Jasper sipped at a coffee in the breakroom, but it wasn't helping calm her nerves. She was shaking, afraid that she'd totally screwed up any chance she had with Peridot. Why did she always have to be so brutish? Her first instinct had always been to fight back, to never let anyone talk trash about her, to always be the strongest and the best. Why did she have to be so reflexive at confronting people? She'd never meant to hurt Peridot.
She decided to make a pit stop at the bathroom before heading back to her desk. Once there, Jasper threw cold water on her face. As she was rubbing a paper towel over herself to get dry, she heard a sniffle and a whimper somewhere in the bathroom. She threw away the paper towel and then listened quietly, to be sure of what she'd heard. Sure enough, there were more sniffles, whimpers, and sobs. It sounded disgusting.
"Who's the fuckin' crybaby?" she called out. She was answered by a gasp, and then silence. Well, if whoever it was wasn't going to answer, Jasper was going to find out for herself. One by one, she hoisted herself up so she could see over the door of each stall. She disregarded the creaks they made when her weight was added, and the fact that this was definitely a violation of privacy. Of course, the culprit was in the last stall, and it was the last person Jasper expected to see: Peridot.
She was curled up on the toilet seat, knees hugged to her chest and her face buried in her knees. She looked up when she heard the door rattle, with that same scared expression she'd given Jasper earlier – only now her face was much redder and puffier.
The two stared at each other for several long moments, neither saying anything. Jasper wanted to apologize, to ask Peridot out, and yet the other part of her wanted to simply make fun of the small woman. Peridot was probably just too scared to say anything.
Jasper's inner turmoil was interrupted by the door starting to creak again. Who knew when the hinges were last tightened, or oiled, or replaced. "Shit!" Jasper yelled, as the door collapsed right into the stall. Being the last stall, it was the handicapped one, so Peridot wasn't in any danger. At least, not from the falling door.
She got up and dusted herself off, lifting the door up and placing it against the wall. She turned around to face Peridot, who decided that now was the best time to run away. But Jasper quickly blocked the only exit, causing Peridot to slam into her. Her only other option was if she wanted to crawl on the nasty floor to the next stall – which she might if she got desperate enough.
Peridot backed up against the wall, eyeing Jasper up and down. "Look, ah-" Jasper began, trying to keep her voice low and taking a step forward, "I'm uh, sorry. About earlier I- I didn't mean anything."
Peridot stood in disbelief for several moments, before finally shrugging. "It's not a big deal." she sniffed, averting her eyes to stare down at her feet.
"But you're crying! That's-that's my fault, isn't it?" Jasper's shoulders sagged. Why did she have to be so defensive all the time?
The other girl had taken to rubbing the leftover moisture from her cheeks and eyes. "Not exactly..."
"Peridot, isn't it?" Jasper asked slowly.
"Y-Yes." she sniffled one last time. She supposed that even though she'd made frequent trips to Jasper's desk, they hadn't exactly had a formal introduction.
"You don't have to be afraid of me. I didn't mean to... I'm really sorry." she silently wondered if she looked as guilty as she felt.
"I'll get over it." Peridot shrugged, then slowly walked past Jasper, and Jasper let her go. She started washing her hands and splashing cool water on her face. "Not the first time I've run into your type."
Her type? What did that even mean? Jasper looked at the somewhat scrawny nerd before her, and then down at herself. Tall, muscled, and could easily ram Peridot's head right through the wall behind her. Jasper used to shove kids like this into lockers. But that was a long time ago, and Jasper only did it to those that she'd liked. Because back then, in school, to have a crush on a nerd meant she was weak. Seemed she was still into the same type.
Jasper moved beside Peridot to wash her hands. As Peridot started to dry her face with a paper towel and Jasper did likewise with her hands, she asked, "Could I take you out for coffee sometime? Soon?"
Peridot stiffened, then blew her nose into a paper towel, leaving Jasper's question hanging in the air for a good few moments. "Are you seriously asking me on a date?" she shot back.
Jasper took a step back. If things went awry, she could always run away since she was closest to the door. "No, just, um, to apologize. Unless you want it to be a date then I wouldn't mind, but it doesn't have to be."
The shorter woman looked her up and down, as if she'd never considered dating Jasper, but was definitely considering it now that the opportunity had presented itself. "Fine. Friday. But we're going to my favorite coffee shop. It's a singular cafe, not a chain, so you've probably never heard of it."
"Yeah, sure!" Jasper grinned, which Peridot realized was probably the first time she'd ever seen her smile. "Do you want my number?"
"As if I couldn't just get it from your employee profile." Peridot flaunted past Jasper. As she reached for the door, she looked over at the broken stall. "What do you plan to do about that?"
"Whatever, they'll take it out of my paycheck." Jasper swung the door open, nearly smacking Peridot with it.
"Has this... happened before?" she ducked under Jasper's arm to get out of the bathroom, as the taller woman was holding the door for her.
"Well, not this exact scenario, but damage to property, yes." The pair began walking back to Jasper's desk.
"How do you not get fired?" Peridot asked incredulously.
"Think anyone would be brave enough to fire me?" she bellowed out a laugh at her own joke.
"Heh..." The other laughed nervously, rethinking the date for a second.
"Friday?" Jasper asked to be sure, sitting down at her desk.
"Friday. I'll text you." Then she was gone, shuffling back to her space in the office.
Damn, that tight little ass is hot in those jeans. Jasper thought to herself.