Aoife barely managed to wave and call back to Sachiel before he disappeared down the hallway. “Morning Sach!” She said back, hopefully raising her voice loud enough so he could hear her, voice nervous and hesitant. The woman slipped into her room, waiting a few seconds for Jasper to finish his exaggerated stretching before she would take the spot he motioned for her to take, cheeks alight with a blush and bottom lip nibbled on by her teeth. She saw it; that sliver of tanned skin just above the waistline of his pants peeking out as his shirt rose up. Hopefully he didn’t  notice her lingering eyes, which would roll at his tease. “I’m not a kid..” She mumbled, breaking a piece of her own omelet off with the fork before popping it into her mouth. He was only two years older than her anyways.


The two continued to eat in a quiet peace. It wasn’t until she was halfway done did Jasper break the comfortable silence that formed between them. All motions halted; hand pausing with fork poised several inches from her lips with a piece of omelet on the prongs. What did he mean she had to be social today? She’s been social - social for her at least. She’s talked to SueLyn, Rashel, Kadira, and Sachiel! She’s been introduced to almost everyone!

Aoife couldn’t help but to view his words as condescending; the way he said it made it seem like she was some hermit, sitting in her room and avoiding everyone. And the nonchalance of his voice - it rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't need an intervention, she'd get to know everyone eventually. Baby steps; it didn't matter that hers were smaller than others, it would happen in due time. He can't just force her to do something.

With an appetite suddenly gone Aoife put her fork on her plate and waited until Jasper was done with his food before saying anything, mouth dry and tongue heavy as she took his empty plate. She stood up quickly, making her way to the door, eager to leave the room so she would be out of the growing tension. “You should probably change..” It was all she could offer before leaving the room in a hurry, door propped open so he could leave.

Aoife emerged from the bathroom after thoroughly washing her hands, surprised to find Jasper still asleep, though that thought only made her cheeks adopt an even darker shade. Not wanting to wake him up for real this time she didn’t bother putting the covers on, rather she rummaged around for clean clothes and padded back into the bathroom to get ready for the day. After a ten minute shower and doing whatever girly things she needed to prepare herself, Aoife emerged from the bathroom once again. Jasper was still asleep. Well, there was nothing left to do but to wake him up…

Or at least she thought so until she remembered her promise of a breakfast in bed. A quiet sigh left her lips, fingers running through her damp hair as she made her way to the door, giving the sleeping man a glare. She didn’t even remember why she promised him breakfast, but she was roped into making the food once again - not that she minded as she loved cooking.

The woman made her way downstairs, catching a glimpse of Sachiel and Kaylee seated in the living room and sat in a very compromising position. The sight made her cheeks burn again - she could’ve walked in on them doing… inappropriate things!

In the kitchen she began making the food; and omelet with all the dressings she remembered he wanted. With their food done she was torn between making food for Sachiel and Kaylee. It would be the right thing to do, but she didn’t want to offer it to them while they’re still.. together. Things could be happening..

Another blush darkened her cheeks as she picked up the plates and forks and dashed passed the living room as fast as possible so as to not see anything, and made her way upstairs to her room, cautiously opening the door. “Jasper.. Breakfast is ready..”

Asking Jasper to spend the night with her was the biggest move she’s ever made with the male species - not including those written in a script. She felt so comfortable and at ease with him, something she’s never felt with one of the opposite gender. Besides, she was drunk on exhaustion and her consciousness was totally screwed up, she was in no state to even care if she was being too straightforward with him, though she’d definitely feel the embarrassment in the morning. Aoife finally succumbed to sleep as those foreign words left Jasper’s lips, the awkward collection of syllables not even registering in her mind.

Aoife woke with something warm against her back and a weight draped over her middle. It took a few minutes to realize what it was. Her cheeks instantly flushed and her body tensed. If she hadn’t been so warm she would’ve put some space between them - he was like a heater for goodness sakes. Another few minutes passed by before she finally moved, something ruining the mood.

I have to pee…

Aoife cringed at the thought, and with her bottom lip trapped between her teeth she gently picked his arm up off of her and slid out of the bed as smoothly as possible, which wasn’t as graceful as she wanted. She ended up kicking his feet several times, though she had high hopes she didn’t wake him up. With a face on fire Aoife began sliding her last leg out of the blankets, thoroughly embarrassed even though he was asleep. Had the urge to tinkle not risen she would’ve pretended to be sleeping just to stay close to him and be warm. Bodily functions were so not romantic.

To make matters worse, as she was removing her foot she caught the blanket on it, pulling the covers off of him. Well, he was going to wake up now. No way to hide that.

With a hand covering her face in embarrassment Aoife padded, as silently as possible, to the bathroom to relieve herself, bumping her shoulder against the door frame with a solid ‘thud’ in the process.

“Ow…”

“Why would I ask? It would be awkward.” She easily shot back with a teasing tone, albeit considerably lazy sounding as well, a slight irish accent slurring her words together. It was something she managed to repress when she first arrived, finding that it brought a lot of unwanted attention to her--all good attention, compliments and flirts, but she didn’t want any attention on her. Aoife was a conundrum. She hated being the center of attention yet she took on a profession that garnered her a lot of attention. As ironic as it was, she couldn’t force herself to think on it, finding it difficult for her slowing brain to keep up with such intricate thoughts. Instead she let herself drift into a peaceful lull against Jasper, her hand unconsciously continuing to trail along his abdomen as he read to her in that manly timbre of a voice.

Over the time of his reading she did notice the way his body drifted lower and lower, no doubt getting more comfortable as his mind was contracting more sleep. Even his voice was dripping with the tire his body felt, though it still remained nice to listen to. “You’re sleepy...” She whispered, hot breath trailing across his neck. Her hands continued that idle rubbing of his stomach, perhaps making him even more tired as time slipped by. Only about ten more minutes passed before she couldn’t take it any more. With droopy eyelids Aoife reached her hand out, dog-earing the corner before closing it, and tossing it to the side. “Don’t leave, okay? You’re nice and warm.” The beginnings of a smile tilted her words as she snuggled her body against his, lending him her pillow--she wasn’t using it anyways, Jasper’s chest provided a decent amount of comfort.

Her iceberg hands roused little reaction from the man--not what she wanted. He was always so composed. Other than the slight arch of his back and that barely audible hiss he barely reacted at all. Aoife's lips pouted, though she wouldn't bring it up, finding that she didn't have the effort to; the laziness of sleep was setting in as she got more comfortable against him. Her hands parted ways at his side, staying under his shirt, one traveling along his well muscled back and the other inching across his stomach until they stretched as far as they could, meeting around him at his other side in a lazy form of a hug. In that new position Aoife easily rested her cheek against his chest, eyes traversing the page as he read, trying to focus on the words but had difficulty doing so.

"You're really muscle-y," she mumbled after a petite yawn, body stretching alongside his as her right hand drew back to run along the gentle ripples of his abdomen as if to support her claim. "I never would've expected it.." Despite being unaware and losing a great deal of her sense of right and wrong, Aoife managed to keep her thoughts of liking his body to herself, somehow figuring out that it would give him even more leverage against her. "You're a good reader too. I like the sound of your voice.." So sure, confident, and it had that nice deep tone to it that every man should have but most did not. Hearing it vibrated outwards from his chest only increased her respect for it.

At first when Jasper wrapped his arm around her, Aoife was hesitant about the sudden contact between the two. It took a few seconds, but she eventually found herself leaning into his side, sucking up his warmth like a vacuum. He was like a heater! Aoife found herself cold more often than not, Jasper was really warm. The heat he gave off was welcomed, and as content began to fill her stomach she would lean her head down onto his shoulder, an instinct that had no rhyme or rhythm, though it could be interpreted as an act to show how comfortable she was around him.


“It’s really fun. I think you’ll like it..” Well, she didn’t really know. He could hate kids for all she knew. Aoife, on the other hand, liked kids. Not babies, she couldn’t handle babies, but younger kids, ages 5 to 9. Old enough to know what’s going on but young enough to still maintain their beautiful innocence. When he said he didn’t mind her rambling Aoife beamed a bright smile at him in appreciation that he accepted her odd quirks with no complaints or disagreements. He was by far her closest housemate, though it wasn’t like she spent a lot of time with the others either. In time she would get to know them all better--or so she hoped. For now she was content with Jasper. It wasn’t long after that he opened the book and began reading. Without thinking her hands moved to the bottom hem of his shirt, slipping beneath the fabric to press her cold hands against his heated skin. It felt divine, though she was sure it was a shock to him, which made realization of what she’d done all the more sweet. With her hands pressed to his side and on the way to being satisfyingly warm, Aoife snuggled closer to Jasper, eyes running over the words as the syllables slipped from his lips and drifted to her ears. It was a peaceful moment and she knew then that it wouldn’t be long until she would fall asleep.

Aoife nodded her head in time with each of his ingredient additions, mouthing them to herself so she would be able to remember them in the morning. If she got up early enough she could surprise him with breakfast in bed! That would be a nice thing to do, right? Aoife thought it was, and with a small smile she sat back onto her bed, using her hand on Jasper’s shoulder to pull him along with her.

“I would like that very much.” The voice that left her lips was gentle as she settled herself with her back against the headboard, urging Jasper to do the same, one pillow for each of them should they need it. Once he was settled she handed over the book, using her free hands to pull the blanket up over their legs for warmth—she was getting a little cold. “Have you ever read before? You know, to the kids?” Curiosity laced her voice as she asked the question. “I have. Went to my school back in Ireland and read to young kids and helped out at my old drama teacher’s class.” Aoife let out a reminiscent sigh, closing her eyes. “It was so much fun, especially since I got to see my family afterwards. We’d always have a nice home cooked dinner together, though we have to go to granddad’s because he’s too frail to make the trip over…” Words tailed off with a quiet exhalation of breath, the smile on her face only growing before she realized she was rambling. “Oh. Sorry. Didn’t mean to ramble.” Pink took over her cheeks once more, and with a shake of her head Aoife gestured to Jasper, urging him to read. “Go on. I’m listening.”

Her pink lips turned down into a pout. “Are you serious?" She asked with an exasperated tone, pushing the breath dramatically out of her lips in a sigh as her body deflated against his back in defeat. He was always one step ahead of her; she would never win against him! There was nothing she could use as leverage against him whereas he is stockpiling embarrassing information as the seconds tick by. There must be something--some weakness she could expose in light jest like her ticklish sides.


Aoife could see it just by his body language alone. He wasn’t ready for the night to end. The realization made her chest feel light as if it were flying and her arms instinctively tightened around his neck as if she were trying to give him a hug in some form of appreciation and thanks. He may not know it, but he was making her feel things she shouldn’t. “An omelet it is. Do you want anything in it? Cheese, ham, onions, mushrooms?” Anything he asked she would make. It was the least she could do, after all he’s done for her. When they made it to her room and his grip on her thighs relinquished, Aoife was slow to get off him. Much like Jasper, Aoife didn’t want to leave him so soon, but she had to stick to her rule. After settling herself onto her bed she watched in silence as he examined her ankle, teeth chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to conjure up something--anything--to say to him. When he turned around to leave she scrambled for words; eyes dashed about in search of an idea--one last hail mary.

She found one. “Wait, Jasper!” Aoife scrambled up to her knees and crawled to the edge of the bed as quick as she could, reaching out just in time to grab his wrist and halt him, and with a little tug she hopefully pulled him down onto the bed next to her. “Your book! You’ve got to finish your book.” Once she was sure he was staying she would crawl over to the bedside table and grab the book he was reading the other night, offering it out to him with a hand on his shoulder to keep his balance. “You can’t start it and not finish it. You’ll hurt its feelings.” Aoife shot him a goofy smile, cheeks tinted a light pink. Maybe he wouldn’t notice that she was trying to force herself to let him leave. But then again, hopefully he would. Even after the rule she gave herself, letting him go was too difficult to do.

It was rare that Jasper missed the color that filled Aoife's cheeks. But the positioning of her face as she examined his head. It was fortunate for her, because he was feeling a bit sassy. There was no guarantee she would have been free from his taunting. More opportunities would arise though. When she walked into the room, he stood in her doorway, watching as she went to gather his hat. He shook his head as she apologized for her mess. His room wasn't perfectly clean either. He was in no position to judge. "Don't worry about it." He told her, lowering her head so that she could put in on his head for him. "Alright let's go!" He said, instinctively taking her hand once more, and heading toward the front door.

After her shower Aoife returned to her room, though not before making a detour into the kitchen to grab a package of Oreos and a glass of milk. Once in her room she set the cookies and milk on the bedside table and grabbed her phone. She only shrugged at Jasper's response, not even bothering with texting back. If she was there at the party, she was there and would return his hat just like he asked. Another shrug and she made her way over to her suitcases, pulling out undergarments and slipping them on to rid her body of the towel. Just in case she did decide to go to the party, Aoife settled on clothes that were a bit dressy: cropped black leggings with a long, bright blue racerback tank top. Okay, so it wasn't that dressy, but it would do. For her hair she decided to add a little cream that would make it glossy and smell divine, otherwise letting it air dry. Once she was done only twenty minutes had passed, so she clambered onto her bed and opened the Oreos; a quick dip into the milk before she popped it into her mouth.