Call: Jasper to Miranda

[jasperwoods]

Date: January 13, 2012
Characters: Jasper Woods, Miranda Jackson
Location: Respective locations
Status: Private
Summary: After almost two weeks, Jasper finally decides to call Miranda.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[miranda_jackson]

It probably said something about Miranda’s work ethic that she was just barely walking in from work this late on a Friday night. She had been trying to be better about her hours, but there had been a handful of things that just couldn’t wait until after the weekend; and like it or not after a little over a year she was still worried about making a good impression on her superiors.

She set her handbag on the dining room table and padded through the apartment, taking the pins out of her hair as she went and setting them in the dish on her dresser before she change into a tank and lounge pants, making sure to hang the dress she’d been wearing before she left the room.

She made her way back down the hall, flipping the television on for background noise before she started to look through the cupboards and refrigerator in the kitchen for something to eat. She had also grabbed her phone from her bag and set it on the counter not far from her; there weren’t any calls she was expecting, but it was habit to have it near. She had just decided on making a quick salad when her phone began to vibrate against the countertop and she grabbed it before it vibrated itself to the floor, glancing at the screen before she hit ‘answer’. She couldn’t help the little smile when she read ‘Jasper Woods’ lit up on the screen. “Hello,” She answered as she pinned the phone between her ear and shoulder while she continued to make her salad.

[jasperwoods]

“Oh, hi, Miranda?” Of course it’s her, Jasper thought with a mental sigh. He’d half expected her to not answer, to be out on a date or something. “How are you?” he asked after a moment’s pause, and he still really wasn’t sure what else he was going to say to her, but he was sure he would be able to figure it out. His more than friendly interest in her didn’t have to make things awkward, because she didn’t need to know his interest was more than friendly. It wasn’t like she was interested in him as more than the potential for friendship. And he really should just stop thinking for a bit.

[miranda_jackson]

“Yes, this is she. Hi Jasper.” Miranda replied, wondering if maybe he hadn’t intended to call her since he’d said her name like it was a question, she let the thought slide when he asked how she was. “I’m doing well, just stepped into my apartment a few minutes ago. How are you?” She reached up on her toes for a bowl out of the cupboard; there were days she wondered if her apartment kitchen had been built for someone much taller than she was, it always felt like she was reaching for things.

[jasperwoods]

Jasper wished he could start this call over already, because she sounded just a little… confused, maybe? And he knew he shouldn’t have said her name quite like that, as though he wasn’t sure why she was answering. “Oh! I hope I’m not interrupting, then,” he said, and he couldn’t stop his thoughts from drifting to why she was just getting home. “I’m doing all right. It’s been a busy couple of weeks, and I just wanted to apologize about not having called sooner. I did mean it when I said I wanted to get to know you.” It wasn’t odd to admit that, right? And he really did need to stop second-guessing himself and just be himself.

[miranda_jackson]

Miranda set the bowl on the counter and started to put her salad together. “You aren’t interrupting anything, well, except my attempt to make myself a salad.” Which was much more difficult to do with a phone pressed to her ear than without one, “But I’ve already waited a few hours to eat, a few more minutes isn’t going to kill me.” She moved across the kitchen and into the living room, having decided that she’d rather just focus on the phone call than try to do two things at once; she was too tired to do both.

“Oh, uhm.” She said at his apology then cringed because she was usually much more composed than that, “I didn’t take offense to it, Jasper, if you’re worried about that.” Though she had wondered once or twice if she was going to need to take the initiative and call him. “Life gets busy, we can’t always control that,” She curled into a corner of the couch, flipping the television volume down so it wouldn’t be distracting, “Take me for example, I just barely left work about an hour ago.” And she was sure that Abby accounted for some of his busyness; raising a little girl on your own seemed like it might be quite the undertaking.

[jasperwoods]

Jasper rather thought that he actually was interrupting and Miranda was just being polite, but far be it for him to insist that he was interrupting her. “Are you sure? You could give me a call back once you’ve eaten. I’m going to be up for a while still, anyway,” he offered, though he couldn’t deny that he hoped she wouldn’t take him up on the offer, as he’d already missed out on two weeks of getting to know her.

Jasper couldn’t deny that he was a little relieved that she wasn’t offended. “Well, good then,” he said softly, almost under his breath. “It does, yeah,” he agreed with a faint grin. His eyebrows rose at her admission, and his eyes glanced immediately at the clock above his television. “Really?” he asked, his surprise clear in his voice. Though he supposed that answered the question of whether or not she’d been out on a date that had ended early. He had to admit to himself that he was glad, not that he had any right to be pleased that she hadn’t been on a date.

[miranda_jackson]

“Certain.” Miranda replied, “I’d rather talk to you right now and let the salad wait until later.” She did slide back off the couch though to return the veggies to the refrigerator just in case the conversation went long. He did say he’d be up for a while; though she didn’t know how much of a phone conversationalist he was, some people just didn’t talk on the phone long.

Miranda laughed and nodded even though Jasper couldn’t see her. “Yes, really. I had some loose ends to tie up at the office,” She answered as she made herself comfortable on the couch again, “I’m a little bit married to my work.” She admitted, “It’s one of my character flaws, I get a bit too focused on things and the next thing I know I’ve worked much more than any normal person would.” She didn’t feel embarrassed at all at admitting that; though she knew it didn’t always paint her in the most favorable light. She thought she’d started to be better about making time for other things though, so that was an improvement at least.

[jasperwoods]

There was something incredibly satisfying about the sureness in Miranda’s voice as she told Jasper that she’d rather talk to him, and he certainly wasn’t going to argue when he really did want to talk to her anyway. “Ah,” he said when she explained, though he quirked a brow when she admitted to being a little bi married to her work. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with having a strong work ethic,” he said thoughtfully. “But as Damien has told me a million times, it’s good to have a life, too,” he pointed out with some amusement, remembering all the times Damien had dragged him away from his studies in an attempt to remind him to have a life.

[miranda_jackson]

“I know, I know. Davis has said that enough in the last year that I think it’s imprinted on the inside of my skull,” Miranda replied, amused by the reminder. “Would you believe I used to spend as many evenings in my dorm room as I did going out?” That hadn’t come out exactly right but it was too late to retract it now, “I went to a lot of events.” She screwed up her face, blaming her ineloquence on the hour and her long day, but then, maybe Jasper wouldn’t notice. “In any case, it’d probably be much worse if I hadn’t met Ezra.” He was a good guy, and good about extending invitations to her so she felt like she might actually be building a social circle outside of work now.

[jasperwoods]

“Davis?” Jasper repeated with a slight frown. Maybe he’d been reading her completely wrong and she had a boyfriend or something already. Or this Davis could just be a friend - it wasn’t like he didn’t have female friends who were strictly just friends. He needed to just stop worrying and enjoy getting to know Miranda more as a friend and think about the rest later. He chuckled softly as she tried to explain. “I understand,” he assured her. “I was pretty bad about remembering to do stuff other than school, but Damien was good at dragging me out often enough. I have to admit, I’m glad you met Ezra,” he said softly, almost embarrassed at admitting that, but it was the truth. If she hadn’t met Ezra and he hadn’t invited her to poker night, Jasper probably wouldn’t have ever seen her again.

[miranda_jackson]

"Oh, I'm sorry," Miranda replied quickly at the way Jasper repeated her friends name, "Davis is my best friend, we grew up together. He's an old pro at making sure I have fun, but it's difficult for him to do all the way in California." Part of her wished sometimes that he hadn't moved to California, it just wasn't the same having him so many States away; it had been nice to see him over the holidays though, even if he had given her some trouble about Jasper. Miranda smiled wide at his admission that he was glad she'd met Ezra, she didn't know how exactly to take that, but right now she was content to take it at face value. "You know, I am too. I don't think we'd have ever met again after you fixed my tire if I hadn't met him." She had that thought more than a few times, and who would have been able to guess that she might actually end up friends with the man who randomly fixed her flat on the side of the road one morning. Life was funny like that, "I don't think Soli knows how to take me though, she's always raising her eyebrows at me like I'm not for real." She admitted with a laugh. Damien's girlfriend was nice enough, but Miranda hadn't been able to figure her out up to this point.

[jasperwoods]

Jasper nodded at her explanation, even though he knew Miranda couldn’t see him. “Ah, I see.” He couldn’t deny that he was happy to hear that this Davis was just her best friend. He was also very happy to hear Miranda express the same thought he’d just had. “I don’t think we would have either, which is why I’m glad you met him,” he admitted, wanting her to know. He laughed at her comment about Soli, grinning as he responded. “Soli’s in a category all her own, I wouldn’t take it to heart. She likes to give me a hard time about the way I am, and if you keep coming ‘round, it’s only a matter of time before she’s giving you a hard time too,” he told her, not to scare her away, but to warn her. He didn’t really think anyone should have to suffer Soli’s teasing without at least having some idea it might be coming.

[miranda_jackson]

Miranda scrunched her nose up at the idea that Soli would start giving her a hard time if the other woman got to know her better; it wasn’t that she couldn’t handle teasing, she just didn’t know if she’d be able to handle Soli’s brand of it. She seemed like the type of person that had very few limits when it came to what to tease others about. “Then maybe I need to rethink coming around more often.” She said, “I’m not so certain I like the idea of voluntarily subjecting myself to teasing. Unless you have a few pointers in how to handle it…” He must have a few ways he dealt with it, or maybe it just didn’t bother him that much. “And I like the way you are,” She didn’t think that would be much of a surprise to him.

[jasperwoods]

Jasper wanted to kick himself when his warning about Soli had Miranda rethinking coming around, though he did have her number now, so he didn’t need to rely on Damien and Soli throwing a party and inviting Ezra who could invite Miranda anymore. “Aw, well, Damien’s told me more than once that if I didn’t let it get to me, she’d just stop. I’m just not so good at pretending not to be bothered,” he told her, hoping that she might be better at it than him. “Oh yeah? Well that’s good to hear. I’m pretty fond of the way you are, too.” And he didn’t really feel any embarrassment in admitting as much to her.

[miranda_jackson]

“Oh, so she’s one of those that do it for the reaction?” Miranda asked somewhat rhetorically, she thought she could handle that. She’d always been relatively well at keeping composure, and Soli couldn’t be any worse than irritating sorority girls or obnoxious clients. “I could see how you’d be a target to her then, you have a terrible poker face.” She continued with a small laugh, hoping he wouldn’t mind her pointing that out, both he and Ezra had a thing to learn about broadcasting things with their faces. It was cute though, and made beating them that much easier. There was also the blushing, which she thought Soli probably tried to elicit quite often, if she really teased as much as Jasper said she did.

She smiled when he admitted he liked the way she was too and replied with, “I am kind of wonderful, aren’t I?” before she giggled softly. She wasn’t prone to statements like that, but she didn’t think Jasper would take it as being egotistical; she wasn’t serious, though she had always had a healthy self image.

[jasperwoods]

“Yeah, she is,” Jasper answered, and a little bit of his annoyance with Soli might have seeped into his tone. She was frustrating at times, but he didn’t really mind her too much. He tried not to, anyway, as she was Damien’s girlfriend and Abby liked her pretty well, and he rather thought it would take too much energy to truly dislike her. Jasper laughed at Miranda’s observation, bringing his hand up to rub over his face. “Noticed that, did you? Always have, it’s a product of my upbringing,” he admitted, still chuckling just a little.

“All indications point toward yes,” he answered without missing a beat. “But I’m looking forward to seeing if it’s true,” he teased lightly, as it was still true. He really was looking forward to getting to know her, to being her friend and seeing if there could possibly be more there. He didn’t want to rush into anything, but he wanted her to know there was interest there.