has to go over each of the words he just said and convert them to a different language. Then there is a bright smile upon her features as she nods her head. "Of course you can kiss me. I mean.. since it's you, not because like I go around and kiss everyone. I'm really not that kind of girl or anything. It was really sweet of you to ask." Her cheeks flush and she just goes silent.

"I didn't figure you were. I just-- well. Like to ask rather than assume." He gives a bit of a crooked smile, and then leans in to try to claim that asked-for kiss, all smooth and entirely gentle about the whole thing.

Zoie tenses for a moment to the kiss. It is that expectation. Her brain fills with how she should kiss him. Where should her hands go and then there is the pressure of his lips. Zoie's breath catches as she tentatively wraps her arms around his neck. A soft mew sort of noise comes from the back of her throat as she leans her weight into him.

Jacob shifts his weight around enough where he can be closer; his end is gentle, warm, accepting - it doesn't push for more than just a kiss, and he allows it to linger for a long moment or three before finally pulling away just a fraction, and he gives a little crooked smile, both pleased and content. "So--how about that cheesecake?" he murmers. Yes, that poor forgotten cheesecake...

FTB