<div class="floatleft">(http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/41000000/Stephen-James-stephen-james-hendry-41092498-640-640.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Jasper (JJ) (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=308599.msg15018215#msg15018215)<br/><strong>Age:</strong>28<br/><strong>Sexuality:</strong>Heterosexual<br/><strong>Hometown:</strong>New York<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>2 July | Sunset<br/><strong>Location:</strong>On the beach<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>Casual Beach Sexy (http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/41000000/Stephen-James-stephen-james-hendry-41092498-640-640.jpg)<br/><strong>Coupled with:</strong>None<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Cassandra<br/><br/><hr/><br/><br/>As Cassandra approached, JJ did his best to hide his satisfaction.  Not so much about how gorgeous she was, though that was certainly true.  Rather, he had finally met someone on the island who seemed willing to drop the mask for a moment, even if she decided to pick it back up.<br/><br/>He’d seen her avid look as she approached, once she’d figured out how to walk in heels in sand, anyway.  He would have been stunned to know the truth about her lack of confidence as she buried it quickly and made her way to him with a smiling strut.<br/><br/>He noted her eyes sizing him up as she approached and smiled, appreciating her willingness to acknowledge her attraction.  But when she finally got close enough to talk, she hit him with twin sledgehammers in a single word.<br/><br/><em>“Damn.”</em><br/><br/>The first hammer was the word itself.  It was apparent that she meant it as a compliment, not in disappointment, and it was as clear a sign as he was ever likely to get out of a first word that she was interested.  Beyond ‘interested’, perhaps.  Finally, a woman here who was willing to put herself out on a limb.  That took a different level of confidence and self-awareness and JJ found it undeniably appealing.<br/><br/>The second hammer was her voice.  It wasn’t so much the tone, which was pleasant and lilting, but her accent.  JJ lived in New York.  He had plenty of American Irish friends and had been around enough of their actual Irish kin to know the accent when he heard it.  If she wasn’t Irish he was a Christmas ham.<br/><br/>And that<em>was</em>a Problem.  Capital P.  If there was any accent in the world that made him want to dissolve into a puddle of… goo… it was Irish.  Now it was his turn to say<em>“Damn”</em>, but internally.  He was going to find it harder to maintain his even keel around her than he expected.<br/><br/>He was able to, however.  At least this time.  He got out his line about her making the place more beautiful, absorbed her return compliment, noted her (shy?) blush and guided her to their table.  The feel of her warm hand slipped over his bicep was distracting enough that he almost missed her question.<br/><br/><strong>    “Ah, well, it’s been… interesting,”</strong>he said with a small laugh.  It was warm, genuinely amused, but still a bit guarded.<br/><br/><strong>   “My breakfast date… was not a love connection, to put it mildly.  She seemed a nice enough lady, but she was quite distracted by another guy.  After one night.  And presumably by my resemblance to other guys who did her dirty.  We never even had a chance.”</strong><br/><br/>JJ’s tone was somewhat sour, but sounded more resigned than anything else.  He perked up slightly as the two of them were reaching the table, pulling out her chair for her.<br/><br/><strong>“The second date was far better.  Fun girl… up for a lark and sexy as hell.”</strong><br/><br/>He took his seat and gave her a wry grin with more than a little heat in it.<br/><br/><strong>    “She’s your competition… but I think it’s safe to say you’re hers."</strong><br/><br/>As they spoke, the chef brought over well-plated ribeye steaks, done medium rare, with a salt-crusted baked potato and a side of roasted asparagus.  JJ poured both of them a deep red wine that providentially seemed to match the last exuberant colors of the sunset.  Had the producers planned for that?  He couldn’t see how… but it just seemed too perfect to be coincidence.  He sat back in his chair, sipped the wine and met her eyes.<br/><br/><strong>   “So… do they have sunsets like this in Ireland?”<br/></strong>