Instincts, Hormones, and Embarrassing Moments

Who: Jessalyn and Ransom
When: Lunchtime
Where: Joey's Coffee Shop

Jessalyn knew Ransom was working again that morning and afternoon, and around lunchtime she got in her car to drive over to see him. She had another date with Madock later, so she jumped at the only chance she knew she would have to talk to him. Hopefully he would have a lunch break, or even have time for a five minute break or whatever. Plus, she was craving hot chocolate again. Pulling up to the coffee shop, she got out of the car and snuggled her face down into her colorful scarf to fight against the chill. After she was inside, she began to unravel her scarf and smiled as she spotted Ransom behind the counter. "Hey," she greeted happily. "I've decided your hot chocolate is the best hot chocolate ever! And I want some more."

Ransom smiled as Jessalyn walked into Joey's Coffee Shop, always glad to see her, especially on unplanned visits. "Hey," he grinned, immediately going to work on her hot chocolate. "You can have some more, but only if you stay and keep me company on my lunch break. Oh, and pay for it. I can't be giving away my amazing hot chocolate for free," he teased. He didn't think Joey would mind once or twice, but it felt safer to make all customers pay, just in case. She could give away free drinks because she was the owner, but he wasn't sure that was within his rights as a barista.

"I don't mind paying," Jessalyn assured him. She certainly didn't want Ransom getting into trouble for giving her free stuff. She took off her thick mittens and shoved them into her jacket before digging around in her purse for her wallet. "I'll definitely stay and keep you company. I was hoping you'd have a break or something coming up when I got here." She pulled out several bills and slipped two dollars into the glass tip jar in front of her. "How's your work day been so far?"

"Thanks," he said as she dropped money in the tip jar. It was the only way he'd accept friends giving him money, since it actually applied to what he was doing. He'd had to convince himself it was the same as a stranger, even if he wasn't sure they'd have done so if Joey was fixing their drink. He'd probably put far too much thought into it, but he always did that when it came to money. He never seemed to have enough of it to forget about it. "You got here just in time, then. I'll stop for lunch as soon as I finish your drink," Ransom smiled. "Today's been okay. May stopped by, a girl we go to school with, and we chatted a bit. Nothing really eventful though. What about you?"

"Non-eventful," she replied, leaning over the counter to watch him make her drink. Maybe it was time she got a job too, or something. She would have some extra money, which would be nice. "Mom and I made cinnamon buns this morning. Dad's been glued to the news since the ghost stuff started happening. I finished my new hat!" She hefted her bag up onto the counter and dug for a second before pulling out a multi-colored knitted hat with pinks, blues, greens and yellows. They went with her mittens. "For the cold and everything. I guess that's all I've been up to. I have another date tonight too," she told Ransom with a bright smile.

"Cute," he smiled when she pulled the hat on her head. He'd always thought it was fortunate that Jessalyn could pull off the colorful hats and scarves and mittens, otherwise it'd have been no fun for her to make them. Or maybe she'd be making them for other people. She was known to do that anyways. His thoughts about her scarf-making tendencies were interrupted by news of another date, and he looked up immediately, surprised. "I didn't know you had the first one!" he said with a grin. "Did you call him? Or did he call you? What happened? Now you have to fill me in!"

"Oh! I thought I... no, I didn't tell you!" Jessalyn giggled, thinking it weird that she'd totally forgotten to call Ransom when she got home the night before. "I think he called me... or, maybe I called him. Guh, I can't remember! But yeah, we went ice skating yesterday and then came here for some hot chocolate. Then we made out in my car for a bit," she revealed with a pointed, mischievous smile. "He asked me out to a movie tonight and everything. And he's going to let me pick which one."

"Sounds like you had fun," Ransom grinned. Now he wanted to meet the guy and make sure he was cool, just in case. It sounded like he was, but it was the protective streak in Ransom that made him want to know who Jessalyn was chasing after, just in case something went wrong. Not that anything would, but it was good to know. "Do you know what movie you're going to pick? Or does it matter?" he teased. "When do I get to meet him?"

Jessalyn nodded happily. "I had a lot of fun! Much more than I thought I would. He's really sweet, and blushes a lot. He has a huge family like you! He has like eleven people in his family! Or eleven siblings, I forget which. Two of them go to our school... Breezy and Bruce. I haven't decided which movie yet. It's hard to decide. There's not a lot out right now that I wanted to see but I was thinking maybe that Max Payne movie? Guys like those kind of movies, right?" She tapped her fingers against the counter and then grinned at Ransom. "Uhm, maybe you can meet him Monday at school? During lunch or something."

"Guys like those kind of movies, yeah," Ransom agreed, handing Jessalyn her drink before coming around to join her on the other side, lunch bag in hand. "And I think I approve of a guy who has the sense to blush around you," he grinned. "Means he's less likely to take advantage of you." And that it would probably be the other way around. "I think I've met Breezy before. Or at least seen her around. She was one of the girls that hosted the bonfire thing I went to with Charlotte. Is she dating Gabe Winters?" Or was he dating Claire Korey? Ransom didn't have a mind to keep up with that crowd. "Monday at lunch is fine," he smiled. "What's he think about all the crazy stuff going on? Did you two talk about that?"

"I don't know who she's dating... Madock didn't say and I've never actually met her. I might have seen her around before, but I'm not sure." She followed Ransom to a table with her drink. "We talked about the ghost stuff a little bit at school. He thought it was kind of eerie but I think it's really romantic in a weird way." Sitting down, Jessalyn set her cup down and began to shrug out of her heavy jacket. "You blush around me too," Jessalyn pointed out a bit belatedly. And then she smiled. "Although for different reasons, I think."

"Romantic?" Ransom asked, his mind having never gone in that direction. What he'd really been curious about was whether Madock had a clue about what Jessalyn was, but that definitely wasn't something to get into on a first date. He would never have told Charlotte quite so early if it weren't for her meeting his brothers. At that point, it'd been hard to hide it. "I blush for different reasons," he agreed with a smile. "You making me blush is different than Charlotte making me blush." And she did, though he made her blush more often.

"I know. Like when I compliment him, he blushes, or when he says something sweet about me, he'll blush too because he's embarrassed." She grinned and then leaned forward a bit, as if sharing a secret with him. "I really, really like him. I mean, when he kisses me? Everything tingles. Nothing has tingled before when I kissed boys." She had even scented him, rubbing her cheek against his hand, and he hadn't found it weird. "I was thinking of maybe telling him what I was. Do you think it's too soon?" Ransom generally gave her good advice, which was why she wanted to know his opinion before she did anything.

"I know. I feel like that with Charlotte, like when she runs her fingers through my hair..." Ransom bit his lip, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks as he thought about their time together last night. He could have kissed her all night if she'd let him. Not that she wouldn't let him, but they both had parents that might object to it. "I don't know about telling him yet," he said, snapping back to reality. "It's up to you, but once he knows he can't un-know. That's what I always try to remind myself when it comes to something like that. Do you know if he's ever met anything other than a ghost?"

Jessalyn's smiled widened when Ransom blushed talking about Charlotte. It was adorable, and at the moment, she knew exactly how he felt. For once! She bit her lower lip when he spoke again, and she wondered if he was right. If Madock knew, then he knew, no matter what might happen between them. And what if he freaked out? She didn't want to scare him off. "Maybe you're right..." She frowned briefly, lost in thought, before brightening again and picking up her hot cocoa. "I don't know if he knows about other things. Definitely the ghosts, which he seems to be taking really well, so maybe he does? I guess I just want to tell him everything about me, and that's a like... the biggest part of me. And I know it's really fast... it's only been like two days since we've started talking. Do you think that's weird. It might be weird," she murmured, sipping her drink again thoughtfully.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't," Ransom said, wishing he could give her better advice. He just didn't know what was best, since everyone was different. With Charlotte, things had worked out fine, but he didn't think it would have bowled over quite as well with other girls. "And I don't think it's weird," he grinned. "I feel like I've known Charlotte for years, like I could spend every moment with her and it wouldn't be enough. I always want to be with her, but I don't want to be clingy, and I think she feels the same way." In fact, he knew she did, since she'd told him so. It was the most amazing feeling, caring for someone so much and knowing they felt the same, even if a little bit frightening. "It feels like things are moving so fast, but I don't really want to stop them."

She could understand that. But Ransom and Charlotte had also been friends before, and Madock and Jessalyn had spoken for the first time two days ago. It seemed strange to already want to spend as much time as possible with him. Not that she was complaining. She loved having that feeling. "Do you ever think that maybe... maybe we feel that way because of our instinctive nature to find er, a mate?" Jessalyn picked a bit at the lid of her cup. "I mean, I know I like Madock. And you sound really confident that you like Charlotte. But do you think that us being what we are affects the way we feel? Like maybe it hits us faster than normal people?"

Ransom had thought about that, but didn't want to come to a conclusion. He didn't believe that his feelings for Charlotte were stronger just based on instinct, and even if they were, that didn't make them less real. It was hard to get his head around, but he knew that he adored Charlotte even before that feeling hit. "I don't know," Ransom said, sucking on his bottom lip as he thought. "It's hard because I want... When we're together, I can feel that pull, but then sometimes I wonder if all guys don't feel that on some level, just maybe without the emotion." He knew a lot of horny guys, after all. They might not be in love, but they were fine with getting it on. "Even if it hits us faster, it's still real, right?"

"I think so," Jessalyn said, though she was still deep in thought about it herself. Maybe it was just too soon to tell. She could just be infatuated with Madock. He was cute, and funny and fun to be around. "Maybe it's just too soon for me to tell? I don't want to make an idiot of myself in front of him or anything. It was just a new thing for me to be around a boy and really like him before I even really knew him. Which made me start to wonder if it was something more than teenage hormones." She smiled at Ransom, content with that answer for now. "Does she know about...er, everything? I mean, with mating and stuff."

He had to remember that their situations were different, that he'd been dating Charlotte longer, even if it wasn't all that long at all. He knew it wasn't just infatuation, that there was more to it than thinking she was hot and wanting to get into her pants--which promptly made him blush again, just thinking about it, and left him feeling fortunate that Jessalyn's question would have done that anyways. "She knows a lot, but that's not something I've brought up. I mean, how do you have the conversation without freaking someone out? It's like, by the way, if things go too far, you're kinda stuck with me. Not that we're to that point yet, but... but I guess I should say something," he sighed, realizing it really needed to be said before it actually became an issue. Which kinda freaked him out big time.

"Well, I mean... you should love her first," Jessalyn said, though she knew Ransom knew that. "Don't tell her if you're not ready to tell her. You don't want to freak her out, you know?" She couldn't even imagine telling Madock something like that yet. She was just enjoying kissing him and getting to know him. "Though I wouldn't mind if she turned out to be the one for you," Jessalyn pointed out with a knowing grin. "She's pretty and she smells really nice."

"I know," Ransom said with a little laugh. The topic of love was almost just as difficult, though with the way things were going, he was willing to believe it could happen. He'd never felt for anyone the way he felt for Charlotte, and it seemed so much bigger than just a high school crush. "I think she could be... the one... and if she was, right now I think I'd be thrilled, but... I just feel like it's happening so fast and I don't want either of us to end up regretting it. And at the same time, I don't want to slow it down." He was contradicting himself, he knew, but that's how he felt. He wanted more than anything to go with his instincts, and yet he was afraid of what might happen if he was wrong.

She grinned and rested her chin in her palm as she studied him. "Man, you've got it bad. It's so... weird! But nice. I guess that's what love is, maybe? Your brain knowing one thing is right, but everything else is insisting on something else. I think I would much rather have it be crazy and chaotic than something settled and easy. But it's probably a good idea to take things slow. You don't want to lose yourself in something that might not last and then deal with that." Plus, she really didn't want to see Ransom hurt.

"That's the thing-- it feels easy. I feel like the only time I have to hold myself back is when we're making out. Everything else is just so natural," he said with a little smile. He had the feeling he was in love, but that he wasn't quite ready to admit it yet. That in itself was scary! But at the same time, made him so incredibly happy. "I'm trying to be careful," he told her. "And you too! I don't want you to get hurt," he added with affection. Jessalyn was like a sister to him and the last thing he wanted was for some guy to break her heart.

"I think Madock is too sweet to do that," Jessalyn admitted with a wistful smile. "I mean, I'm not already thinking about you know, love and everything. We're still getting to know one another, but I get a really good feeling from him. I think he's genuine, and nice and pretty honest so far. It was easy to talk to him about anything, even if it was a silly conversation. He didn't try to get me to do anything I didn't want to, he didn't ask for any favors..." Like so many boys did with her from time to time. Jessalyn arched an eyebrow in Ransom's direction, her sly smile hiding behind her cup. "And you know, there's other things you can do while making out that isn't... that."

Ransom just smiled as he listened to her, thinking that she probably had it almost as bad as he did. He liked seeing her this happy and hoped that things continued along this path for her. The mention of other things had him blushing again and he took a sip of his soda to try and hide it, though unsuccessfully. "I know, it's just... I've never done any of it, and I'm afraid I'll embarrass myself. Or, worse, she won't like it. And I don't know what's too fast or if she even wants-- well, I know she wants something like that, but is she okay with acting on it?" God, this conversation had gotten out of hand fast!

"It's called communication!" Jessalyn grinned at Ransom's blush. Boys were so silly, sometimes. She remembered the day before when Madock admitted he'd never done anything more than kissing. It was cute, and nice that he told her so she didn't just assume later on down the road. "Or you know, when you guys are kissing, you can just go with the moment. If she wants you to do more, I think you'll know. You've got good instincts and that's all it takes. It's just progression, isn't it? The more you care about someone, the more you want to show it physically, and it sort of builds from there."

"I think I'm better at going with the moment," Ransom laughed. While communication might help, he just didn't know what to say that wouldn't ruin the moment outright. "Progression is fine. I kind of think that's what we're doing right now. It's like, a little more each time, cause I just want to be close to her and-- you know what I mean," he smiled. He was pretty sure Jessalyn got the picture at this point. "Right now it's just kissing anyways. I shouldn't get ahead of myself." He could just imagine how red Charlotte would be if she knew they were having this conversation. Hopefully Jessalyn wouldn't bring it up-- he certainly wouldn't!

"I know what you mean," Jessalyn said with a small smile. "Maybe when things get normal again, we can all go out together." As long as Madock wanted to continue seeing her, after all. "I promise not to say anything to embarrass you," she added with a chuckle. She wasn't sure she could handle seeing Ransom and Charlotte's red faces all night without laughing.

"I'd like that," Ransom smiled. He'd never been on a double date, but he was sure anything with both Charlotte and Jessalyn involved would have to be fun. And Madock sounded like a pretty good guy. Jessalyn was thrilled with him, at least. "You wouldn't dare," he grinned. "I know it's easy, and I don't really mind for me, but I don't want Charlotte to be uncomfortable. She's almost more new to this than I am." He couldn't quite be sure, since she'd dated Kavin before, but that had been short lived, so he was willing to guess they were at about the same place.

"I won't tell any embarrassing Ransom stories," she promised, crossing her fingers over her heart. "Besides, I don't try to embarrass anyway. But I'll take extra precautions around Charlotte. Anyway, you know enough about me that I know better than to come up with something to make you turn red when you could probably turn around and do the same." She smiled and shrugged. "I think it would be a lot of fun! Maybe once all this stuff dies down, if it does. We could all go bowling, or to a movie or something."

"For every embarrassing Ransom story there's an embarrassing Jessalyn story," Ransom agreed with a grin. He could easily do the same, she was right. "I definitely think that would be fun. Remind me in case I forget, and I'll make it happen on my end. I'm pretty sure Charlotte would be up for it. Though I should ask, of course." It was always important to ask, rather than assume. "So will you text me tonight or tomorrow and let me know how your second date goes?" he asked as he finished off his sandwich.

"I'll remind you," she promised. "And I'll definitely text you tonight or tomorrow... hopefully everything will go okay!" She was betting that they would, since she and Madock seemed to have hit it off pretty well. At least she thought so. "Are you going to see Charlotte tonight?"

"I don't know. I hope so," he smiled. "She kind of got grounded for skipping school and taking a day trip, but her mom was okay with me hanging out there last night. If we can get away with it two nights in a row, then I'll probably be there." Again, he worried about being clingy, but if she liked it as much as he did, then there wasn't anything to worry about.

Jessalyn nodded. "Sometimes it's nice to just stay inside and... do whatever it is that you two do alone and inside." She grinned teasingly. "It's nice that her mom lets you come over though, even if she's grounded! She must really like you. When I was grounded, I was totally confined to my room with no visitors or anything. Then again I've only been grounded once." She beamed with pride over that one. "I'll try not to interrupt anything with my possible texting."

"It's Charlotte's first time to be grounded and I'm not entirely sure her mom knows how it works," he grinned, then laughed a little at Jessalyn's implications. All they were doing was kissing! "If you interrupt anything, then I just won't text you right back! It's called waiting till later to check the text," Ransom laughed. "But don't make crazy assumptions if I don't text you right back either! We just might be talking, is all."

She could just imagine Charlotte's poor mother dealing with her daughter's first grounding. Charlotte so didn't seem like the type who would ever get into trouble. "Talking? Yeah, right. But what if my text is super important!? Then you'll miss it because you're too busy sucking face." She sighed and shook her head. "Passed over for a girl with a pretty face. Story of my life!"