How They Met- Ophelia and Jasper
Ophelia loved the practice rooms in the music building. The soundproof padding made it feel so isolated from the rest of campus, making them her regular hideaway when the outside world was too overwhelming. This is where she found herself now, strumming on a mostly out-of-tune guitar, borrowed from a friend, so as not to get kicked out for just sitting in there. It was moments like these that made her deeply consider switching to a music major of some kind.
But what would she do with it? She wasn’t exactly gifted musically. She barely had a sense of pitch and no interest in working in big bands or orchestras. As if she would even get in. No, the major she had was perfect. After graduating, she could work with the Rhodes. Pay them back for helping her get into college in the first place. Then figure out her life from there.
That line of thinking was quickly replaced by the anxieties that caused her to retreat to her sanctuary in the first place. The party.
Dylan, one of the few friends she made, had told her this wouldn’t be like a “true” party. Just something small and simple to help dip her toes into. After all, she had never been to a party ever in her life and she wasn’t good with strangers. This was an attempt for her to get comfortable around normal society than the shit show she was raised in.
She would forever appreciate Dyl. Outside of the Accommodations Department of the college, he was the only one who knew about her childhood and had been nothing be a support and resource for her. He knew that she needs to be pushed outside her comfort zone a bit, but also knew when enough was enough.
But today she was heavily starting to question his choices. There was just so much that could go wrong. And then there was his comment, about introducing her to a friend that he thought she’d “really hit it off with”. What if this individual was a creep? She didn’t know if she could feel comfortable telling Dyl that she doesn’t like someone who he went out of the way to introduce.
THUMP. THUMP. “Can you not just try to tune that guitar? It’s driving me insane!”
Ophelia gave a deep sigh. Leave it to Thacker to get her out of a spiral by complaining.
“I have nothing to tune it to. I’m afraid it will probably only get worse if I try to correct it,” she spoke in a quiet tone. “So unless you’re going to help with it, you’ll just have to remain silent.”
She could only make out his grumblings under his breath, most likely not pleased that she wasn’t born with a perfect pitch like he was.
She was going to point out the obvious advantage he had here, but he spoke up before she did.
“Look alive, sounds like that idiotic friend of yours is coming. Don’t recognize the other guy’s voice.”
“Thank you for the heads up.” She made her voice as sweet as possible, which made his chest puff out a bit.
Three knocks come from the door. “Hey, Ophi, ready?” Dylan’s voice came from outside the door.
“Give me a moment to pack up,” she replied, slightly louder than normal to be heard outside the room.
Ophelia packed the guitar up in its case quickly, thanks to the obscene number of times in the past she had done so. Thacker decided today he wished to be an angel, and already went ahead into his carrier and sat still while she zipped it all up. She tried not to make her amusement at the complacency after the praise visible on her face. Then, with a quick last glance over the room, she put the strap to the carrier over her head and with some struggling difficulty picked up the guitar case and opened the door. Or at least, she tried to. Opening a heavy door holding a heavy guitar case was not exactly easy.
She opted to push the door back with as much force as possible and then attempted to shuffle out the door before it kicked back.
Unfortunately, the hinges of the doors must have been recently looked at, cause it was coming back with considerable speed.
She just barely hissed out a quick “Shit” before a large hand shot out and pulled her forward and away from the door moving at high velocity.
Ophelia heard the door behind her click shut but didn’t process it. She was too focused on the hands still holding her shoulders. They weren’t clenched but had just enough force to keep her upright. Something about them felt…safe.
“Are you alright there?” The voice was so deep and yet soft.
Ophelia looked up to see the origin of this voice and came face to face with one of the most handsome individuals she had ever seen.
She nodded and squeaked out a small, “Yeah, I’m fine.”
This caused the stranger to chuckle, dropping his hands and taking a small step back.
Now that her entire field of vision wasn’t blocked by him, she could see Dyl standing beside them. He seemed to be amused by the events that just transpired.
“Struggling with the door, Ophi?”
“Shut up,” she hissed back. This made Dylan burst out laughing. She would probably punch his shoulder if it wasn’t for the guitar in her hands. Speaking of, she needed to put it back in the locker.
“I’m gonna put this back. You can come with me if you’d like.” She made to start down the hall before the stranger spoke up.
Before she even got the chance to respond, he had scooped the handles for the case from her hands and shifted it to where he was holding it with one hand.
Ophelia looked to Dyl, unsure of what to do. Who was this?
Dylan caught the alarm. “Oh right. Ophelia this is Jasper. He’s that friend I was telling you about. He’s chill, promise.” His face was full of sincerity and his assurance helped. A lot.
She nodded. “Ok then. Thank you for helping. We’ll, uh, go this direction,” she gestured down the hall, feeling more and more awkward the more she stood there.
If Jasper noticed, he didn’t give it away. “Lead the way, my dear.”
She started, keeping her face down to hide her blush.
Jasper and Dylan kept step with her. Probably because they both could step over her head if they so wished. Curse my stupid genetics, she thought.
“So, you excited for your first party, Ophi?” Bless Dyl for trying to break the silence.
“I guess. Just, a little nervous.”
“That’s fair, but don’t worry. This will be chill as hell. I know all of the people at the party, so It shouldn’t get out of hand!”
She nodded in response. “That’s nice.”
They had arrived at the locker. Ophelia opened the lock with practiced ease and swung out the door of the locker. She turned to take the guitar from Jasper’s hand, but found him reaching past her, putting it in himself.
“Oh. Thank you.” Why was this guy so smooth? It was almost alarming.
He gave her a warm smile. “No problem.”
“And now,” Dylan exclaimed, “We go to drink!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ophelia should have figured that this would be how it would go.
They arrived at the house the party was at, only to find it was crowded. Lights beaming out of the windows and music absolutely blaring. (Thacker didn’t have to express his hatred of this. She could feel it. And didn’t blame him at all.)
Dylan was pissed and banged on the door so hard, she heard the windows shake.
The host answered the door.
“Hey man! Glad to see you ma-”
“Bro, what the fuck?! This was not what we agreed on! Who the hell are half of these people?”
“Chill. They’re some friends. And a few are friends of friends. But it’s not that bad. This sounded more fun than what you said anyways, don’t you think?”
Ophelia could almost smell the drink on his breath. That, plus the idea of being surrounded by people no one knew in such a cramped space, started to make her feel nauseous.
Dylan was still raving at the door.
“It doesn’t matter. The thing is, we made a deal about what would happen and you just blew that all off! None of this was agreed to!”
“Relax dude. Your little friend here will be fine. She can just take some deep breaths and live with it, like a grown-up.”
She could see the steam coming from Dylan’s ears. This would not end well.
“Dyl, it’s fine.” She had to raise her voice to even be heard. Dyl turned to her. “I’ll be fine. We can stay for a little bit. I don’t want to ruin you’re fun.” She tried to give the most assuring smile she could.
“Are you sure?” He asked.
“Positive. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to go.”
They stared at each other for a bit. Her trying to convince him that she would be fine, and him trying to search for any hesitation. It seems like she convinced him.
“Fine, we can stay.” He sighed. Then he glared at the host at the door, “But this conversation is NOT over.”
The host beamed back. “Well, then we can continue it, inside!”
Sometime later, Ophelia was in a corner, praying to the gods that she would just end it all then and there. Dylan was dragged off within five minutes of them entering the door after he found her this corner in the first place. She had seen him here or there with a drink in hand, so his absence wasn’t too unsurprising. He was the one who made her realize the lightweight trope actually does exist. Once he’s two drinks in, he’s beyond gone.
She hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jasper since they entered the door. But to be blunt she wasn’t exactly looking too hard for him. She still didn’t know him that well and didn’t want to harp on him. He didn’t exactly sign up to babysit her.
The only company she had at the moment was Thacker, who was beyond pissed in his carrier. He was the only voice she could make out, which didn’t say much considering the link made it where he spoke directly to her head. (A blessing and a curse) She of course couldn’t exactly reply, without looking insane and she wanted to avoid as much attention as possible.
The smells of alcohol and cigarette smoke mixing with her anxiety were making her feel very nauseous. This, partnered with the loud noise and flashing lights, made it impossible to read the book she brought. But she kept trying to focus on it, fearing that she would go insane if she couldn’t.
She’ll text Dylan that she left. Her apartment wasn’t too far. She could walk it. But she definitely couldn’t stay here. She packed her book and started making for the door. She could vaguely register bumping into people, Thacker calling for her to be careful, her legs moving.
Some puff of smoke from something hit her face and had one of the worst smells she’d ever smelt and her nausea reared its ugly head.
Ophelia practically sprinted to the door and pushed it open with her full force, and damn near lept down the stairs in the front. She moved to some bushes at the front of the house, dropped to her knees, and begged her gut not to hurl and her eyes not to cry.
Then the door was opened again and a powerful gust of the smell of the party wafted over and she was retching. The bitter bile caused her eyes to sting with tears.
Then she felt the presence of someone behind her and a deep, soothing voice cooed, “You’re ok. Just get it all out.” Jasper took her hair and held it behind her head, his other hand rubbing small circles on her back. The kindness in his behavior nearly made her start crying completely.
After a few seconds, making sure she was done, she turned her head slightly towards Jasper. “Thank you,” she croaked.
“No problem, sweetheart. Take it easy,” he handed her a bottle of water and she took it gratefully, chugging half of it in one go. They sat in silence, his hand still a comforting presence on her back. Then he spoke again.
“You’re done. You need to go home.”
She snorted, “No shit. I was just leaving.”
“A good plan. I’ll get Dylan.”
“Don’t bother,” her voice was still raspy from the bile. “He’s wasted. I’ll just walk home. It’s not too far.” She straightened and opened her phone to look at her map.
He shook his head, “There’s no way I’m letting you walk by yourself home.”
“I’ll be fine. Honestly, I love to walk and the fresh air will be good. It’s only about 6 miles.”
She opened her mouth to assure him again, but he spoke first. “My house is 30 minutes from here. From there I can drive you home.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but at the look on his face, she shut her mouth.
“That’s what I thought.” He smiled slyly, pulled out his phone, clicked on it, and then put it back in his pocket. “Just texted Dylan that I’m taking you home. Let’s go.”
They walked in silence for a bit, Ophelia sipping on her water and Jasper leading them down the road. After a pause, Ophelia decided to speak.
“So, what’s your major?” Nice. Very original.
“I don’t go to school. I work as a farm hand at a local farm.”
“Oh cool. My… parents own a farm. It’s mostly cattle.”
“Interesting. What’s your major? Music?”
“No, uh, animal science. I’m not that musically gifted to make it a career.”
“Don’t say that. I thought your playing was nice.”
“Thank you.” She felt her cheeks flush.
Jasper opened his mouth to ask another question but was interrupted by a gargling sound and Ophelia’s cheeks flushed for a completely different reason. Thacker chuckled.
“Sorry about that,” she quickly sputtered out. “I don’t know-”
“Did you eat today?” His voice was stern, eyes holding hers steadily.
“I had lunch after class.”
He shook his head and tisked. “That’s not enough. I’ll make you dinner when we get to my place.”
“Oh, no, you don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion.”
She shut her mouth, realizing arguing was futile. This caused him to chuckle.
Her heart missed a beat. Why was this causing her to lose her mind? She had never swooned over someone before for something so simple. Maybe it was because no one had ever treated her quite like this. She wasn’t used to someone forcefully caring for her like it was so important. True, she recently had a small list of people who would do so, but there was something different about how he did it. It was still bizarre.
His voice broke her out of her stupor. “Now let’s think of what I have at home.” He hummed in thought. “How does spaghetti sound?”
“I’ve honestly never really had some I liked.”
“Well then, I must see if I can change that.” He smiled, nudging her side which caused her to giggle in response.
She liked his smile. It was really warm and sincere, like a lot of things about him. It was nice.
“You’re really nice,” she blurted. She heard Thacker snort. God, why can’t I be normal for 30 seconds?
Jasper threw his head back and laughed, making her relax. “I don’t hear that often. But thank you for the sentiment.”
She was going to defend her viewpoint but he spoke first.
“We’re here! Welcome to my humble home.”
Jasper’s house wasn’t huge, but it was certainly bigger than her one-bedroom apartment. In fact, it was two stories, which was very shocking to her, being used to most houses she goes to being owned by college students.
“If you don’t mind, leave your shoes at the door. I’ll start on dinner,” he said as they walked through the door. The house smelled faintly of lavender, most likely due to the lavender plant growing on the counter in the kitchen, which was an amazing difference from the smell of the house at the party. The house was clean and well-kept. He had cast the lights as a gentle glow, further justifying the atmosphere of the party. Overall it was amazing.
Her thoughts were distracted from a clang of Jasper getting something out of a cabinet. “Oh, I can help-”
“Oh no, you don’t. You’ve been through a rough night. The only thing I need from you,” he placed a glass of water on the counter in front of her, “is to relax and drink that. I would greatly prefer if you drank a whole glass before I finish. Do you think you could do that?”
“Good.” He flashed a smile that could make the most frozen of hearts melt, and in a way, it made her want to do this for him.
“I’m getting sick of this bag! Let me out!”
“Thacker, knock it off,” she hissed, placing the carrier on the counter.
Jasper froze, trying to process what was happening.
“I’ve been in this bag for hours!”
Ophelia rolled her eyes as she unzipped the bag.
“What is that?” Jasper asked.
“Sorry, it’s my rabbit, Thacker. He’s being a little shit.” She sat at the counter and pulled him out, placing him in her lap. “There. Now stop complaining.”
Jasper laughed. “Figures you would have a rabbit.”
“Nothing, nothing. Do you mind me asking why you brought your rabbit to a house party?”
“I take him everywhere. He’s my emotional support rabbit and one of the few comforts I have in my life. He was brought along so that if I got overwhelmed at the supposed to be much less cramped house party, I could hold him.”
“How sweet. Speaking of, are you feeling better?”
“Yeah, I just. Couldn’t take it. I’ve never been to a place like that before, so it was kinda scary.”
“I’m sorry. I should have made a better effort to stay with you.”
“It’s fine, really. We just met, I wasn’t going to take away from your night by forcing you to sit with me. I’ve already forced you to leave-”
“First off,” he butted in, “you didn’t force me to do anything. I don’t think you physically could. I willingly decided to leave the, in all honesty, very shitty party to help you get somewhere that you’d feel safe. Second off, it would not be a burden to me to sit with you if you need it.”
You say that, Ophelia thought to herself. She’d heard quite a handful of people say stuff like that, but when the moment of truth came, no one really meant it. Plus, she was sure that Dylan didn’t debrief him on the specifics out of respect for her privacy. Poor Jasper had no clue what he was getting himself into.
And maybe that was why, deep down, Ophelia was nervous when interacting with him. He seemed nice enough. But she had a lot in her past that she hadn’t even begun to conquer, and Jasper may not exactly be willing to deal with that. Dylan was one thing. He was always going to stay a certain length away. They were friends. No more, no less. That line was drawn and neither of them had any interest in even toeing it.
But from the start, Jasper just felt…different.
She was mulling all of this over when Jasper’s phone went off. He took it out of his pocket, observing the screen.
“Looks like Dylan has sobered up enough to find his phone and not find us,” he chuckled. He accepted the call and placed the phone on his shoulder, holding it with the side of his head. “Hello?”
Jasper’s house was so quiet, she could almost clearly hear the voice on the other end. It definitely sounded distressed.
“Easy there. Ophelia’s ok. I took her home with me and now we’re having something to eat. Care to join us?”
Before she could listen to the rest of the conversation, Thacker started tugging at her shirt.
“What?” she hissed quietly.
“When are we heading home?”
“After I eat. Why are you so eager?” She tried her best for Jasper not to notice her speaking to the rabbit in her lap. That would be odd to explain. However, it seemed like between whatever the hell Dylan was rambling about while drunk and the pasta, he was wrapped up.
“I don’t like this guy. His smell is off. We should go.”
Ophelia rolled her eyes. Sure, Thacker had been there through thick and thin. But his “danger sense” was always going off over silly things. She could count on one hand the times he was actually correct about someone being “off”.
“I’m serious, kid. This guy is something not to be messed with. We should-”
Her head shot up. Jasper was watching her, concern etched on his face.
She took a deep breath. “Yeah just… still getting used to the quiet.” It wasn’t a full lie. Maybe she could get away with it.
His face softened into a smile, “Would you like me to put on some music? Just something instrumental in the background?”
She couldn’t help the smile that she felt crawl onto her face. “Do you have any piano or guitar?” God, she sounded like a child.
He chuckled, “If not, I’m sure I can find some.” He walked over to a speaker and began to plug his phone in.
“If I may…” As she began, he immediately turned to face her, as if enraptured by the sound of her voice alone. “There’s an album, I don’t know if it’s on whatever music app you use, but it’s a collection of Bach’s sonatas played on the guitar. It makes for great background music.” She gave the album name and artist.
“I’ll see if I can track it down. It’s impressive you remember that so well.” He faced the device in his hand, which she definitely wasn’t going to complain about as it made it to where he didn’t see the blush she got from such an odd statement.
“Oh, well. It’s a good album. I listen to it frequently,” as she spoke the familiar strums of the guitar filled the air, and with it, she felt the tension in her shoulders dissipate.
Jasper had gone back to the pots on the stove, one with the spaghetti and the other with marinara, and started doting on them. Checking the noodles, stirring them around. He got a spoon, dipped it into the sauce, blew on it, and tasted it, seemingly mulling over the flavor in his head. He nodded, seemingly content with the flavor.
Ophelia was starting to notice she greatly enjoyed watching him when he was focused. He moved with confidence and seemingly practiced movements. Maybe once upon a time, he was a theater kid.
When she noticed he began to plate the food, she immediately remembered the water. She had been sipping on it but wasn’t quite done. She rapidly took the cup and chugged the last few sips, just in time for him to turn around with the plates in hand.
“Well look at that, you finished it for me. Well done. Would you like another glass of water or something else?” he asked, placing a plate in front of her. She felt Thacker stir at his closeness.
“I’ll take water, please. Thank you.”
Jasper whisked the cup away, adding some ice to replace the cubes that melted and refilling the water. When he turned back around, she noticed his brow furrow.
She felt her face warm in embarrassment. Right, that awful habit.
“Sorry, I don’t eat unless I… uh… see others eating first.” So as to not get punished, she wanted to add. But she wasn’t going to kill the mood. Not here and not now.
“Ah, I see,” he exclaimed. “Well then, in that case.” And like that he dug in, twirling the noodles around on his fork and popping it into his mouth. A pleased hum came from deep in his throat.
Ophelia followed suit, twirling the fork and all, then brought the food to her mouth and hesitantly ate it.
“Holy shit,” she exclaimed, mouth half full. “This is amazing!”
Jasper full-bellied laughed at her response, having to bend over to catch his breath. “You sound so shocked,” he managed to say.
“Well, it’s just. Usually, I hate spaghetti, but this is,” her voice expressed her total awe, “Amazing.”
Jasper smiled. “Well then, eat up, bunny. It’s all yours to savor.”
She practically began to inhale it. Of course, she didn’t throw all manners out the window, but this was by far the best meal she’d had since coming to college and she was not going to squander it.
Across the countertop, Jasper ate in turn. He seemed to have a majority of his attention focused on her. She probably would have cared more if it wasn’t for the fantastic meal in front of her. He seemed quite pleased, probably in himself for making such a fine meal. And he had every damn right to be.
All too soon, her plate was empty. Jasper, apparently an absolute cooking wizard, had perfectly made enough for the both of them, so there was nothing to box up into containers.
“Please, at least let me help clean up,” she begged. “I want to feel somewhat useful.”
“Alright, alright,” he sighed. “You can wash the dishes while I tidy up. Sounds good?” She nodded, plopping Thacker onto the counter so he could oversee the kitchen.
He seemingly froze in place, probably still assessing the “danger” that Jasper brought.
Ophelia strolled over to the sink and began cleaning, humming along to the music. She could hear Jasper shuffling around behind her, putting the unused ingredients away, throwing out the trash, and other sorts. And for a brief moment Ophelia thought, is this what a real, true home feels like?
In a moment, the room was flung into pandemonium. Thacker, apparently completely losing it, had jumped from the counter and began running around like a lunatic. Ophelia dropped what she was cleaning and spun to see what had caused him to spook, but found nothing.
Great, she thought. Now she was the one who had to calm down the mad rabbit.
Jasper had moved, trying to grab him before he hurt himself or got lost, but that caused Thacker to let out an actually audible shriek, and bound in the opposite direction.
“Thacker, you little bastard. Calm down.” Ophelia scolded, dropping to her knees and extending her arms slightly.
Like a lost puppy, he instantly jumped into her arms, and she brought him close to her chest. He was still quaking but somehow managed to calm down enough. He was completely silent, for once, and Ophelia couldn’t help but feel grateful for that.
“You’re all right, buddy,” she crooned, standing to full height as she gently moved to where she laid the carrier. “It’s all ok. We’ll be home soon, just a few more minutes. Just sit tight.” And with that she zipped him in, praying to the gods that he would follow the routine of his usual meltdowns and just pass out.
She gave a deep sigh and turned back to Jasper, who looked just as stunned as Thacker.
“I’m so sorry about that,” she began, “Every once and awhile he has these weird freakouts where he just panics for no observable reason.” She chuckled, hoping to diffuse the tension. “I hope he didn’t cause any trouble.”
He remained motionless, seemingly lost in thought.
With that, he was back. He began to laugh himself, though it definitely felt a bit more forced. “That was…something.”
“Yeah,” she awkwardly chuckled, “That’s Thacker for you.”
“Here and there, yeah.” The back of her hand was starting to sting a bit. Did she get scratched? “He’s perfectly fine after he crashes and sleeps for a few hours. Hopefully, that’s what he’s doing now.” She began to rub where the stinging came from.
“I’ll finish up the dish-” She finally looked down at her hand. Blood. She was bleeding. But how-?
She glanced in the sink and miraculously saw the kitchen knife which she had dropped in the excitement. Apparently, her hand was somewhere in the trajectory of its fall.
Jasper was by her in a second. “Are you ok?” His voice was panicked, bless him.
“Yeah,” she assured, holding her hand where he could see, “Just cut myself in all of the madness. You wouldn’t happen to have a bandaid would you?”
He immediately went to a cabinet and started digging in it, eventually pulling out a first aid kit, and bringing it over to her.
She reached for the box in his hand. “Thanks! I’ll take-”
“Let me,” Jasper said, moving the box to where she couldn’t reach it. He used his “Don’t argue with me voice” and she obeyed, holding out the injured hand.
He got a wet paper towel and began to wipe the excess blood away. He then took out some sort of cream and smoothed it over the cut. For the final step, he got a bandaid and secured it to her hand.
He was so gentle, Ophelia thought, I could barely feel his skin on mine. At that moment, it was like she was porcelain, so fragile but still so adored.
She looked back up at him and their eyes met. For a moment, time stood still. Why did his eyes do so much to her? Why did every time she looked into them, she felt like she was safe? Like this is where she was meant to be?
She quickly broke eye contact and looked back to the sink. “We need to finish…”
“You’re not finishing anything but the day, my dear,” Jasper interrupted. He practically planted his hands on her shoulders and began to lead her over to where her carrier is. “I think you have had more than enough excitement for one night. I’ll drop you off at your apartment.”
“But I don’t want to leave you with a mess,” she insisted.
“It’s almost midnight. I’m sure you and your little friend are tired. Plus I can’t have you working with a damaged hand now, can I?”
“It’s just a scratch,” she giggled. But she gave in, picking up the carrier and slinging the strap on her shoulder.
Jasper seemed pleased at her compliance. He escorted her to the door, where they put their shoes back on, and he grabbed his keys from a table by the door, and out they went.
The car ride fell into a comfortable silence after Ophelia gave her address. Jasper was focused on the road and the GPS, and Ophelia was focused on observing him. No music played in the background as they drove, making it seem like they were out of time and space. Like nothing else existed but the interior of this car.
She tried her best to stifle her yawn, but apparently, Jasper still caught it.
“Someone is getting sleepy,” he chuckled.
“As you’ve reminded me a few times, I’ve had a long day.”
“That you have. Do you have anything tomorrow?”
“No, just schoolwork.” She yawned again. “And I guess sleeping in.”
“Well then, if you’d like, I would love to do something with you. It doesn’t have to be tomorrow. But I would like to hang out with you more.”
She didn’t need to think about it too hard.
“I really need to get this work done as soon as I can, but I can do Sunday if you’re free. I’d love to do something with you.”
Jasper looked over to where she sat. “Then it’s a date.”
Ophelia didn’t get time to process what he said, as they had turned into the parking lot of her complex. She directed him to a spot that was close to her building and after he parked, she unbuckled and began to get out. To her surprise, so did he.
“I want to make sure you get to your room safely. It’s only good manners,” he stated, leaving no room to argue. “What would you like to do Sunday? We could get something to eat, or go to a movie.”
“I’m not a fan of movie theaters,” Ophelia replied. “There’s a shopping center nearby with a bookstore I’ve been wanting to go to. Would you be ok with that?”
“Absolutely,” Jasper answered, following Ophelia up the staircase.
Ophelia pulled her key out as they arrived at the door. She paused and looked back at him. “I would invite you in but it’s a little messy.”
“I would decline your invitation anyways. You need rest.”
“How would you feel about exchanging numbers, so I can send you the address of the store?”
“That sounds great,” he exclaimed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. She gave him her number, and he sent her a message so she would have his number.
“Goodnight, Jasper. Thank you again for everything,” she sighed, as she stepped into her apartment.
“Goodnight, Ophelia. See you soon.”
When Ophelia closed the door, she let out a deep sigh. Suddenly the events of the evening played over again in her head, and she felt like she was on cloud nine. Then his words echoed in her head.
She was going on a date. Even if there were no mutual romantic feelings, she was still doing something with him. One-on-one. With no one else.
What do people even do on these outings? Is there a secret date etiquette?
Before she could spiral anymore, her bag shuffled.
Right. She had to make sure Thacker was ok.
And maybe, just maybe, she’d just let the events unfold, without a solid plan. That doesn’t seem so bad.
