brand new sounds

Jay Miller. 25. Angel Grove. Car mechanic. Lover of blues. “Maybe who we are isn’t so much about what we do, but rather what we’re capable of when we least expect it.”

[jaymillers]

cyxnrxnger:

Evelyn simply nodded in agreement. They were both on the same page which she found rare with most of her encounters in Angel Grove so far. Maybe it was because most of them were with her patients or her hellbent parents and others were with her co-workers and some old acquaintances that she couldn’t vibe with anymore. People change like seasons do and Angel Grove as a whole did the same during her lengthy absence. Then again, Evelyn was comparing her past to the present and she knows how much a decade can change a town. Perhaps Jay was giving her a chance at a new outlook on all this.

“I try.” she mused and bid her thanks as he helped her out with her belongings. Once they paid, Eve glanced over at Jay and listened in on his suggestion. “I actually walked over here from the hospital. Would it be cool to catch a ride with you? I’m still trying to learn my way around town.” Although she had settled in for a few months now, Evelyn didn’t have the time to venture off around town and know the spots. Only when she had the chance to would she explore, but even then she ended up stumbling across the Nexus and from there that ended up consuming most of her off days due to the training. 

“Yeah, that’s totally fine,” Jay nodded quickly and led the way across the empty parking lot to his truck. It was an old one and it didn’t have any fancy buttons to unlock it - just the old school key in the lock to get inside - so he unlocked the passenger door and let Evelyn get settled inside. He walked around the back of the vehicle to place the bags in the back, and take a seat behind the wheel. Jay said a little prayer to whatever automobile deity was up there to have his truck start with as little trouble as possible, and when it did he smiled in relief. They haven’t covered the job part yet, but it would be embarrassing if he had to admit he’s a mechanic with an old, faulty truck. 

“So, since you’re trying to learn your way around town,” he started and turned the volume down so he could hear her over the music, “I’m guessing you’re not from around here. What brings you to Angel Grove?” It was one of his favorite questions to ask strangers. It never failed to amaze him the kind of incredible stories people have - good and bad, and he felt like they helped him get to know them even before he really spent time with them. There were moments when he wondered what others thought of him based on his story of why he came to Angel Grove, but more often than not, he figured they thought him selfish for it. Someone who knows a thing or two about human psyche might have told him that this guilt directly affected his friendliness and increased it respectively, but Jay was clueless and happy to remain ignorant. Some things in life were meant to be left a mystery. 

Two left turns later, he could already see the place where they were headed, lit up at the end of the street. It looked as though the tables outside the food truck were empty, only one car was parked on the road, and Jay was soon lining up his own truck with it. “Don’t be discouraged by the look of it. The food’s amazing and the hygiene standards are high,” he reassured Evelyn who was probably questioning her decision to go there even though she hadn’t voiced her concerns yet.

[jaymillers]

crimsonhearted:

Head cocked slightly, Russ gave his friend a long look. He wasn’t entirely convinced by Jay’s explanation. Why was he so tired that he’d doze on his feet? He wanted to ask, but bit his tongue. If he kept pushing, Jay was sure to push back. It wasn’t like Russ had a good reason to be out here before the sun was fully risen, either. With a lift of his shoulders, Russ stifled a yawn. “It’s cooler this early.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth, either. The nightmares had kept him up for days, weeks, months by now, but that wasn’t the kind of thing that seemed like good pre-coffee talk. In fact, it wasn’t something Russ felt like sharing with anyone. It was probably just all snowballing from his injury and lack of any real life direction, anyway. What was he if not a football player? Russ didn’t know. He wasn’t a teacher (not yet). He was a coach, but that wasn’t fulfilling him entirely. But being here, in Angel Grove, felt…right for some reason. Something was out there. He just had to figure out what. “Plus, if I don’t do it first thing I’m jumpy all day.” Another truth, another lie of omission. This was becoming the norm.

Although Russ’s answer wasn’t defensive, it had a certain feel about it. Like he wasn’t being entirely honest himself, just like Jay wasn’t. He didn’t feel like sharing the truth for rather awkward reasons - why would he tell anyone about these nightmares that kept dragging him out of bed night after night? But what did Russ have to hide? Was he actually out there so early for reasons completely different from Jay’s? What could possibly get you out of bed at an hour when most normal people sleep? “Right, right, that makes sense,” Jay nodded, not entirely convinced, not entirely convincing in his response. Whatever it was, he realized, it was none of his business and maybe he should just let it go. It’s not like he didn’t have other worries on his mind already. “How’s your knee treating you? It doesn’t complain about all the exercising you do?”

[starsuponskin]

Late Night at the Bay || Open

[jaymillers]

0rangeranger:

Tommy let out a laugh when Jay said the cliche, but couldn’t help but agree. He’d stayed away from Angel Grove for years, but every second he was gone his whole body begged him to go back. When he eventually did, it was like the world had been black and white and Angel Grove was in glorious colour. He felt calm again.

When Jay mentioned that he hadn’t gone to college, Tommy smiled. “It’s overrated. You didn’t really miss too much. The parties and socials are fun for a week, but after that they all just sort of blur into one.” He lied easily, trying to convince Jay that not going to college wasn’t the end of the world. “Besides, all I got from college was a creative writing degree I’ll probably never use.” He shrugged it off. He’d made peace with it.

For two strangers who scared the hell out of each other in the middle of the night, Tommy and Jay seemed to have hit it off. An impression absolutely solidified by Tommy’s laughter and the calm look on Jay’s face. It was nice not to think about the dreams and the visions and what it all meant. It was driving him up the wall that he couldn’t figure out how to stop them and they were threatening to take over not just his nights, but his days alike. 

It was Jay’s turn to laugh at Tommy’s half-hearted attempt at downplaying his college experience. “You either didn’t do it right or you’re trying to make me feel better, in which case - thank you,” Jay smiled and dragged his foot over the sand absentmindedly. “What makes you say that? You could be the one to write the first ever tour book on Angel Grove.”

[jaymillers]

cyxnrxnger:

“Totally is, if anything I try to hold out on empathy or at least gain somewhat of an understanding.” mused Evelyn with a smile. After learning his name, she felt like they were off to a good start. So far they both had an understanding of each other and she truly enjoyed the company nevertheless. Therefore, she hoped that he would take her up on her offer. It’s been a while since Evelyn received a decent amount of human interaction that didn’t involve work. Today her intuition was telling her otherwise, that this would be different. 

Her facial features lit up as soon as she heard Jay’s response and immediately gave a nod of approval. "Awesome! Thanks!” she happily exclaimed as she made her way to the checkout. She didn’t pick up on any warning signs about him and if anything were to happen to her—then she wouldn’t hesitate to defend herself. On the other hand, she noticed that he wasn’t weirded out by her serial killer comment, which meant that at least he understood her humour. “I promise no funny business.” she replied with her hand over chest and the other held up in the air as if she was swearing in. “I’m simply just here for a good time and you’re def making a good call—burgers sound great to me. I’m starving and that’s a perfect pair with our drinks!” Evelyn then proceeded to pay for her items and waited for Jay to do the same, so he could lead the way to their destination. 

“Understanding is the most important part of it all, that’s for sure,” Jay nodded his head pensively, thinking about the understanding his parents lacked. His father, specifically. They couldn’t understand he wanted more out of life, they couldn’t relate, so it ended up with them not being in touch anymore at all. His mind spiraled, threatening to go off on a tangent that he could not have been pulled back from, but Evelyn’s enthusiasm broke through at the right moment. He pushed the thoughts away, locked them up neatly in that one drawer in his mind that he would never open again, and gave her a smile as they headed towards the registers. 

"That definitely puts me at ease,” he chuckled at her gesture and helped her unload the contents of her cart. He did the same with his own cart as she paid for her things. Two paper bags later and a couple of dollar bills short in his wallet, Jay had done the same and was ready to head out. “Are you here with a car? We could go with my truck, or you can just follow me over there, whichever works better for you. I could walk, too, it’s not that far.”

[jaymillers]

naomihall:

Realizing how she phrased it, Naomi smiled, looking at her feet and then back at him, who was now seemingly stretching. ‘’I mean, truth be told, a mechanic or the mechanic, not much difference if you ask me, I would hardly put those skills to the test considering how I don’t drive at all. I’m a public transportation kind of a gal. Nothing better than that glorious bumping of the the vehicle at every hole in the road and inevitably catching every single red light there ever was.’’ She chuckled. ‘’Who would ever choose their personal means of transportation over that, come on now,’’ She waved him off in a joking manner. ‘’The friendliest one?” Her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity as she watched him in his intentions. She had never really heard anyone refer to themselves like that, so she was instantly interested to hear what he had to say.

‘’Oh no no no,’’ Naomi shook her head as she rushed to reassure him that this was not what she originally meant with her comment. ‘’I didn’t mean it like that. I meant just like, I really get it when people take a break from their exercises and whatnot to stand by and watch for a bit. I mean, I would, too,’’ She shrugged. ‘’The routines are designed to attract attention, it’s understandable. It’s more of like, an internal issue, you know? You see all of these different dance studios outside of Angel Grove and I don’t have the funds to do something like that here, but I think my dancers really understand it in the long run.’’ She explained and leaned in against the wall, bringing her knee up to tie her shoelaces. At his question, she wanted to tell him how he had no idea, but she was sure that would spark his curiosity and she wasn’t supposed to talk about things. Zordon and Alpha made that very clear. ‘’I mean, yes, not gonna lie, but don’t we all?” She responded a little diplomatically. ‘’There’s always something someone is going through. I bet you have your own fair share of that, right?” Naomi asked and paused what she was doing, as she looked up at him with a smile.

In all honesty, Jay hadn’t used the public transportation in Angel Grove much. And his hometown is so small and irrelevant that there was none. The most he had done was take a bus to California, and after that, he mostly walked everywhere. It wasn’t the easiest when he had to go grocery shopping, but once he bought a truck, that was taken care of, too. Plus, he liked the idea of having as small of a carbon footprint as possible, which meant he walked to most places. Thankfully, in Angel Grove, that wasn’t difficult. Naomi, however, seemed to have some experience with it and he laughed at her vivid descriptions. “Do you really enjoy public transportation that much, or is there some other reason why you don’t drive?,” other than the fact that Angel Grove was notorious for its terrible drivers. “Yeah, can’t you tell already?,” Jay smirked and raised his arms in the air as if it should have been obvious by now.

He sat down on the floor as the exhaustion finally caught up with him, and listened to Naomi’s words. Again, he had no clue what it was like for dancers in town, so he took her word, nodding along. “But the important part is that you have where to dance so maybe just focus on that?,” he offered and shrugged his shoulders. Finding that silver lining and embracing it wasn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it was still worth mentioning. At her question, Jay laughed and shook his head; he pressed his palms on the floor behind him, leaning back against his arms. “Yeah, you’ve got that right, there’s always something even when it doesn’t seem like there is. I guess it’s what makes life fun, right?”

[jaymillers]

silverintraining:

“Ronnie? Ouch, man.” shaking his head and pushing the pedal completely, the car stopped just as Caleb leaned further against the window. “I didn’t know you were playing basketball, though.” he pursed his lips, shuffling the memories of any local basketball games he had seen in the past, and there wasn’t a single one he remembered seeing Miller in. “Come on, hop in.” he put his right hand back to the steering wheel and leaned against the seat. “Seeing you walking like an old lady pains me.” he chuckled.

Jay nodded when Caleb fully grasped just how serious his injuries were, considering who caused them. “Nothing serious, just decided to shoot some hoops after work. We do that every so often. Well, did that, ‘cause I’m not playing again if he is,” Jay laughed humorlessly, still bitter about being injured and not being able to go about his day at the usual pace. When Caleb told him to get in the car, Jay couldn’t fight the smirk growing on his lips. “I’m not under arrest, though, right?,” he joked as he ducked into the car, wincing and groaning only once. “You gonna be my taxi driver for the day?”

[jaymillers]

silverintraining:

Being alone on a patrol duty was never fun. After not more than an hour, Caleb was bored out of his mind. At least when he had his partner with him, this neighborhood - one in which nothing ever happened - didn’t seem so dull. Spotting a familiar face was like seeing Sun after heavy rain. The officer rolled down the window and slowed down, passing right next to the guy he didn’t really know well. It was one of those people he knew the name of, occasionally said hi to but never spoke for more than that. “What happened to you, Miller?” Miller… That was his last name, right? “An accident or?” his instincts kicked in and the cop inside him asked the question.

Hearing his name, Jay stopped in his tracks - not that there was much difference considering how slow he was moving - and turned to the direction the voice had come from. A patrol car was milling down the road next to him and Jay recognized the guy behind the wheel - Caleb Collins. “Basketball and Ronnie,” he explained. Caleb would know who Ronnie was given that they were both born and raised in Angel Grove. “It was like running into a mountain and trying to move it,” he shook his head and sighed in exasperation. “And I didn’t even try that hard, I was too busy falling on my ass.”

[jaymillers]

“Bed rest?! Whoever came up with the concept must have been lazy, ‘cause I don’t know how anyone else can spend longer than eight hours in bed or just sitting around doing nothing.” Jay grumbled, aware that he was talking to himself as he hobbled his way down the street, leaning against the crutch under his left shoulder

[jaymillers]

code blue

“We need some help here,” Jay’s co-worker, Ronnie, called out as they entered the ER of the local hospital. It appeared to be a somewhat slow day, judging by the number of patients in the waiting room, but Jay had been to the ER maybe once since he got to Angel Grove so he couldn’t tell for sure. Right now, however, he was leaning against the large man, hopping on one leg and wincing every time he moved, because the pain in his shoulder got worse whenever he took a breath, let alone something more. 

This was the last time he would ‘shoot some hoops’ with his co-workers. 

They approached the nurse at the station and Jay started to explain the situation. 

“We were at the basketball court, throwing the ball around, when I ran into this rock,” he gestured at the man three time his size who was the only reason Jay could now stand, even if it was his fault that he needed help in the first place. “I fell over, my shoulder hurts like hell and I can’t imagine standing on my left foot,” he finished the rundown of the events that unfolded, praying to God that nothing was broken because that would suck so, so much.

@dealingandhealing

[jaymillers]

cyxnrxnger:

“Ugh tell me about it.” agreed Evelyn with a firm nod. Listening to his words, she completely understood where he was coming from. The thought of always second guessing yourself was not only emotionally and mentally draining, but also a nuisance to deal with if it’s constantly on your mind. 

Evelyn expressed a light hearted laugh after hearing what kind of company he had. She had to admit, he had a point that at least she had Mimi there. Shaking her head, she then flashed him a reassuring smile and said, “Oh no, I don’t find it pathetic and pity is the last thing you’ll get from me.” Holding out her hand she decided that now was a good time to introduce herself. “I’m Evelyn by the way.” Her lips curled into a grin as she adds, “And if microwave dinner and the TV isn’t the kind of company you want tonight, then perhaps I could join you hm?” 

It was a random offer, two people bumping into each other in the supermarket and now here she is asking the person who recommended her alcohol to hang out. However, after her lengthy absence and returning back to Angel Grove, Evelyn didn’t know that much people here as she lost the relationships she once had. The thought of making new ones lingered in her mind, but she never had the chance at free time until now. “The more the merrier right? And I know the whole ‘don’t talk to strangers’ spiel applies to everyone, but I promise I’m not some serial killer picking up her victims through the use of alcohol.” she joked, before shaking her head. “No pressure though, totally fine if you’re not up for it.” 

Strangers or not, they saw eye to eye on this topic, and in Jay’s mind it was enough for them to bond, but that might have just been Jay’s friendly disposition. Her laughter rang around them and widened Jay’s smile, glad to hear she didn’t find him pathetic. “The last thing, huh? I hope that’s a good thing,” he thought out loud, amused by the idea. She didn’t strike him as someone who had no empathy, but pity was a separate category altogether. He hadn’t met a lot of people who wanted pity. Compassion, empathy, understand, sure; but pity? No way. She held out her hand and Jay quickly reached out to shake it. “Nice to meet you, Evelyn, I’m Jay.” 

In any other case, he would have imagined this to be an unrealistic scenario, if not a fantasy. However, seeing as he was living it now, it seemed completely reasonable to him. Maybe when he suggested that company made beers even better there was a part of him that had hoped for this outcome. Lord knows he wasn’t about to turn his nose up at it for many reasons, and since Evelyn was the one who suggested it, he really had no interest in denying either of them. Besides, everything sounded better than the alternatives they had planned. “You know, that’s actually a great idea, I’m going to take you up on that offer,” but as he said that, he chuckled at the words that followed, particularly the serial killer part. “I’ll take my chances either way. But, just to be sure you won’t use me, there’s a really good hole in the wall place in town that serves the best burgers you could imagine. What do you say about that? We get some burgers and wash them down with a few beers?”

[jaymillers]

kmrangerrover:

“Glad I could be your first then.” She said cheekily. It didn’t surprise her that people didn’t know many artists– they were honestly a dying breed. And considering that she did traditional art, that made her even more of a rarity. She really wanted to do more computer based art, but that was hard to do when she was working out of a van. And she’d done just fine without having to give up the van life, so why fix it if it wasn’t broke? “Really? Most people like portraits. Or crazy abstract art so they can be pretentious and say “Oh yes, the artist was in immense pain when they did this.” I can almost certainly say that any modern artist was probably just a bit stoned.” She said, putting on airs and graces as she pretended to be some snooty art critic.

“Hm. It depends. I work with watercolors a lot, so my art looks a lot more like… Milford Zornes? If you know him? I mean, pre-crazy Van Gogh paintings work too. But, if I’m just kinda throwing everything out there and not even thinking about landscape? Think… abstract. Like, drippy paints, loud color, that sort of thing. I don’t really do angles.” Kenna said, trying to explain what she meant. But, she’d never been good at verbalizing.

The double entendre in Kenna’s words made Jay laugh softly, bowing his head to the ground. It wasn’t out of embarrassment, Lord knows he spent so much time around crass and crude people whose language was... well, atrocious was putting it lightly, that his ears stopped burning red whenever someone around him used foul language. At first it came as a shock to mild-mannered and innocent Jay, but the surprise wore off quickly and turned into annoyance. And after years and years of listening to it all day every day, now it came in on one ear and out the other. Still, when it came from people he didn’t expect it from, it elicited this kind of reaction. Putting on a serious face, or more serious at any rate, Jay thought about her words for a moment, chuckling at the modern artist bit of her speech. “I suppose they were looking for something to give them an edge,” he grinned, knowing that much about artists in general. “For me the emotion is best seen in landscapes. And somehow, there’s something pure and unfiltered about them. I couldn’t tell you what it is, but I know the feeling when I see a painting.” And he didn’t really want to make a fool of himself in front of someone who knew what they were talking about.

“I’ve no idea who that is,” he admitted shyly, scratching the back of his neck. Cultured was not an adjective anyone ever used to describe Jay, and most of the time, that was entirely alright with him. “I like how the watercolors sound, though. Soft edges, nice colors, that’s the kinda thing I can like.”

[jaymillers]

militarytechie:

He had a pretty cool job and it sucked that he couldn’t really openly talk about it. He knew why he couldn’t but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to from time to time. The only people he could really talk about his job with was his parents because his father was in The Service. If he couldn’t talk to him about it, he couldn’t talk to anyone. “Oh, I live here. I’ve lived here for a couple years now.” He’d come to love this town he got stationed in. It was pretty perfect for his needs and wants when it came to small town living.

“You have?,” Jay was genuinely confused. He thought he had met just about everyone at least once, but he couldn’t remember ever coming across this man. Maybe there was more about Angel Grove he was yet to learn, more people to meet, at any rate. “Well, now I feel like a bad neighbor, ‘cause I don’t remember seeing you before,” he moved the coffee cup into the hand that was already holding the muffin bag, and offered it for a handshake. “I’m Jay.”

[jaymillers]

kmrangerrover:

“Well, now you have. And hey, now you know an artist. Or at least, you know a painter. You might know some people who doodle or do photography, which is still art.” She shrugged, scratching her dog under the bandana to make up for the lack of snuggles. “Around town? Hm. I mean, I’m not opposed to doing stuff in town– Main Street seems super cool from a visual sense– but I really prefer to do nature landscapes. But yup, I’m definitely inspired by this place.” Kenna nodded. Inspired to do vaguely troubling abstract stuff from her dreams, but inspiring nonetheless. Art block was rough, particularly when it came to living in a van, but she was luck enough to have found a place that really got the creative part of her brain going.

“I can check that off my bucket list, for sure,” he grinned, trying to think of other items on that list, but drawing blanks for the time being. Being the least artistic person he knew, unless you considered fixing stubborn cars to be a work of art, Jay didn’t really pay much attention to those hobbies in others, but he assumed there were quite a few people who dabbled in them. “I don’t blame you. The only works of art I liked in the few museums I visited were all landscapes. Would you say your stuff is more traditional or is it like Picasso, all angles and confusion?” That was about as much as he knew about art. He’d never be able to tell art schools apart, but he could pick out the Picasso stuff - everyone could.

[jaymillers]

militarytechie:

“I work for the government, actually.” Even though he wasn’t a part of the CIA or anything like that, it wasn’t the smartest thing in the world to reveal his occupation. You never know who might be a plant. He always tried to be vague enough to keep himself out of potential trouble. Once he mentioned the government, people usually just accepted that for what it was. “You can’t exactly sleep when duty calls, know what I mean?”

“Oh, okay,” Jay nodded at the vague answer. It told very little, but at the same time, just enough. He realized he had poked his nose into things that were none of his business, so he figured it was time to let it go. “Yeah, no, I imagine your boss - our government - would not be happy with that,” he laughed a little at his own joke - he was one of those people sometimes - just as the other man’s order was brought up, Jay’s following quickly. “I take it you’re gonna be spending some time in Angel Grove, then?,” he asked as he picked up his coffee and the bag with the muffin, heading towards the door.

[jaymillers]

kmrangerrover:

Kenna had a pretty good feeling that Jay didn’t take her seriously, but didn’t care enough to comment. He hadn’t said anything condescending, which already put him head and shoulders above about 80% of the mechanics she had met over the years. “Roger that.” She said, matching his grin with a smarmy salute. 

Kenna furrowed her brow for a moment– what did asking him if he was local..? Oh..! “Right, right. I guess not many people go looking around for an art shop. I mean, unless you actually like to do it as a hobby or something.” She said awkwardly, wringing her hands slightly as Sarabi flipped over onto her belly and lay on the ground, watching the exchange with slightly bored eyes. “I have a few ideas. I’m definitely going to be doing a painting of the town from the top of…” She turned around and squinted off into the distance, pointing towards the mountain she’d scouted out the other day. “There. But the rest just depends on what calls to me. At the moment, that seems like the forest. Maybe the quarry? I’m not sure, I’ll figure it out eventually though.”

Jay usually liked everyone and treated everyone he came across in that same manner. He assumed he could be friends with everyone but, at the same time, keep them at an arm’s length from his own affairs. It usually worked out just fine for him, although he couldn’t say he had a lot of people he could confide in. So, in that spirit, he thought Kenna was pretty friendly and spunky - especially after that salute. Or her dog was friendly and she was spunky. It made for a good match, either way.

“I’ve never been asked that question, especially not about the really good stuff and not the crayolas,” he chuckled, glancing at the dog who did not appreciate the lack of attention she was being given. When Kenna pointed at the top of the mountain he wondered how someone who wasn’t a local and was just passing through town simply stumbled onto the best spot for looking over the town? He only found it in the past few weeks that he had been having those dreams and annoying pulls towards the spot. Still, it was nothing he could comment on to a stranger so he nodded his head to all the spots she listed. “There’s quite a few scenic places in town so you should be plenty inspired.”

[jaymillers]

greenjanellybean:

Jae listens to his simple answer, smiling at his chuckle since they had a feeling that there was a story behind it. “Fate, huh? Usually, that would be a copout answer but eh, I can totally get that.” Sometimes situations can only be described in simple words such as that. They’ve learned this a few times in the past already and maybe they could chalk that up as her own reason for ending up in this town once she finally justifies this choice rather than nearly regretting it.

At his next question, after she explains her little slang word, Jae got very offended, her mouth hanging slightly agape. “I’ll have you know, the legal drinking age in Canada is nineteen and I’ve been drinking way before that. But yeah, obviously I’m old enough to buy beer.” She says, rather very huffy about it. She totally thought that she easily looked her age and passed as a model twenty-one year old.

Jay shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle at the copout answer comment. It wasn’t like that, but then again, she was a stranger and he wasn’t really going to tell her all about his life, no matter how friendly he was. “Just the truth, really, but thanks for not making me come up with another one,” he meant it, too - she could have easily made that into another game and he wasn’t really in the mood for those, if that hadn’t been clear before. The offended expression of her face nearly made Jay laugh out loud - and he was certain she would appreciate that even less, so he pretended to cough in order to mask it. “Yeah, but you’re not in Canada and you were talking about buying beer here instead of those two ice creams,” he gestured at the melting mess in her hands which, somehow, she still hadn’t finished, probably because it wasn’t all that easy to take down two ice creams at once. “Didn’t mean to offend, you’re just very youthful.”

[jaymillers]

naomihall:

Naomi chuckled with a soft shake of her head. ‘’I’m not that easily offended,’’ She remarked and waved him off. She really had a high amount of tolerance for people in general; she had the experience of dealing with many different personalities and considering most of her dancers were girls, there needed to be a person with nerves of steel to handle all the potential bickering. Girls could be nasty. That was one of the reasons she didn’t take a lot of things personally or to heart, and not many things were able to get to her. Perhaps it was because she always tried to see the bigger picture in everything, to keep herself grounded and objective as much as it was humanly possible – that was what her parents always taught her. ‘’I think you’re right,’’ She said with a smile, as she took a seat on the bench and started removing her ankle warmers.

At his comment about scaring him, she looked up, a little surprised, but in a positive way. ‘’I’m sorry – I guess? I mean, thank you.’’ A small smile was still lingering on her lips, even though her own question sounded a little unsure. The worry he seemed to have been exhibiting was rare in general, let alone with it came down to people you didn’t really know that well. ‘’You’re the mechanic, right?’’ She wasn’t sure if they ever touched that topic in their superficial, short conversations, but Naomi recalled that she might have overheard him discuss something like that with someone at the gym. ‘’Oh hey, really?” Her eyes lit up in mutual understanding. ‘’I’m the same. Especially since not everyone really feels comfortable dancing when like 20 guys are able to stare at their butts.’’ She shrugged with a smile. ‘’Most of them get used to it, but I know what you’re saying. It’s so—– nice when it’s quiet around here. I can be the one with my thoughts and all that jazz. Since you know, I’m not exactly the diary type of a gal.’’ Naomi explained.

With Naomi taking a seat on the bench, Jay figured he could stretch out and call it a night. He did manage to do most of what he planned for the evening so if he cut it a series short there was no major harm done, right? Deciding all on his own that, yes, it was so, he leaned down, touching the floor with his hands, the muscles in his thighs tingling with delight. “You’re good,” he glanced at her with a smile from this ridiculous position he had taken. He could feel the blood rush to his head and he assumed he was getting more red in the face by the moment, so he straightened up and nodded his head. The mechanic. Wasn’t what he thought people would know him as, but it beat being known as a fisherman by a long mile. “Technically, a mechanic, ‘cause there’s a few of us at the garage, but I’m the friendliest one,” he coupled the words with a playful wink and repeated the exercise once more. 

Naomi proceeded to tell him about how she preferred later nights at the gym, as well, and suddenly Jay felt a bit like she was calling him out on watching their routines or whatever they were called. “If you mean me, I never mean to stare and I never objectify, it’s just... it’s fascinating what you all do here,” he attempted to justify himself, wondering if Naomi was talking about him specifically or just men at the gym in general. “You got a lot of worries on your mind, huh?”