Soooo hi. [Zara] on At Home

Felipe De Matteo

April 30, 2020 9:08 PM

Soooo hi. [Zara] by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe had kissed Zara. And then Zara kissed him back. And now it was summer and Felipe was trying really hard to remember exactly what that feeling had been like because it was a great feeling and he wanted to do it a whole lot more. He wasn't really sure whether that was going to happen, or whether Zara wanted it to happen, or how to find out because he'd only found out at the Ball because of all the big fancies going on. How did one go about "setting the mood" without all the big fancies? Hey, can I borrow a quill? Actually I have one I just wanted to monch your face. There had to be a better way.

Similar thoughts had kept Felipe occupied for most of the start of summer, which was just as well because Leonor was being much more insufferable than usual. He'd thought they'd be doing better since they'd been able to bond some during their sessions in the library together after Jessica's letter - which Felipe had not told Leonor about - but it seemed that such bonding was conditional, and that condition was that he didn't kiss his friends in public. Or at all?

Leonor had been fuming. She'd already had a terrible evening and hated every moment of the Ball, except one brief conversation with someone who may or may not be terrible and she wasn't sure, when she turned to find her brother making out with Zara Jackson. She wasn't even half as pretty as Jessica was, but beyond that, she wasn't half as important. It was a frustrating reminder that Leonor had to be important now and had to pick a suitable husband and Felipe could just tongue down whoever he wanted wherever he wanted and there were no consequences.

Felipe was not aware of most of these things, and had spent most of his time back from Sonora trying to figure out what his place was now that he didn't have a place; he had not for a moment considered that Leonor might be upset because she got her way and found out it was hard. Because of course it was hard. Felipe had known that since the beginning.

His lack of purpose was mostly filled with time spent in the gardens or socialising with folks from Ciudad de Matteo, or studying for the coming year, except that soon, Zara would be coming to visit. Awaking early, he'd dressed and made a beeline for the gardens, hoping to avoid Leonor as best he could on the way out. Today's walk was filled with question mark thoughts and a lot of anxious stomach knots. Leonor was prone to being horrible and he did not want her to be horrible to Zara. His parents were prone to being awkward and marriage-oriented, and he . . . well he didn't not want that, but he didn't want that either. Not for this trip. On the bright side, Leonor did not seem to have told their parents about Felipe having kissed (!!!) Zara, which meant that their chaperone level was left to their expectations that Felipe was a proper gentleman. Which he was; he would ask consent before he kissed her again. And there were lots of secret places in the garden in which they could do just that, while Leonor was graciously kept inside for her studies.

Unless Zara didn't want that anymore. There was every chance that his Ball facade - maybe that stupid bowtie - had been different enough that they weren't just friends for one night and then it was done after that. The lapels had been a nice touch; they worked well as handles, it turned out, and Felipe was particularly fond of Zara taking advantage of such features. But what if that was all it was? He didn't want to make her feel weird on pressured but also he definitely wanted to kiss her some more. How did people who had kissed people not just go around kissing people who wanted to be kissed by those people? It was by far Felipe's favorite thing to do out of all the things he'd ever done before.

As the pinks and yellows of dawn gave way to a proper morning sun set in a brilliant blue sky, Felipe made his way back out of the garden. The last thing he wanted was for anyone else to greet Zara before he did, least of all Leonor, and there were plenty of interesting enough plants near the mouth of the garden that Felipe could keep himself genuinely occupied for a few minutes or hours or days or whatever. Of course, if his stupid shirt wouldn't lay a little flatter, he'd be occupied with that instead. And had his hair always been so stick up-y? It was hopeless. He would just have to be himself, as he had run out of other options, and wit until Zara arrived. She would come, right? She wouldn't just . . . not come. Right?

22 Felipe De Matteo Soooo hi. [Zara] 1434 1 5

Zara Jackson

April 30, 2020 9:43 PM

Hey cutie by Zara Jackson

Zara was totally one to kiss and tell. Partly cos she was a chatterbox, partly because she didn’t have any shame about smooching a cute boy. However, she had been a little bit selective in who she’d told. She knew her parents weren’t totally stupid, and that they had to realise that letting two homronal teenagers visit each other had a certain degree of risk but they were probably going to assume that risk was somewhat higher if she let them in on the fact that her plan for this trip was doing as much making out as possible. They seemed to trust Felipe’s parents to supervise them ‘well enough’ and there was no need to upset that apple cart by suggesting they needed more keeping an eye on than previously. Honestly, there wasn’t really any greater risk than there had been before. Zara knew the reasons why you didn’t do Major Stuff and she wasn’t planning on doing any of that, so it was fine. She just wanted to know what it was like to kiss Felipe with their whole bodies pressed together instead of the more modest/awkward poses they’d been forced to adopt in the frilly backed chairs at the ball.

She had told Eva and James though. Because she had been dying to tell someone, and for them to stop treating her like she was such a little kid. Bertie could have that category to himself. Even if he was gonna be school age next year. Like, big magical school age. She had had a fun gossip session about boys with her sister and her cousin. She’d never been super girly like Eva, but it felt like they were weirdly getting more in common as they got older.

Now she was off to Los Jardinas for a week. It didn’t occur to her to worry that Felipe might not want to play any more tonsil tennis, because… why wouldn’t he? It was tingly and awesome and he clearly wanted to put his hands all over her. Her only concern was whether his parents were gonna keep them on too short a leash to make it possible. Or rather, to make it easy. She was definitely going to make sure it was possible.

She tumbled out of the fireplace, dressed once again in linen trousers and a bright cotton blouse. This one was sleeveless and a vivid orange, and although it was respectably tucked in right now, she thought it looked super cute when she left the ends unbuttoned and tied it as a crop top. She knew Felipe’s parents tended to approve of looking and being practical, so she had mostly packed with that in mind, though she’d brought one or two more fun things too. Leonor and Felipe’s mom seemed to think you could be practical well enough in skirts too, so there was no reason not to have a few of those, and then was it such a leap to think a sundress was a good idea too? ‘Practical’ here seemed to mean suitable for the heat and you don’t mind it getting dirty, so it was pretty easy to work with. Zara was definitely not adverse to anything she’d packed picking up a grass stain or two.

“Hey,” she grinned, when she saw Felipe. “Do I need to worry about a welcome committee appearing, or do I have you all to myself right now?” she asked him, quietly enough not to carry just in case his parents were nearby.

13 Zara Jackson Hey cutie 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

April 30, 2020 10:47 PM

You still think so!! by Felipe De Matteo

Any worries that had been lingering in Felipe's mind before Zara arrived disappeared when she smiled at him. Truth be told, any thoughts he'd been having at all disappeared. She was just so pretty. Like ridiculously pretty. And she was smiling at him. Even more amazing was that she was looking at him kind of like how she'd looked at him at the Ball.

"Welcome committee of one," he promised, breathing a little easier. He glanced back over his shoulder, as if to make sure no one was about to make a liar out of him, and then grinned sheepishly, looking back at his adventure buddy and wondering how much she saw in his face too.

There wasn't that much space between them, just a few paces. He thought that maybe the second part of her question was not a thing he was supposed to answer because it sounded like Zara sort of had an answer in mind, and he wasn't really sure how to say yes, have your way with me. That sounded about fifteen shades of too far past grey area to be appropriate. But maybe there was an easier answer?

He'd grown up some in the passing weeks since the Ball - somehow he always felt like he grew faster over the summer? - and he thought that maybe he could be a little more like Zara. He'd wanted that for a long time, but this seemed like as good a time as any.

Glancing over his shoulder one more time, he expressed gratitude for his long legs by closing the distance between himself and his sunshine on a cloudy day, took her face very gently and kissed her. It felt brave and so terrifying and also really nice. "Is that okay?" he asked with a sincerely worried voice, pulling away a few inches to check her expression. "I mean do you want to uh . . . "
His cheeks burned as he tried to figure out the best way to not sound like a child about the whole thing. "Like do you want to kiss me more?"

22 Felipe De Matteo You still think so!! 1434 0 5

Zara Jackson

May 01, 2020 11:25 PM

Yuh huh by Zara Jackson

He was sort of nervous and fidgety. Though, either she was getting more and more used to it, or he was like… slightly lower levels of it than usual. And it was almost in a fun way, it made her feel nervous too, because the little check over his shoulder implied he was checking that he wasn’t about to be caught doing something naughty. And that implied he was about to. So, they were very definitely good nerves that she was catching.

He closed the distance between them, and leant it, kissing her with almost no hesitation. She leant into the kiss but then he was leaning back. Apparently his self-confidence was failing him slightly, and the fact she’d been pressing her lips just as firmly against his wasn’t enough of an answer.

“Yes,” she confirmed. She slipped an arm around his waist pulling him a little closer. “Do I seem luke-warm about the idea?” she asked, tracing her other hand down his jawline with a smirk. Rational brain said to put him down. That someone else was bound to appear in a minute, and that she should do a round of polite hellos whilst presenting the best ‘I am not here to corrupt your first born child’ face she could muster. Teenage hormones said that she could get away with a couple more moments touching the person in front of her before she had to worry.

13 Zara Jackson Yuh huh 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

May 01, 2020 11:46 PM

I think that you are also quite cute. And scary. by Felipe De Matteo

It was an odd thing to be so comfortable doing a thing he'd never done before. It wasn't like he'd never thought about this stuff, but he'd never thought anyone would want to do this stuff with him, let alone that his beautiful terrifying adventure buddy would. As he had many times over since the Ball, he was very glad he'd worked up the nerve to ask her.

When she pulled him towards her, Felipe was reminded of just how strong she was, not in the physical sense - she was still quite smallish - but in the ferocity sense. He thought that it must be the most powerful feeling in the world to know exactly what you wanted and have the confidence to either go get it, or to not be bothered if other people turned you down. He thought that maybe Zara would be a little upset, but this was not a girl who needed him one bit. Which was sort of way cooler, because that meant she just wanted him around. And apparently she wanted to kiss him.

On the whole, no one ever touched Felipe's face. Probably when he was a little kid? And he supposed he'd been lucky not to get hit in the face when he'd fought with Jeremy. Zara had touched his hair before and obviously her face had touched his face, but people didn't put their hands on his face often. He was glad, because this was a strange, lovely feeling and he didn't think he'd like it very much if anyone else did it. Wasn't that a funny thing? Good feelings, like when she pulled them together and he could feel her body on his body and his stomach did a weird tensing up feeling and then a bunch of tiny backflips and he really wanted to kiss her some more, were conditional. He supposed that some amount of it was just that kissing and stuff was great and that touching - in appropriate ways and with consent - was great, but he didn't think it would be any fun at all if he didn't like the person. He knew he'd like this with Zara even before it happened. Maybe that's how he could tell that he didn't just like her like a friend? Was that the difference?

Those were not important thoughts to be thinking right now, which was good because they were very hard to focus on with Zara's hands on him. "No," he said, answering like he was just really hoping he'd gotten the right answer in class with his favorite professor. Or else like he was trying to avoid getting in trouble. He so so wanted to get the answer right because he wanted to see what she would do if he did. If she was pleased, if she smiled, would she kiss him again? He supposed he was probably a bit tall for her to do that the way he'd done, but he also doubted that something like a couple of inches in height would stop Zara from anything she wanted. And she wanted him!

"It's early yet," he murmured, copying her motion and slipping his arms over hers, around her back. "Mamá is in town, and Papá is helping Leonor with her lessons. They asked that I pass on their apologies for not being able to meet you right away, and that I should offer to walk you through the garden if you'd like." He felt very warm and thought that he might be an addict. Could one be addicted to kissing? He refrained, because he wanted to see her expression, and because she was his adventure buddy and there were all sorts of adventures to be had in the garden around the estate. He raised an eyebrow as a playful smirk asked his question before he got it out with words. "Would you like?" he finally said, hopeful anticipation in his eyes.

22 Felipe De Matteo I think that you are also quite cute. And scary. 1434 Felipe De Matteo 0 5

Zara Jackson

May 02, 2020 12:09 AM

Good by Zara Jackson

He was taller than her. He was taller, and from this big important family that had raised him to hold his head up high and to be a person of respect. And when she squeezed him, he just went squish. It was kind of like the force pinch from Star Trek. It felt like if she found just the right place on him, he was gonna crumble into this mostly boy-shaped pile of goo.

She liked assertive Felipe, who had stepped forward and kissed her. But she also liked the thought that she could, with just a squeeze, remind him who was really in charge. She grinned as he answered her question hesitantly, clearly wanting to get it right.

“Correct,” she reassured him, adjusting her hands to be over his shoulders so she could stand up on tiptoes so that she could kiss him again, although she did keep this one brief, both because she was having to push herself off balance, and because she thought they really might be starting to push their luck now.

But then he explained. They effectively had the house, or at least vast swathes of it, the garden, and each other to themselves. For quite some time.

“Oh, what a shame,” she smirked, regarding his parents absence. Her mind was roving through the garden, trying to recall what little nooks and hideaways it might have. But Felipe’s expression said enough that she was sure they were on the same page here, and that ‘ a walk’ was a euphemism for continuing to let their mouths do things other than talking, and that the main type of exploring that was going to be on the cards was where their hands were going.
“I’m sure you and the gardens could keep me entertained for quite a while,” she agreed, just as much mischief in her eyes as were in his.

13 Zara Jackson Good 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

May 02, 2020 12:25 AM

I like when I get stuff right. by Felipe De Matteo

Zara reached up to kiss him and Felipe couldn't help a full out grin when she went back to her normal stature. So far, Zara had kissed him back. That time, she had kissed him without him starting it. Felipe was not only feeling very good about kissing because it was great, but also feeling a bit better about himself. He liked to think maybe he was doing something or being something that made Zara want to do that. There was a horrible thought that had danced at the back of his head, telling him that she was probably just being nice because she was always nice and he was always pathetic, but he was pretty sure that wasn't the case, and in this particular moment, it really didn't feel like it was the case. When he was alone, he could worry. Today, he wouldn't have any room in his brain to worry.

Also she wanted to go out into the gardens and he thought that he was probably going to find them much more interesting than just all the cool plants out there. Although he was a bit glad he knew which ones not to get into because they were poisonous or otherwise dangerous. There was one tree that came to mind that was safe, and big enough to lean against in the course of kissing, which he thought sounded nice, whether he was the one against the tree or pushing her against it. Darn shame they would have so much time to themselves to try such things. He sort of wondered what she would like to try and what was off limits. He had spent enough years being trained in the manners of courtship (which he was doing a terrible job of if that was what he was going for) and marriage to know enough about how babies happened to not make one by accident, but there were a lot of things between kissing and babies.

He nodded, not trusting himself to be half as witty or confident as Zara sounded, and followed her arms with his hands until he found hers behind his back and held them as he leaned forward for one more kiss before pulling away. He hated pulling away but also they probably shouldn't stand like . . . right here. This was the receiving room.

"They think I'm a gentleman," he pointed out with playful sternness, taking one of her hands and placing it on his arm, just like they'd done in the Gardens at Sonora. "I hope I'm not being . . . not a gentleman?" That uncertainty always crept up right when he was trying to be sort of confident! Why did it always do that? He pushed it away in favor of leading Zara out of the receiving room and towards the extensive gardens of Los Jardines de Plata. Which is when he realized that he had no idea what to do next. "You've had the full tour," he told her, gesturing to the various plants before them. "Well," he blushed, realizing that that had a sort of double meaning. "I guess you haven't toured everything. Where would you like to go?"

22 Felipe De Matteo I like when I get stuff right. 1434 0 5

Zara Jackson

May 12, 2020 5:38 PM

Me too by Zara Jackson

Felipe’s comment gave her a moment’s pause. Her own parents would probably not be impressed if she was sneaking off, and would want to establish some kind of boundary like ‘doors open.’ But they would not think there was anything inherently wrong with her wanting to kiss a guy (or a girl, if that was what she was into, though current evidence suggested to the contrary, unless it was both). Would Felipe’s parents? Were they supposed to remain a modest six feet apart lest they give into their pounding emotions and ruin each other’s reputations? She could actually kind of see the nineteenth century logic there, in that the closer she got to Felipe the more she wanted to touch him, but as to the idea of reputations or there being anything wrong with them being attracted to each other, that part was totally alien to her.

Was it to him?

“I don’t think you’re being ungentlemanly,” she assured him with a smile. He was sweet and polite and considerate whilst clearly wanting to smooch her face off, and that was more than fine with her.

She considered asking just how much trouble they would be in if caught, but brushed it off by telling herself that Felipe was quite capable of knowing his own family’s rules and making a judgement on what was possible to bend or break (conveniently ignoring the idea that either of them might not have been prioritising logical thinking at this particular moment). And what she didn’t know couldn’t harm her. And yolo. And he was fricking cute.

“Are you sure I saw everything?” she asked as they let go of each other enough to make their way outside. “I was thinking there might be some secret little places that I might have missed last time…” she added playfully.

13 Zara Jackson Me too 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

May 12, 2020 6:51 PM

But I'm not sure about one thing . . . by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe was not sure whether Zara also intended the double meaning in her answer and did his best to assume she did not, in which case he could show her some more gardens and lovely little places to do lovely things with her lovely face. He tried to match her playfulness but mostly just was trying to do his best to be patient and not think about what other lovely places were as of yet unexplored on either of them. He felt a bit as though his skin and blood were thinking for him, and those thoughts were that he just wanted to be really close to Zara and kiss her a bunch and maybe see whether the French had gotten that bit right even though tongues sounded like weird things to put in someone else's mouth.

He led the way along the path that did not lead towards Ciudad de Matteo, as that was most likely to be the direction his mother came from, and thought about holding her hand but wasn't sure if that was a thing she was okay with. Consent, he knew, could be asked for, but also this was their thing. Arm in arm. It meant they were closer, too.

Amidst the greens, purples, reds, and yellows of the gardens, there were a surprisingly large amount of little spots tucked away from the path. Sometimes, stone or wood had been carved (or magicked) into benches, but other times something as simple as moving an overhanging plant would reveal a fountain or open area. It was a lovely place to be and a good respite from the sun. Also, it was private.

As Felipe led them into one such alcove, he realized that his skin and blood had stopped doing all his thinking, as his mind was moving very fast. For one, he wanted to make sure he was not a creep and leading a lady into the wild to do Things with her seemed a bit creepy. But she definitely wanted to do Things so perhaps that wasn't so creepy. He would be more than happy - much more than happy - to let her take the lead on that, so that would be fine. But there was another thing, and he wasn't sure whether it should wait until the end of Zara's stay.

This particular alcove featured one of Felipe's favorite trees in all of Los Jardines de Plata. A massive jacaranda towered over them and branched out as if it were not only able to reach the sky, but become the sky. Delicate purple flowers danced among the leaves, or perhaps they sang because they looked like bells. The trunk was wide and sturdy which was helpful in this particular case. Felipe led them underneath it where they could look up at the spirals of branches that webbed their way up and out of sight.

"This is my favorite," he told her softly. "Is it-- can I-- " Words were hard. They had always been hard. So he wouldn't use them. Guiding her gently enough that it was clear she could say no but also firmly enough to make it clear what he was going for - hopefully - he moved the two of them so that her back was against the bark of the jacaranda and he could lean into her. She was much prettier than any flowering tree and he smiled at her before kissing her again and letting her guide that for a minute. He wasn't sure exactly what she wanted and letting her decide was much better than doing something crappy by accident or without thinking.

His one thought lingered though, so he leaned away from her after a moment and looked at her eyes, the way he'd done at the Ball, with his forehead against hers. "Hey, I uh--- I wanted to clarify something. And either way is okay," he rushed to add, even though it was only sort of true. Zara being happy was the important part and being respected was probably even more important; he just hoped they both wanted the same thing. "I'll still absolutely kiss you a bunch if you want me to. But are we . . . are you . . . uh . . . are we dating? Do you want to? No marriage proposals in this one, I promise." He added the bit a little wryly hoping to subvert any weirdness inherent to him being an absolute weirdo who clearly never learned how social interaction works. "I want to," he added, wanting to be clearer. "If you do, of course."

22 Felipe De Matteo But I'm not sure about one thing . . . 1434 Felipe De Matteo 0 5

Zara Jackson

May 12, 2020 11:13 PM

Is it important? by Zara Jackson

Zara recognised the tree from her first visit. She remembered thinking about whether she should encourage Felipe to climb it in order to let loose and have some fun. But she hadn’t. The tree had felt almost sacred to him, and she had thought it might be inappropriate. That memory took on a firmly ironic twist as he now pointedly backed her up against it, and she happily let him.

Even in the shade, the air around them was warm, at least to her. The day felt like it was pressing all over them, along with Felipe, whose body was up against hers. And whilst him being there undeniably felt nice, she was conscious that she might well be getting gross and sweaty. Especially if they got heated with each other. It slowed her thoughts down a little. She still wanted to kiss him, but it was easier to be content with doing it more slowly. Her kisses hovered on the edge, wondering how deep to dive both due to a lack of experience but also being pushed at by the heat of the day. She placed her hands on his waist though. She definitely didn’t want him going anywhere.

He pulled back a little, though not enough that they weren’t touching, and began to fumble his way through asking her… It wasn’t like this was something she hadn’t thought about. However, she hadn’t really reached any conclusion based on not knowing what it would mean for them to call it A Thing versus not. When her cousins differentiated between just fooling around versus actual dating, it was to do with the time they actually spent with the person. Just fooling around seemed like a lot more of your interactions were based on doing Stuff. Whereas dates spent time together outside of getting physical. But she and Felipe already did that. What was the difference between best friends who made out and dating your best friend?

She smiled as he ruled out marriage proposals, appreciating the dash of humour. And the fact that he was planning to kiss her a bunch if she’d let him. She very definitely was.

“What do you see the difference as being?” she asked, “Not saying no,” she clarified before he panicked, “Or yes,” she added for balance. “Just wanna know what that means to you,” she clarified. Was this around whether he bought her chocolate and the like? Honestly, even if they just made out without putting a label on it, she wasn’t sure he should rule out plying her with nice chocolates. Or if they were dating, were they gonna sit and hold hands in class? She couldn’t imagine doing that cos it just seemed kinda twee and embarrassing. They would, presumably, just keep being Felipe and Zara, and he would continue pushing her up against this tree either way, and they could behave to each other however they wanted (like buying chocolate) whatever they called it.

She leant forward, sliding her hands round his waist and giving him a kiss on the lips before he answered, just cos it had been at least a minute since she’d done it and it was fun. Especially if he ended up being all distracted whilst he was trying to explain himself.

13 Zara Jackson Is it important? 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

May 13, 2020 7:26 AM

I think so. by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe breathed out, something between a relieved smile and an anxious fluttering feeling. He quite liked when Zara put her hands on his waist and held onto him and stuff. He thought that maybe his brain - or whatever was doing his thinking - was getting redundant as he really just liked all of this. She did raise a good question though. A year ago, he would've said that the difference was whether or not they were gonna get married someday, but that wasn't the only path in life now.

But she was kissing him and that made it harder to concentrate. "It means whatever you want," he managed, punctuating his comment by kissing the end of her nose. "But maybe that we don't go kissing other people and stuff - not that I would anyway and uh... I think you wouldn't?" He stammered a bit not wanting to sound like he didn't think Zara had other prospects but also not wanting to sound like she was going around kissing every rando with a bowtie. "And maybe you wouldn't mind being my date to more stuff some time?" He kissed her forehead. "And I can give you all the presents in the world?" He leaned forward to whisper in her ear, kissing her cheek on the way. Humor was really hard when he was so distracted so his whispering might've been a bit more quiet and soft than he was going for. "And maybe people can like.... Know. And I get to be the guy who gets to date you." He leaned back a little again, trying to gauge her expression. "How am I doing?" he smirked.

He adjusted a little so that he could grip the bark better and lean into Zara without towering over her and without his palms coming off. Nature, it turned out, had defenses against being made out on. "I think it isn't that different probably," he admitted, thinking more about her question. "But maybe it means that I like you. Like not just as friends or a good kisser - you're both of those too - but as like..." He didn't want to blush, he didn't want to sound silly, why couldn't his cheeks just manage to let him seem a little confident just once. "I like you all the ways," he managed, punctuating that one by kissing her mouth one more time before waiting to see what she'd say.

22 Felipe De Matteo I think so. 1434 0 5

Zara Jackson

May 14, 2020 10:48 PM

Okay, let's do it then by Zara Jackson

Nothing was really going to change. Except in nice ways, like being on dates.

“Hey, maybe sometimes you’re my date,” she pointed out, “I can go fancy places and do important things, and you can be the cute thing on my arm,” she pointed out, partly because she knew he absolutely would agree that she could conquer the world whilst he followed along, and it was always nice to hear it.

Sonora wasn’t that full of super hot people. Well, okay, it was. Parker was kind of good-looking, and Heinrich wasn’t bad either. But there weren’t really people she was actively crushing on or who she felt like would give her that much attention even if she was. Agreeing that she and Felipe were only going to do this with each other seemed like a pretty easy agreement. Especially as there were plenty of girls who she thought might want to be in her position.

“You’re doing well,” she admitted when he pulled back, pulling him back in to repay a few of the kisses he’d accompanied his remarks with before it was her turn to draw back and look at him. “You talk about me like I’m so precious,” she smiled up at him. He sounded like he wanted to proudly declare to everyone that he was dating Zara Jackson like she was a catch and they all should be jealous. Zara had never been lacking in self-confidence, but she knew not everyone saw her that way. And the idea that someone thought she was worth shouting about from the rooftops was the sweetest thing he could have come up with.

“You’re sweet,” she smiled, trying to come up with nice things to say back, because it felt like he’d earnt them - and earnt more than just ‘you make me feel good about myself.’ Things that were actually about him. “And a gentleman. And… and I like you all the ways too,” she admitted.

13 Zara Jackson Okay, let's do it then 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

May 14, 2020 11:07 PM

Oh my gosh, really?? by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically. He would very happily follow her wherever she wanted to go, and if he got to be there at all, then he had accomplished everything on his bucket list. "Everything you do is important," he pointed out. "Just sometimes you do super extra important things. I'm happy to be a cute arm thing," he smiled wryly.

She seemed surprised that he thought she was precious. Well, that was definitely something to rectify, whether she wanted to date him or not. Someone like Zara shouldn't for a moment doubt that everyone in the world either thought she was precious or was wrong. There was no in between on that one. Felipe had had more than his fair share of exposure to things scientists and collectors would call precious, and Zara was prettier than any of them, even before you started considering her personality and stuff. She had a great one of those, too. Also, he decided as she kissed him, she had a great mouth.

Felipe would have thought that he would have wanted to be 'in charge' so to speak. He'd grown up always expecting that he would be at some point, and however much the De Matteos were focused on altruism and caring for others, there was no doubt that they had stationed themselves above in a way that made them important, too. Felipe didn't want to be important, except maybe to Zara, and he found that he really liked that she was the one in charge as often or more often than he was. She made him feel like he could do anything, and it was really nice that he didn't have to do anything with her but follow. And occasionally initiate scary things like holding hands and kissing. But he was pretty sure she'd initiated that thought long before it had arrived in his head.

The best thing Felipe had ever heard in his life was that Zara liked him all the ways. He had originally been afraid that he sounded like a potato when he phrased it that way, but thought it was perfectly cute when Zara said it so maybe he didn't seem like a potato to her. Potato in disguise.

He grinned and wrapped his arms around Zara's waist, picking her up easily and spinning around before putting her back where she'd been and kissing her with what he hoped was an appropriate amount of eagerness. He was very eager, but didn't particularly want to like . . . bite her, or whack her head into the tree, or cut off her airways or something. His arms remained around her waist and she was so small and warm against him which was perfect. Everything was perfect.

"That's yes?" he clarified, remembering his skills of misinterpretation when he'd asked her to the Ball. "Su novio, ton petit ami, il tuo ragazzo?" he grinned, pretty sure he knew the answer. He was going to feel like a literal potato - buried underground and trying not to grow eyes to see what was happening - if he was misreading this one. "Your boyfriend?" he clarified in a lower voice.

OOC - "your boyfriend" in Spanish, French, and Italian respectively. Or at least, as per Google Translate.

22 Felipe De Matteo Oh my gosh, really?? 1434 0 5

Zara Jackson

May 14, 2020 11:23 PM

Yup. Now more kisses. by Zara Jackson

Zara giggled as Felipe picked her up and twirled her. Being effectively the second youngest of eight she was no stranger to being picked up, but it was usually to be bodily removed, thrown in a pool or just cos they could. This was much nicer. Especially as it ended with a kiss. A pretty passionate kiss. Zara’s hands wanted to slide up into Felipe’s hair. They wanted to slide around him. She just wanted to be all over him, and pull him in from all directions. She settled for one arm around his neck and one on his hip. For now. They definitely wanted to go exploring later…

And then he broke off and was checking it was ‘yes’ - to…. New…. small…. Ragu? What?? Ah. Be her boyfriend. Given their past history of misunderstanding when a ‘yes’ had been implied she understood why he was clarifying.

“Yes,” she confirmed, “To the parts I understood. We can be girlfriend and boyfriend, and perhaps that can include teaching me all kinds of cute things to call you in other languages,” she suggested with a smile, “Later,” she clarified, because right now she could think of things she would much rather they were doing with their mouths. She still had a hand in his hair and one on his hip. She put a finger through the belt loop on his chinos, firmly pulling him towards her and pressing her lips back against his.

13 Zara Jackson Yup. Now more kisses. 1444 0 5