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Post by Daisy O'Connor on Sept 18, 2009 23:09:50 GMT -5
Daisy's heart ached as she listened to him talk, saw cracks in the veneer he'd carefully been trying to hold together since the moment she met him and she was once again struck with the urge to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly. How did she say that the past few hours had been some of the best that she'd had in...well in a very long time. How did she put into words the way that her stomach flipped at just one look from his dark eyes? How did she make him see that he had everything in the world to offer.
"You found me," She said after a moment, tilting her head to the side and studying him carefully could almost see the wheels turning and trying to find away that he had not, in fact, been the creator of their moment. "You walked into McGinty's tonight, out of all the other pubs and bars in this whole big city....you walked into mine. And sat at the table I was clearing. If that's not finding someone, Jerry, I don't know what is."
She mused over his words about not belonging in Brooklyn, almost felt a smile tugging at her lips because of all people she hardly belonged in Brooklyn but had survived it. "I don't belong here either," She began thoughtfully, thinking back over her years walking this very route to and from McGinty's, the things she had seen and heard that she had never dreamed would be a part of her life. "I've been hearing ever since I moved here that I'm too...I don't know...nice for Brooklyn. I smile and people look at me like I've burned them. I'm not other people's definition of how a Brooklyn girl should behave but you know what...I am a Brooklyn girl."
"And you..." Daisy said, feeling his hand close around hers and she stopped walking, turning her hand and curling her fingers in between his, her hand feeling tiny in his large one as she squeezed his fingers gently. "You belong here because you are here, with me. And I don't want to be here, walking home with anyone else, Jerry. Men like Scar, they don't interest me. They talk big and use their fists to send messages and smile real pretty, but he doesn't...he's not..." Daisy paused as she grappled for the right words, not even sure what exactly it was that she was trying to say.
"He doesn't give me butterflies in my stomach when he looks at me," She said finally, feeling her face flush bright red, the unexpected admission flying out before she could take it all back. Sucking in a breath she lifted the hand not tangled with his and touched his cheek gently. "But you do."
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Post by Jerry Flynn on Sept 19, 2009 2:48:47 GMT -5
"You found me."
Jerry wanted so badly to say that he hadn't found her, but she had found him, but she refuted his argument before the words could even make it to his lips.
"You walked into McGinty's tonight, out of all the other pubs and bars in this whole big city... you walked into mine. And sat at the table I was clearing. If that's not finding someone, Jerry, I don't know what is."
Well... when she put it like that...
"I've been hearing ever since I moved here that I'm too... I don't know... nice for Brooklyn. I smile and people look at me like I've burned them. I'm not other people's definition of how a Brooklyn girl should behave but you know what... I am a Brooklyn girl."
Jerry found himself able to smile at her declaration, and almost managed to look at her again. "You're definitely not like the other Brooklyn girls I've seen. All the girls I've come across around here would just as soon knock your teeth out as talk to you. But you..." He bit his lower lip and gave a little sigh--a happy little sigh. "You're a breath of fresh air for sure."
"And you... You belong here because you are here, with me. And I don't want to be here, walking home with anyone else, Jerry. Men like Scar, they don't interest me. They talk big and use their fists to send messages and smile real pretty, but he doesn't...he's not... He doesn't give me butterflies in my stomach when he looks at me. But you do."
Jerry abruptly stopped walking and turned to stare at Daisy. His first instinct was to search her face for any indication, any tiny little tell that would give her away and let him know she was bluffing--but he couldn't find anything. Just her wide, bright, so very kind blue eyes. She turned her hand to hold his, her other hand rising to cup his cheek. Under any other circumstance, he would've recoiled in alarm, taken so offguard by an unsolicited touch that he expected nothing but a slap to follow, but at the moment he was rooted in place, unable to move. His full brain capacity was currently occupied with trying to memorize her last words. Those few sentences were proving to be the most influential words he'd ever heard; in them, they revealed one of the most important lessons he could likely ever learn: in conversation, only one person at a time could blush. Daisy was doing a wonderful impression of Jerry's typical complexion, and Jerry himself felt quite calm.
He brought his hand up to brush against hers on his cheek, gently taking her fingers between his own.
"Thank you, Miss Daisy," he said softly, and brought her hand to his lips, gently placing a kiss on her knuckles, "for allowing me to walk you home."
Releasing that hand, but keeping grip on the other, he turned and began walking again, drawing her close. He hadn't felt so sure of himself in a long, long time--the last time he felt this good, he thought, was after receiving his first notification from a publisher who was interested in his work. This was a high he never wanted to come down from.
He was content to keep silent for a few moments, but finally looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and smiled.
"My brother Jensen told me to go to that pub specifically."
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Post by Daisy O'Connor on Sept 19, 2009 7:55:12 GMT -5
There was a warmth that started in Daisy's belly when Jerry called her a breath of fresh air, and she felt and urge to look away from his intense gaze as she felt her face grow hotter with each passing moment but she was captivated by the way her words had seemed to bring him a sense of calm. He lifted his hand and wrapped it around hers, the warmth from his large one radiating through her to the very core.
When he brought her hand to his mouth, lips grazing her knuckles, Daisy felt a shiver down her spine, but it hardly made her nervous, in fact, it was almost familiar and she smiled up at him, "Thank you for offering Jerry," She said, going willingly as he drew her closer, feeling as thought she wanted to be as close to him as possible. "I can't remember the last time I had a more pleasant walk home."
There was silence for a few moments and then Daisy turned to see Jerry smiling at her as he softly reported that his brother had sent him to McGinty's. "Then I think perhaps, we both owe him quite a debt," She said carefully, subconsciously tightening her fingers around the hand he was still holding. It was as though she was afraid she was going to wake up and find out this was all some dream.
"You should smile more," She said softly after a long moment of watching him, allowing him to guide them through the streets. "When you smile it lights up your whole face and...and I'm not sure that I've ever seen anything so handsome as when you do." Her face was flushing red again by the time she finished speaking, but she didn't look away...only held his gaze and smiled widely.
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Post by Jerry Flynn on Sept 19, 2009 23:13:17 GMT -5
"You obviously haven't seen my brother's smile," Jerry said, but he was still smiling. "He has the best smile anyone's ever seen, all the girls say so. He's got that smile that can talk anyone into doing anything, you know?" He shook his head fondly; Jensen was well aware of this fact, and often did use his compelling smile to his best advantage. "But, well, maybe now I'll have a little more to smile about, hm?" He glanced to her again, his smile turning the slightest bit bashful for just a moment.
"So tell me, Miss Daisy, what do you do when you're not gracing a skeezy pub with your beauty? You know, in case I should want to find you again?"
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Post by Daisy O'Connor on Sept 19, 2009 23:38:13 GMT -5
"Then all those girls weren't really looking at you," Daisy said, because she couldn't imagine anyone having a better smile than Jerry, not with the way it brightened his face and made his dark eyes dance and...Daisy was pretty certain that she could go on thinking about Jerry's smile for days now. "I certainly hope that you will smile more, it gives me reason to smile too," She said, noticing that they appeared to be slowing a bit as if they were both aching to stretch out the moment and make it last forever.
And now he was there, complimenting her beauty sending a blush scattering across her features once again and then he asked how to find her again and Daisy thought her heart might beat out of her chest. "I...uh..." She had to look away from his gaze to find some measure of composure before she began again. "Most days I go for walks in Prospect Park, or into Manhattan to go to Tibby's for a quick bite if I can spare it. I like to visit the library if I can," She shot him a look, smile curling across her lips. "I always like to have a good book handy."
"Other days I go by the market and see if there are fresh fruits, I like to make pies when I have the ingredients and the time..." She drifted off as she realized she was babbling a little and caught her lower lip between her teeth, before finding his eyes again. "I'll try to make myself easy to find from now on."
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Post by Jerry Flynn on Sept 20, 2009 0:16:32 GMT -5
Jerry listened to her list her usual haunts and gaped at her, flabbergasted. "How on earth have we not crossed paths before?" he asked in amazement. "You practically just gave a run-down of my day! I spend a few hours almost every day in the park, usually by the lake, with my journal. If the weather isn't appropriate for writing outside, I'm at the library. I go into Manhattan on the best days, I go by the market stalls daily for the freshest produce..." He shook his head lightly, seriously and genuinely surprised at the coincidence. "Just... wow," he said, eyes widening. "We share so many destinations, and it just so happens that we meet in a bar, where I rarely ever set foot? What are the odds of that!"
He gave her hand a squeeze, still musing over their newfound similarities in daily stops. He glanced at her again, wondering how many times they'd crossed paths before and just never noticed each other. He tried to imagine her browsing the stacks at the library, poking through the apples at the grocer, wandering the paths at the park, but he just couldn't seem to recall a time when he'd seen her face before today. My god, we even live in the same building and I'd never seen her! he thought to himself.
"Alright," he said after a moment, nodding agreeably, "I'll allow that maybe there is some merit to your feelings on fate and destiny after all. Maybe... maybe you and I were... destined to meet somehow. Oh, but, uh... don't mention your pie-baking skills around my brother--or else he might propose to you on my behalf. Jensen loves pie, to an almost alarming degree."
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Post by Daisy O'Connor on Sept 20, 2009 0:37:22 GMT -5
Her eyes widened slightly as he made a list of his days, and it was true that nearly every place that he listed was some place she frequented, and suddenly even Daisy, who put a lot of stock in fate and destiny and meeting people when the timing was right, was thrown. How many times had they walked past one another, browsed through the same books at the library or picked through the same produce. It was hard to imagine that she might have seen Jerry before and never noticed him, she just didn't think that was possible.
"I think that perhaps life work in some very funny and mysterious ways," She said finally, feeling his hand tighten on hers and was pleased to find that already the pressure of his hand around hers felt familiar and natural. "Perhaps...perhaps it was just waiting until we were ready to meet," Daisy said, tilting her head slightly as she considered that possibility. "Maybe it knows that now is the time..."
She had no idea what it was time for, she just knew that ever since Jerry had walked up and ordered a fifth of whiskey in that soft, polite voice Daisy had been utterly captivated and now she felt as though her life might actually be changing. She smiled a little as Jerry mentioned his brother's love of pie and she pulled herself a little closer to Jerry, knowing each step was bringing them closer to their apartments, and the end of their time together. "Perhaps I could bake him a pie sometime, might do well to get on his good side. Then...then he might not mind having me around visiting his brother so much," She finished shyly, the look in her eye as she gazed at Jerry hopeful.
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Post by Jerry Flynn on Sept 20, 2009 2:17:26 GMT -5
"Time could've happened a year or two ago, I wouldn't complain," he said with an edge of good-humored sarcasm. "I don't think I'd have minded not being quite so lonely, you know?"
Lord, what on earth was happening to him? A couple hours ago, he'd never have been able to get those words to form in his mouth, let alone pass his lips without his face bursting into flames of embarrassment. This Daisy-girl just... did something to him. He felt so... sure of himself, so confident, strolling along with her hand in his, close enough bundle into each others' arms... He felt like Jensen! No wonder Jensen was always so damn cocky, if he felt this confident all the time.
"Perhaps I could bake him a pie sometime, might do well to get on his good side. Then... then he might not mind having me around visiting his brother so much."
Okay, that was enough to inspire a blush in him--but only a little one. Matching her hopeful gaze with a reassuring smile, Jerry nodded. "He wouldn't mind having you around in the first place. He never minds having a beautiful girl around. And if you brought him pie, he would probably--he would definitely try to steal you for himself."
Looking ahead, he realized that the Kings Highway apartment building was looming ahead, and he frowned, cursing inwardly. For two years, he'd spent his every walk home wishing the walk was shorter, praying he would make it home quickly and without incident. The one time he was actually enjoying the walk, it seemed to go by twice as fast as his tormented treks. Unfortunately, they were already walking at a snail's pace. They couldn't have gotten any slower unless they walked backward.
"Hm," he said, trying to sound noncommittal, but unable to keep a note of disappointment out of his voice. "Looks like we're almost home."
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Post by Daisy O'Connor on Sept 20, 2009 10:18:30 GMT -5
"I wouldn't have minded that at all," Daisy said, drawing in a breath as she considered what the past two years might have been like if Jerry was in them. It wasn't that Daisy was unhappy, she rarely was and she made the best of what she had. But there had been times when she lay in bed at night and wondered if she'd ever find someone again, or if she should content herself with her friends and the patrons of McGinty's. She'd have been fine, but this? This was so much better.
A blush barely spread across his cheeks and Daisy longed to reach up and touch it gently, allow her fingers to explore the lines and curves of his face, but instead she merely returned his smile, feeling as though it was the confirmation that she needed. Jerry did want to see her again and it made her stomach flutter in that funny sort of way that she was beginning to enjoy. "He could try and steal me," Daisy began, allowing her thumb to rub along the back of Jerry's hand as they walked, looking up into his eyes. "But it wouldn't work, I...I can't imagine being with, I mean...seeing anyone but you."
They hadn't even talked about seeing one another and Daisy was blushing again but she didn't really mind that she'd let the notion slip. They had been nothing but honest since they met and it seemed as though they were both feeling the same things, she mineaswell put it out there; no reason to back off now. She glanced up at his words about being home and felt a sort of disappointment washing over her. If she could, she would suspend time and stay on this walk with Jerry for hours, she was enjoying it all far to much and the apartment building marked the end.
"So we are," Daisy said finally, subconsciously drifting even closer to Jerry before she let out a soft little sigh. "You know, it would be easier to find me if we just...set up a place to find one another," She smiled at him , keeping her eyes downcast because it was a forward notion but she didn't want this walk to end without knowing when she'd see him again.
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Post by Jerry Flynn on Sept 23, 2009 21:22:02 GMT -5
He flushed at her slip, biting his lip against a smile. Did she really just almost say that? Did she really just almost mean that? Judging by the blush that crossed her cheeks again, Jerry felt certain she had. Oh, wow. When this night finally ended and he returned to his apartment, he was going to kiss his brother square on the mouth for forcing him to go to the pub tonight to buy him another bottle of whiskey! This was easily the best night he'd had in a long, long time--possibly since moving to Brooklyn in the first place.
"You know, it would be easier to find me if we just... set up a place to find one another."
She was a bold one, this Daisy. Jerry thought he liked that in a woman. Lord knew if she left it to him, they might never come across each other again...
"Um," he started, stalling for time while he thought. It'd been a long time since he'd called upon a lady socially. Tomorrow was too soon to suggest, wasn't it? But he didn't want her to think he wasn't interested in meeting again, either. Why hadn't Jensen tutored him on what to do in these situations?! ...Oh, of course. Jensen rarely did second meetings in the first place, and only then when he was planning to... not do much talking.
They were approaching the building now, and time was quickly running out, so Jerry took the coward's way out and flipped the question back to her. She'd been doing a fine job of leading thusfar anyway. "Well, uh, when are you next available?" he asked uncertainly. "I wouldn't dream of interfering with your work schedule, of course."
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Post by Daisy O'Connor on Sept 23, 2009 22:20:03 GMT -5
Daisy considered his question, thinking over her work schedule for the following day, which was a late morning-early afternoon shift until Bridgette came in to cover for the rest of the night. Dare she offer that time to him? She wasn't sure what decorum dictated and she was hardly practiced in the social mores of proper dating etiquette. But as she looked over at him, handsome profile highlighted against the darkened sky, Daisy figured to hell with decorum, if she wanted to see Jerry again, she should at least offer. After all, hadn't fate given them this chance?
"I..I work the early shift at the pub tomorrow," She said softly, looking down at the ground and then at where their hands were resting together on Jerry's arm before finding his eyes. "I'll be off in the early afternoon...around 3 if, if you wanted to do something then." She made the offer hastily, now considering the fact that he might have some plans that he would prefer to keep. "Or later this week if you're busy I just..." She shook her head and straightened her shoulders, sending him another small smile. "I just would like to see you again, and sooner rather than later if it can be helped."
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Post by Jerry Flynn on Sept 25, 2009 1:08:22 GMT -5
Yep, he liked his women forward, Jerry decided. This walk home had been decidedly enjoyable, and surprisingly painless. And, best of all, Daisy didn't seem turned off by Jerry's timidity.
"I'm not busy," he assured her quickly, "and I would love to see you again, too." He thought for a moment, trying to focus through the din of the voice in his head squealing with excitement over the success of his evening. "I could... I could meet you at McGinty's at the end of your shift, and, um, m-maybe we could... take a walk in the park? Around the lake?"
Coming up to their building, he placed his hand politely at the small of her back as they mounted the steps together, and held the door open for her as they entered. In the lobby, he let her lead the way, as he didn't know where her apartment was located in the building.
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Post by Daisy O'Connor on Sept 25, 2009 7:53:53 GMT -5
"I think that sounds lovely," Daisy said, her face blossoming into a smile at his words. It would definitely give her something to look forward to during her hours at the pub on her feet, washing dishes and talking to customers. In fact, she found herself already beginning to look forward to her next moment with Jerry and wasn't sure what to make of that.
They climbed the steps and his hand settled comfortable and easily at the small of her back and she relished the feel of it resting there, causing a surge or warmth through her body. With a small smile she led the way up to her second story apartment, grappling for the right words to say now that this evening was drawing to an unfortunate end. When they reached her door she sighed and turned leaning back against it for a moment as she turned to face Jerry.
"Thank you for walking me home, Jerry," She said, blue eyes turning soft as she watched him, searching for a moment as though trying to memorize every line of his handsome face. She considered him for a moment and then reached out and settled her hand on his arm before pushing up on her tiptoes and brushing a light kiss against his cheek. "I truly appreciated the company."
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Post by Jerry Flynn on Sept 27, 2009 21:38:35 GMT -5
It was only ten years of cotillion lessons that had him respond to her soft kiss with a kiss of his own, lightly planted in the hollow of her cheek. With that small motion, her spell over him was broken, and he reverted back to his usual blushing, stammering self.
"The, um, the pleasure was all mine, Miss Daisy," he said quietly, looking to the floor again as his cheeks reddened. "So, I-I guess I'll come to McGinty's tomorrow, around, um, three, and we'll... go to the park."
Biting his lower lip nervously, he glanced up and met her eyes briefly, tilting his head genially. "Good night, Miss Daisy. Sweet dreams."
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