March 2009
Everyone except Jet notices something about him has changed, but they can't quite put their finger on it. His father's impressed by the fact that he's made an effort to keep the former arcade in a condition fit for living. Soda cans aren't left lying idle where they were sat (or fell), paperwork isn't scattered everywhere and books aren't falling from the shelves.
Lora's gladdened that his once half-full refrigerator is now stuffed to its fullest capacity with a variety of food he always failed to buy whenever he was in the market. Sam is starting to miss the dust that had accumulated over the years and months of housekeeping neglect. None of them, however, had yet to encounter the motivation behind the sudden impulse of clean living.
More by accident than any sort of planning, Eva visits when the influx of visitors at the arcade is low to non-existent, almost to the point that Jet feels as though he's sneaking around behind his family's back. It's amusing for a while before becoming common place, a simple occurrence in his life that he looks forward to.
If she wasn't swamped with work, cramming for classes or busy elsewhere, she'd leave a text saying she was coming over, then he would spend the rest of the ten or twenty minutes tidying up whatever mess he didn't attend to until her arrival.
Eva was terribly straightforward when it came to what she wanted. If she wanted to make small talk then he'd know by the way she crossed her legs and fingers intertwined. If she wanted to know what he was working on, she would let him talk, never interrupting until he realized it was only his voice in the room.
If she didn't want to do any talking whatsoever, then Jet would have a hard time keeping his shirt on. She'd never let it go as far as intercourse, but the physical aspects of fooling around was something she enjoyed. He couldn't complain, especially when she teased him with the pluck of her bra straps.
While Jet attributed his "annoying cheer" (as Sam put it) to his current relationship to being with Eva, he never assumed his behavior on the regular had changed in any way. Why his family and friends seemed to think so boggled him.
March 2009
"What's so special about this new boyfriend of yours that you actually bail on your friends at any given time?" Esmond Baza, like Seth Crown, was never one for small talk, especially if it concerned matters he wasn't privy to.
Eva ran her tongue across her teeth in exasperation as she regarded the two men sitting on either side of the kitchen counter. She'd known Seth since freshmen year and Desmond since her senior. However, both were so similar in their mannerisms (dry, sarcastic humor and no patience for round about conversation) that it was hard to tell when either of them were being serious.
"His apartment is nice and quiet," She responded tartly. "On top of that, you don't know where he lives, let alone who he is. I have him all to myself."
"Afraid he'll find our discussions more stimulating than yours?" Seth chuckled as he shuffled a deck of cards. Eva snorted, she cheeked her reflection upon the surface of the toaster. "Hardly, I just don't feel like sharing this one with my friends."
"I hear your dating the son of Alan Bradley," Esmond notes offhandedly. "Hoping to get a meeting with ENCOM's board?"
"Not at all," Eva replied. "How do you think that would go over with FCon's CEO?"
"Well, what then? You never date anyone unless it benefits your in some way, I know that much from experience," Seth remarked. Eva turned away from her reflection to regard the two men with mirth. "What I hope to benefit from dating Alan Bradley's son is no-nevermind to you," She said, rising from her spot at the table. "Now if you excuse me, I'm late for a meeting."
"Oh, I'm sure," Esmond drawled as Seth laughed.
