"So he truly hasn't told you anything about where you're going yet?" Lynn questioned. It was the Friday night before Elsa and Jesper's date. Lynn and Athuria had invited Elsa over for dinner but it was all an excuse to get the blonde to fill them, mostly Lynn, in on the details of her date. Athuria was in the kitchen cooking while the two younger women sat talking. Elsa shook her head and took a sip of a fruity smelling alcoholic beverage.
"No. In fact he's acting like nothing even happened, like he never even asked me out."
"Maybe that's his way of shaking off the first date jitters?" Lynn offered.
"What? Acting nonchalant and relaxed. Hah, I wish it were that easy." Elsa took another sip of her drink.
"Have you been texting at least?"
"Yeah a bit. How does a couple of days feel like an eternity?" Elsa dejectedly put her head down causing Lynn to giggle gently and look toward Athuria. The older woman covered the large skillet she was cooking from and turned the knob for the stove eye down to a simmer before walking to the pair.
"It's because you're anxious, Elsa. You seem to be having an internal power struggle and it's making the time pass slowly." Athuria answered gently, placing her hand on the blonde's back. Elsa merely sighed. "You're overthinking it, and I can understand why, but everything is fine. You're going to have a great time." Athuria took the empty seat adjacent to Elsa.
"But what about Ann-"
"What about her?" Athuria interrupted. "Don't let whatever hang ups you have with how she might react hold you back from enjoying yourself. You've got too many 'what ifs' rolling around in your brain." A silence fell over the trio as Elsa let Athuria's words sink in. The younger blonde let out a soft sigh, her eyes closing, before finally nodding in agreement. "Good." Athuria's lips turned upward with pride. She stood once again and crossed the room back into the kitchen. Elsa attention turned back to the grinning Lynn, it causing the blonde to burst into laughter. It was Lynn who calmed down from their sudden fit of laughter first.
"So are you gunna, ya know, do it again?" Lynn inquired. Elsa's face flushed all over and her eyes quickly shot down to the table top.
Good morning! Hope you're ready for some fun. Make sure to wear something comfy and socks. That's very important. Shorts a t-shirt are probably good. See you in a few hours.
Elsa looked at the message Jesper had sent her that morning and then at herself in the full-length mirror. She wore her pair of her white and blue hexagon patterned running shorts, white, V-neck shirt and blue sports bra. It was what she usually ran in so she knew it was comfortable but was it date appropriate? She hadn't ever been on a date where she didn't have to dress up so this was uncharted territory. Did she have to put makeup on? Probably not if they were going to do something active. The blonde pulled the hair tie from around her wrist to fix her hair into a ponytail just as a knock to her door echoed through the studio apartment. Elsa walked to the front door and peered into the peep hole at Jesper. His hands were deep in his short's pockets as he looked off to the side trying to act casual. She bit her bottom lip gently as she smiled from the corner of her mouth and opened the door for him.
Jesper's head turned forward upon hearing the door move to open. When his eyes fell on Elsa he couldn't help but grin. "Good afternoon, Elsa."
Elsa felt herself uncontrollably giggle. "Hello, Jesper. Come in." She moved aside for him before shutting the door behind them.
The male stood at the entrance of her apartment and looked around at Elsa's living space. "I didn't know you lived alone." Elsa nodded and walked past him to her closet once again. Jesper watched as she grabbed her tennis shoes and a pair of socks before sitting on her couch to put them on.
"Yeah. Mother and father thought it was best if I lived alone so I could concentrate on school. I told them, though, if that was the case then I got to pick the apartment." She chuckled thinking about the past exchange.
"So that's why I'm in such a nice part of town." Jesper idly stepped forward a few feet, eyes wandering to every odd and end dotted about the studio apartment. His comment made Elsa chuckle as she stood and pushed her bangs behind her ear.
"The perks of wealthy parents, I guess. You ready?"
"Waitin' on you." Jesper grinned. Elsa shoved him playfully as they turned to leave.
"Are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" Elsa asked after having climbed into the passenger seat and closing the door. Elsa took note that Jesper's car looked and smelled as if it had recently been cleaned. Jesper cranked the old jeep, it humming louder than Elsa's car but not loud enough for it to be impossible to talk over. It was charming in its own way.
"Nope. You'll see when we get there. No worries, it'll be fun." Jesper reassured her as he backed out of the parking spot and began the drive to their mystery destination.
"You clearly don't know me then, Jesper." Elsa chuckled, bouncing up and down gently with the car. "I live my life in a state of worry and anxiety."
"That's a tough life to lead but I understand. It's not something that easy to ignore or just fix. I'm pretty good with my anxiety; it comes and goes. Running helps."
"Yeah that's one of the reason's I picked it up. You're a very easy going guy, you know that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well you talk about things in a very casual way but not so much that it seems unimportant. Like with Lynn, Athuria and Gwen at the party and just now. It's like everything in life just is, if that makes sense." Jesper chuckled and nodded.
"I get what you're saying but that's because life is 'just is'. I figured out a long time ago that I wanted to be the person I had needed growing up. I needed someone to tell me everything I was going through was normal and that there are people who care or don't care depending on what I needed in the moment. Things in life happen but it doesn't change the person, good or bad. I try and take everything in stride and be as open minded as I can be for everyone I encounter. You should always be learning I feel." There was silence for a few minutes causing Jesper to look over at Elsa who was staring back at him. A light blush washed over his cheeks. "W-what?"
"Nothing. You just honestly can't be a real person." This made the male chuckle.
"And why's that?"
"I don't know. I guess I just haven't met a guy who's felt that way about the world so openly. But I also haven't talked to many guys."
"Then maybe you missed them."
"Maybe. But enough creepy guys have deterred me from trying."
"Well then I appreciate you letting me take you on a date." Elsa blushed and the car was silent again.
"What kind of music do you like?" Jesper asked plugging his phone into the aux adapter coming from the cassette player in his stereo. Before Elsa even answered he was handing his phone to her, unlocking it as she grabbed it. "I've got a lot of different stuff but you can also search for anything you don't see."
Elsa scrolled through his playlist of seemingly endless random songs and bands she'd never heard of.
"Do you purposefully find obscure musicians or are you against anything sensationalized by the radio?" The blonde asked as she continued to scroll. Jesper laughed and took his phone back from her.
"No. Sometimes I'll put on a radio station based on a song or band I like and then when new music I like comes up I add it. I end up with just one or two songs from a lot of bands but I never really listen to anything else from that band. I couldn't tell you the song or musician for most of these if they were to play. I'm no music purist." Music began to come through the speakers of the jeep and Jesper handed the phone back to Elsa.
Elsa chuckled lightly as she took the phone back "I see." Bleak December by Set it Off scrolled across the screen under a photo of the album cover. The song reminded Elsa of the alternate bands Anna would blast from her room when they were in middle and high school. Jesper looked over to see Elsa's head bobbing in time with the music causing him to smirk halfway.
"It's good yeah?"
"It's not the worst thing I've heard. Anna listened to this kind of stuff when we were kids but I haven't heard anything like it since we grew up."
Jesper gasped and held his chest over top of his heart. "Is that a burn, Elsa?"
The blonde giggled, moving her hand over her mouth. "Not intentionally. I just didn't expect it."
"And what were you expecting?"
"I dunno. What're college guys into these days? The Avett Brothers? 21 Pilots? Drake? I only know from the few parties I ever go to." The two laughed.
"Don't get me wrong I enjoy those as well but my music taste isn't limited to one genre or even one era. I've got some stuff from the 70's in there; some classical. Hell, I've got music from other countries. If it's good, it's good."
"I guess I just am very picky about music. If it's too loud or aggressive I'm usually averse to it. Country is also a no go. Generally if it's mellow I'll probably like it."
Jesper nodded. "Good to know. So I shouldn't blast The Devil Wears Prada when you're in the car?"
Elsa titled her head to the side, her slender blonde eyebrow rising in confusion. "The movie?"
This made Jesper laugh again and shake his head. He took the phone from her once more and within a few swipes of his thumb played a new song. The car was immediately filled with sounds of loud, incoherent screaming and heavy drums and guitar. Elsa covered her ears and shook her head.
"No no no no." She repeated until Jesper stopped the noise. Elsa's hands lowered from the sides of her head. She exhaled loudly and blinked a few times to recompose herself. "The movie is better."
"I would have to agree with you on that." As he spoke Jesper pulled into the parking lot of a large building. Elsa had been so distracted by the screaming surrounding her that she hadn't noticed them approach their destination. Jesper cranked the car off once he had found an empty parking spot and the pair climbed out. When they were in better view of the warehouse-like building Elsa was able to read the colorful pylon affixed to the front.
"A trampoline park?" She spoke out loud in both confusion and disbelief. The blonde felt Jesper's arm warp around her shoulders, now walking in unison.
"Yeah! I came here a few months ago and it was ridiculous. There's a huge foam pit and like 100 trampolines of every size. They've also got food and alcohol."
Elsa smirked and nudged his ribs causing him to yelp and jump away. "You can't legally drink yet."
In response Jesper winked and gave her a thumb up. "Don't you worry about that. I have ways. I know people."
The blonde playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You're going to get some poor employee in trouble."
"Not if they're in charge."
Elsa didn't have time to respond. Jesper was holding the front door open for her, grinning from ear to ear. Once she was past the entrance Jesper let the door swing closed behind them. Even though they were standing in some kind of air lock between the outside and the park the sounds of music and children screaming leaked through the glass walls. The brunette led them to the front desk where a bald gentleman in his late thirties stood wearing a bright, lime green polo. Immediately a grin broke over his face when he recognized the younger male.
"Jesper, dude. How you been?"
"Pretty good, Lew. School and work and more work."
"You work too hard for a kid. Glad to see you enjoying yourself though. Who's your lady friend?" The man nodded his head in Elsa's direction causing her unknowingly blush. She wasn't prepared to be roped into Jesper's reunion.
"Lew this is Elsa. Elsa this is Lew. He owns the park but I know him from the movie store. He comes in, what, two or three times a week?"
"Sometimes more if I feel like having a movie marathon. It's nice to meet you, Elsa. Is this your first time here?" When she nodded he reached below the top of the counter and pulled out a clipboard with papers clasped to it. "Excellent. Then read over and sign this waiver form for me. You're 21, right?" She nodded again and went to grab her ID from the slim wallet she had tucked into her sports bra. Lew waved her off quickly. "You're good, don't worry. Hold out your wrist, please." Elsa extended her left wrist while she filled out the information on the waiver. Elsa felt Lew tape a neon green bracelet around her slender wrist causing her to look up from the papers. Jesper received the same bracelet. "All done?" Lew asked after finishing with Jesper and making his way back in front of Elsa from behind the counter.
"Oh, yes." Elsa answered quickly, having gotten lost in her thoughts.
"Fantastic." Lew took back his clipboard and detached Elsa's page from the stack. "You two are good to go then. Have a good time." The bald man gave them a slight wave.
"Thanks, Lew." Jesper responded, waving back, before leading Elsa through the glass door separating the reception room from the trampoline park.