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Summary: Mason takes Giea out for Valentine's Day.
Date: Monday, February 14, 2011. 7:00pm
Log Title: Just So
Rating: PG
NYC - Barnes and Noble
Featuring 4 floors of books, music, movies, and other novelties, this Barnes and Nobles is quite large. On the first floor a bookshop by the windows offering WiFi and hook ups for customers with laptops. Books of all types and genres cover the first two floors, the third floor is dedicated to children's books and other novelties, and the fourth floor is where you can find many varieties of music. This Barnes and Nobles has most things covered.
V-Day. The worst day of the year for those who are single. Mason doesn't see it this way, though. He's asked Giea to join him on a Valentine's date. Where at? The place he met her, Barnes and Noble. He's dressed up nicely, even though Giea can't see it. Other people can, and he's taken care to pick something she can actually appreciate. He's wearing a silk shirt, and a very high threadcount pair of dress slacks. He got to the shop early, flowers in hand of various sorts for her to enjoy smelling. There's no sunglasses this time. Most people are too busy on their own dates to be paying attention to the teenage pop star outside of a bookstore.
As usual, Giea is dropped off by her caretaker in front of the bookstore. Normally on Valentine's day, she would be blogging about how we should show our love for fellow man unconditionally, or some other such topics. This year, however, is different. She grips her cane as she steps out, wearing a fashionably designed satin dress in a dark forest green with a chocolatey brown shrug. It's unlikely that she picked the outfit herself, but her choice of jewellery complements her other choices well. She does wear her sunglasses still today, but that's normal for her. She reaches her cane out and taps against the sidewalk a few times to orient herself. A lopsided smile on her face indicates her enjoyment of the prospect of this event.
Mason quickly greets Giea, "Good evening, fair maiden," he announces. "I can't say I know what your favorite flower is, yet. So I took the liberty of getting a nice collection." The scents are quite varied. Tulips, carnations, roses, lilacs, and a few others, all flowers that have a notable scent to them. His hand reaches out to take hers, and after placing a kiss on it, he puts the flowers in it.
"Oh, kind sir, you surprised me!" replies Giea, before smiling brightly and stifling a laugh. She takes the flowers and her eyes seem to widen behind her glasses, eyebrows raising slightly, "Oh, this is lovely!" She, of course, means the smell of the flowers, not the appearance. "What flowers are here? I can tell lilacs… I like the smell of lilac."
Mason examines the bouquet. "Well, there's tulips, some roses, carnations, um, something that looks like a daisy kind of…I dunno, I picked them based off of what they smelled like rather than knowing what they were," he admits. The pop star slides his hand gently around her, leading her toward the door. "So, I gotta come clean," he says. "Though I'm guessing it's just a formality now. I didn't mean to be deceptive about who I am," he states, not really coming out to say who he is, but he's pretty sure that it goes without saying.
"That's okay, the mystery was a bit intriguing!" replies Giea, at perhaps too high of a volume. She seems to detect this, though, and reaches over to fiddle with her watch for a moment. At a more reasonable volume, she repeats, "The mystery was a bit intriguing. But I understand that it must be nice to be out and yourself without having to be the you that other people want you to be, or think you are, or whatever."
Mason grins, "Thanks," he says. "You're really an amazing girl, and I didn't want to blow it by being secretive." He opens the door, "I don't know what books you have and what you don't," he says. "But I know how much you like stories, and thought maybe we could read some together. So I bought you one that my mom used to read to me when I was little. I had to order it, I hope it's actually here, it was supposed to arrive like three days ago, so it should be." He leads her toward the counter. "If not, then I'll have to come up with a plan B really quick."
"Well, I knew you'd tell me eventually," says Giea, nodding once, "But I don't know much about your pop music or anything anyways." Pause. "Admittedly, I think I've become pretty interested in your piano music, though." Her lips quirk up slightly at that. She swivels her head towards the direction they are heading and then continues, "I'm pretty curious what book you brought in, but whatever it is, I'm excited to read it with you."
Mason leads Giea to the counter, his hand still around her waist, and tells the cashier his order number. He has a certain earthy scent to him, as if he'd been working in a garden. "Rudyard Kipling?" the cashier asks. Mason makes a face, he wanted to let her just read it first. "Yeah," he answers, pulling out his wallet. He lets go of Giea long enough to pay for the book, and reaches for Giea's hand to place it on the cover over the braille letters. The 'Just So' Stories. "Have you ever read the 'Just So' Stories? he asks. "They aren't anything epic, but your story about the coyote reminded me a little of these."
"Ohh, I've heard of it, but I've never had a chance to read it. I admit that I have a bit of a fascination with these kinds of things…" says Giea as she draws her fingers across the cover of the book. She nods and continues, "And the story I told you was… I believe a Secwepemc legend, if I recall correctly." She tilts her head slightly and then pauses to sniff Mason. Okay, it looks a little weird for her to take that big of a smell, but she seems pleased as it elicits a smile, "Ohh, did you pick these flowers yourself, Mason? You smell like gardening. I love that smell. I admit, even since I was a kid, I really liked playing in the dirt when I could!"
Mason gives Giea a quizzical look, and then sniffs himself. He doesn't notice anything, "I…" It strikes him suddenly why he might smell like the inside of a flower pot, and his heart beats a little quicker. Not wanting to get into a discussion on that matter, he simply answers, "Yeah." He quickly paints his smile back on his face, trying to cover any doubtful look he might have had…oh yeah, she's blind. "I still like to play in the dirt," he says. "Though every plant I touch seems to wither up and die, so I should probably stick to picking flowers rather than planting them." He puts his wallet back in his pocket, and says, "There's a couch about fifteen feet away," he tells her reaching his arm out again so that she can feel his touch, seeking to put it back around her waist. "Would you like to sit down and read? Or would you like to grab some Starbucks upstairs first?" He stands very close, speaking into her ear.
"I guess I can't keep plants alive, either. It's probably why I just played in the dirt as a kid instead of helping with gardening. Still, I loved the flower garden in full bloom," says Giea, sniffing at the flowers that Mason gave her before nodding at Mason. "Well, it might be best to pick up our drinks first, but I'll have to remember there's a couch close to here!" Despite all her visits to this store, she never knew that. She feels the skin on Mason's arm lightly as it wraps around her waist, just to give herself a reminder of the texture.
Mason treats Giea gently as they head up to the Starbucks, as if she herself were a flower. "Okay, so what's your favorite drink?" he asks. He has to confess to having forgotten what she got the day they met. He places himself behind her at the counter, even though she can't see the barista in front of her, he greets her warmly no less. "I think they might be out of dirt flavored mochas, unfortunately," he jokes.
"What a shame! I think I might just settle for a regular mocha, then," says Giea in return to Mason, laughing for a moment at his joke. She repeats the order for the barista's sake just to make it clear she's serious: she really does want a mocha! "My favorite drink kind of depends on my mood. But let's be honest, a mocha is always wonderful! I used to dislike the bitterness of the coffee, but I kind of like to identify that flavour now amidst the chocolate."
"I've never heard anything either way about coffee helping on stage. I won't drink coffee straight, but I love the smell of it. It smells so nice!" says Giea, smiling as she walks towards the pickup area, pretty amenable to the guiding. "Chai has a nice flavour, though, you're right. It's very, hmm, I'd say it's kind of comforting."
Mason nods casually, "I guess I could go with that, comforting." The drinks come up, and he reaches for Giea's hand so he can put her drink into it. "Are you ready to do some Rudyard Kipling?" he asks, his hand coming back to gently rest on her back.
Nodding happily, Giea says, "Oh, I'm looking forward to it." She grasps the drink with both of her hands, and then grasps Mason's as it attempts to leave the cup. "It seems like they will be very cute stories. You have them in braille, you had said? That's pretty good forward thinking!"
Mason's smile broadens at the compliment, and holds onto Giea's hand. He reaches for the other drink with his other hand, and starts to walk toward the couch closest, only to find that it's already occupied. "It wouldn't make much sense to get you a book you couldn't read, would it?" he asks. "This couch is taken, let's see, there's another one over there that looks open," he comments. There is a voice from the couch, apparently someone noticed Mason. "Look, isn't that Mason Steele?" says the girl's voice in a whisper to whoever she's with. Mason doesn't answer, but starts to move away, rather than get caught in a conversation with a fan. Or anti-fan. He doesn't even want to know which.
Giea fiddles with her watch slightly as she slightly makes out only the smallest bit of the whisper, but before anything happens, it seems she's being turned around. "No, it wouldn't, but you would have had to plan ahead to get that kind of thing in. I know I have to place my orders ahead of time," says the blind girl, unaware that anything is bothering Mason.
Mason guides Giea to the soft leather couch, "Well, I thought you were worth planning ahead for," he says before taking a sip of his chai. "Great people are worth investing great time in. And I can't think of anyone I'd rather invest in than you." A bit forward of a comment, but he's not even blushing. Calm and collected.
Sitting down carefully on the couch and putting her drink down on the nearest table (and making sure to feel the table first to make sure there's nothing that she's putting the drink down on). She listens to Mason speak, and while he does not, she certainly does blush. "Oh," says Giea, smiling slightly at that, "I'm very flattered."
Mason sits down close to Giea. Very close, in fact. "I mean it," he says. "You're the first girl I thought of when I thought of Valentine's Day," he says, pulling her hand up to give it a light kiss. "So, would you like to read first, or would you like me to read first?" he asks. "I don't know how many stories are in here, but I'm sure there's enough for us both."
"Well, you know how I like to be the storyteller, so I think I'll start first," says Giea, smiling at the kiss on her hand, raising her other to feel the back of Mason's, "And you're actually the first boy I've been out with on Valentine's day…"
Mason doesn't even try to make the same claim in return, on either account. "Well, I feel very honored," he answers. He reaches his other hand across her other hand, and then strokes it along the girl's arm, taking a very snuggly position. It appears he very much enjoys the closeness between them, and prepares himself for her story telling.
Giea makes no objections to all the closeness and, before beginning, she examines both of Mason's hands briefly, trailing her fingers across them before she notes seriously, explaining, "Finger warm-ups." She cracks a lopsided grin a moment after and picks up the book, drawing her fingers across it as she begins to read it out.
