Ezra had never struggled with her attraction towards men before. Every partner she’d had in the past had always been fleeting and casual, and while there was a physical attraction there, it was something she could handle. But the way that Jasper made her stomach twist wasn’t just physical attraction - and that scared her. The way he handled her so gently. The way he could have made a move on her at any point last night and she probably would have reciprocated. But he’d treated her with respect and concern. He’d tended to her wounds and made her feel safe. She was too comfortable with him. Jasper was clearly interested in more than a physical relationship, and Ezra had never put effort into an emotional relationship. She had a feeling that if she let this continue, she’d end up hurting them both.

She let the cool metal of the washer ease her racing heart and flushed skin. As she stood there, she’d convinced herself that she wasn’t going to flirt with him anymore. She wasn’t going to lead him on and make him think there was ever a chance for anything more with her. Ezra wasn’t the type of woman he needed. A small voice in the back of her head, the one she’d become so good at drowning out, told her that Jasper was exactly the kind of man she needed, however. But Ezra brushed the thought away as soon as it entered her mind. She’d decided a long time ago that she didn’t need someone else to make her happy. She didn’t want any part of love. Because she’d already seen what could happen when it left.

As the determination settled in, she started to steel herself to switch out the clothes and go back to the room, to shut everything down and start building her walls again. It was at that moment that she felt warm hands on her, and her heart immediately leapt up into her throat as she turned with the touch, her mouth drying up as she looked up to meet Jasper’s gaze. Immediately, she forgot all of her resolve. As his hands moved to her hair and he pulled her into him, she followed, tilting her head back slightly and rising up on her toes to meet him halfway.

The moment his mouth found hers, she knew she was in trouble. Warmth exploded in her chest as she kissed him, her arms coming up between them to wrap around his neck, using it as leverage to pull herself in closer, the space between their bodies suddenly nonexistent. Ezra had kissed plenty of men before, which is why she knew this was different. The electricity that was sparking everywhere they touched. The way she was suddenly overheating. If she didn’t need oxygen, she might have kept kissing him. Breaking the kiss to inhale some much needed air, Ezra felt her cheeks blazing. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, but her face was moreso. So the blush she’d worked hard to get rid of was definitely back. ”That’s a great way to get a girl to do more laundry.” She commented, her mouth breaking into a giddy grin.

Letting her arms drop slightly so that she could lower herself back into a flat-footed stance, her hands moved from behind his neck to his shoulders and then down to his chest. He was so much taller than her, his entire presence feeling as if it was surrounding her. Ezra’s chest still felt tight, and she didn’t like the uncertainty she was suddenly dangling over. She’d never been a participant in this kind of dance before.

613 words - Jasper Covington - boop boop

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

Next time? She felt her chest tighten at those words. A little voice in the back of her head told her that this is exactly what she’d been trying to avoid. Someone who wanted more, and deserved it. But she didn’t know if she could give him what any normal girl could. Still, a much louder voice was melting at those words. Next time. He wanted to kiss her more. The excitement at the thought only fed into her need to distance herself, which only made her question him and herself. Regardless of how torn she was mentally, she felt the corner of her mouth pull upwards in a lopsided smirk at his words. Thankfully, before she could say something stupid and ruin the moment, he was continuing on. Breakfast. Her stomach let out a rumble that she hoped only she heard.

Smile broadening at his instruction, she gave him a mock salute, not breaking eye contact until he began to turn away. Turning on her heel back to the machines, she quickly threw her clothes into the dryer. She turned it on without much thought about the settings - she preferred the simpler, older machines. So long as it dried her clothes, though, she didn’t really care. The sound of the Impala purring from the garage was a strong contender against the sound of the dryer, and it made another thrill run through her. Honestly, this attraction stuff was giving her a bit of a headache.

Ezra took her clothes as soon as they were dry enough to be just above damp, and ran up to his bedroom and enclosed herself in the bathroom. Shedding his shirt, she pulled on her bra and then the black sleeved shirt and jeans. Socks, boots. Pausing in the mirror to run her fingers through her hair, she left it down to hide the bruises on her neck. No reason to concern some innocent cashier, with a mountain of a man at her side.

Grabbing her leather jacket from the bedroom, she made her way back down to the garage. Approaching the vehicle, she once again felt like someone was squeezing her. Sliding into the vehicle, she couldn’t help but inhale as she closed the door. Her gaze flicked over the interior of the vehicle, an appreciative expression on her face. Settling in her seat, she put the jacket in her lap, her hands clasping it. At least she didn’t fumble with it. ”Alright, she’s gorgeous.” Ezra said, her faint smile growing as she glanced over at Jasper.

As they took off, Ezra continued to glance around the interior. Her gaze zeroed in on the cord coming from the radio. An aux? Her gaze traveled up the cord to the cassette player, where it connected to a cassette that was sticking out of the slot. She grabbed the cord, her other hand fishing her phone from her jeans. Plugging the cord into her phone, she reached out to the cassette and gently pushed it in. Turning back to her phone, she pulled up her music app, quickly choosing a playlist from her favorite’s list. She belatedly thought about the volume that the vehicle was on, and prepared for the music to blare from the speakers. Thankfully, it was set to a fairly moderate volume. Loud enough to be heard. Low enough that they didn’t have to yell at each other. So he was much more responsible than she would have been.

AC/DC was coming from the speakers, of course. One of Ezra’s many favorites. Songs that she’d memorized a long time ago, during those sparse times where her father would work on vehicles with her. The song had an immediate affect - those pesky nerves were completely gone. Her smile relaxed, and she felt much more comfortable in the vehicle. Music just tended to help every situation. With the music in the background, Ezra glanced over at Jasper, a curiousness in her gaze. ”Tell me you play music while you work.” She commented, her mind trying to touch back on those memories of the tiny garage her and her father had spent so much time in. Ezra didn’t normally talk about him, mostly because her list of memories was rather short, and it always seemed to make people give her weird looks. That, or she just didn’t care enough to share about herself. Even now, she couldn’t say it outright, but the music made her feel nostalgic.

The longer the ride lasted, the more her stomach tried to remind her that she was starving because she hadn’t eaten in well over a day. Thankfully, the music and the natural ambiance of the Impala made it impossible to hear. Didn’t mean it didn’t bother her. Trying to distract herself, or maybe torture herself, she pictured the kind of food he might’ve ordered. Hopefully he’d remembered her comment about not being a salad girl, because if he didn’t get her enough, she was liable to steal something of his. She didn’t bring it up, though, preferring to wait and see if he’d gotten it right.

858 words - Jasper Covington - boop boop

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

“What kind of shop doesn’t play music?”

Ezra was immediately distracted by the wink he threw her way, feeling her lips tug up into a bemused smile in response to his words. She’d figured that he would say so - Ezra couldn’t imagine any auto shop that didn’t play some kind of music. She found herself wondering what kind of music he liked. He didn’t seem too bothered by her choice, though, which meant that she’d probably like his taste in music. Honestly, the only music she absolutely couldn’t stand was the mainstream pop music, and even then, she sometimes still caught herself singing along when they were playing. Too damn catchy. ”That’s a fair point. I guess I’m just too used to working a boring job.” She replied, her tone overly casual. Her job was rarely boring, but it definitely didn’t afford her the opportunity to enjoy music very often.

Picturing herself blaring classic rock while snooping around only made her smirk.

Giving him a sly glance, she tilted her head and gave him a questioning look. ”You look like you could either be into George Straight or Metallica.” Turning her gaze back to the road, she smiled. ”I mean, that hair? If you haven’t been in at least one mosh pit, it’s practically criminal.” She kept her focus on the road before them, her tone playful.

It wasn’t long before they pulled up to the restaurant, and Ezra found her gaze jerking back to Jasper as he leaned towards her. Was he..? No, he wasn’t. That smirk on his face as he leaned for the glovebox told her that he had a better idea of how he made her feel than she originally thought. This man was dangerous. Even still, Ezra couldn’t take her eyes off him as he slipped the mask onto his face and told her to wait in the car. She might have barked some sort of retort back at him if this were any other day, or any other man telling her, but instead she just nodded her head, a smile playing on her lips as she watched him go inside.

Again, her stomach grumbled, and she stared at the doors, hoping he wouldn’t be gone long. When he reappeared with the bag of food, she couldn’t help but try to guess how much food was inside as he walked over and put it in the back. Her gaze left the bag and found him as he got back into the car, posing a question on their next destination.

“Or option three, we can go park on the mountain side and eat on the hood.

She gave him a thoughtful look, as if she were considering his options very hard. ”Hmm.” Ezra mused, ”I’m gonna go with option three.” The idea of bringing him to her place made her nervous for some reason, so she figured anything to put that off. And if she went back to his place, she’d probably never leave at this rate. So mountainside hood-of-the-car breakfast it was. She was impressed he was even alright with them sitting on the roof. ”Though I have to admit I’m surprised you’d let someone on the hood of your car.” She added, trying not to focus too hard on the food, and begging her stomach to not growl loudly.

The music had moved on to the next song on the playlist. Jukebox Hero’s slow build started playing, still set to the same volume. Not quite loud enough to drown out conversation, but loud enough to act as a comfortable background sound. As they drove towards the mountains, Ezra couldn’t help but nod her chin along with the song, definitely not willing to start belting out the lyrics like she often did when she was alone. She’d rather they just go ahead and crash.

There was a specific stretch of road ahead that Ezra liked to frequent on her bike. No cops patrolled there normally, and with the pandemic and the riots, Ezra was certain there wouldn’t be a single one out here. It was straight, the last straight stretch there’d be. ”Weren’t you the one talking about how this girl’s supposedly very fast?” Ezra asked, her tone innocently curious. There was nothing more that Ezra enjoyed more than going fast in a car, or on a bike. Lately she hadn’t gotten many chances, especially with the pandemic, and she couldn’t help but admit that the idea of it was more attractive because of whose vehicle she was in, and who was sitting next to her.

She was betting that Jasper wasn’t the kind of guy who got a fast car and didn’t drive it fast. Those kinds of guys also didn’t let girls sit on their hood - because it was all for looks, not performance.

803 words - Jasper Covington - boop boop

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

"I was more the intimidating mountain that stood behind the girls in our friend group so that way they were safe to enjoy the music."

Ezra couldn’t believe he’d never been in a mosh pit. If there were rock concerts going on, she might’ve had half the mind to drag him to one. Unfortunately, another thing the pandemic was ruining. Shaking her head, and giving him a mock disappointed look, she sighed. ”Criminal. But of course you’d be the guy you feel safe with holding your drink.” She said, a small smile curving her lips. ”We’ll have to fix that when life is normal again.” Ezra said, reflexively, only belatedly realizing she was now talking like he had earlier - next time. The words brushed through her mind and made her stomach feel queasy. Nerves bloomed in her chest cavity, though she tried to keep her expression casual.

Her second thought was that no one really knew what normal was going to be after all this. So many people were dead. How long would it take for the world to recover? Would it ever? She didn’t like to think too hard about the state of things, even though it was literally her job to stay up to date. The things she wrote about had never depressed her quite like they did these days.

Smiling as he told her his taste in music, she gave an approving nod, her gaze roving over him before flicking to the scenery through the front windshield. ”So no Justin Bieber, got it.” Ezra joked, a thrill running through her as they took off towards the mountains. Why she felt so excited was beyond her, and she wasn’t worried about examining her feelings right now. She just wanted to think about anything except the riots. Her brow raised as her gaze flicked over to meet his again, a bemused smirk on her face. Special girls. Heat rose to her face, her stomach dropping hard. ”Flattery will get you nowhere, Casanova.” She teased, fully deciding that if he was going to go about calling her little one left and right, then he should have a nickname too.

Part of her wanted to tell him that she wasn’t really all that special, but that felt a lot like fishing for compliments. Another part of her didn’t want to address the comment at all, because she was already doing everything she could not to turn bright red. And knowing Jasper, he’d have some sort of response that would only make that electricity in her chest go crazy.

Of course, she wasn’t prepared for his hand to fall into the space between them. Immediately her heart leapt up into her throat, and she tried to look anywhere but down at his hand. If she were a different girl, she might have reached out and grabbed his hand. Even now the thought was tempting - something about being close to him made her feel safe, though she figured that probably came from the fact that he’d been the one to comfort her last night.

At least he wasn’t staring at her expectantly, and she tried to relax and simply act as if she’d never noticed his hand. Thankfully, him putting his foot down on the pedal distracted her from the thought. The grin that broke out across her face was only matched by the crescendo of adrenaline pouring into her as the vehicle roared. It was everything she could do not to let her excitement get to her, but as he slowed for the turn, she didn’t think about the fact that her seat belt was not secured, or that he was most definitely not slowing down enough to not need the ‘oh shit’ bar.

A surprised cry escaped her lips, quickly followed by a belt of laughter as she slid across the seat, colliding with Jasper. She was too busy thoroughly enjoying herself to be embarrassed about how close they were, and it wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy the warmth and sturdiness of his body against hers. Still, as the vehicle completed the turn, she did adjust herself so that she wasn’t pressed so tightly against him. For a minute she was still grinning, chuckling, and then she remembered the food. ”Oh!” She twisted around, peering over the seat into the back. The food had definitely slid, but thankfully the bag seemed to be holding everything together. Nothing spilled. "Alright, fine. She's both gorgeous and fast as hell." She admitted, relieved, as she turned back and settled into the seat. She didn’t bother scooting herself all the way back to the passenger side of the seat, less than a foot of space between them, but enough room that he didn’t feel crowded while driving. Though she had a sneaking suspicion that he certainly wouldn’t mind.

"But I'm still certain I can beat you in a race." This was said with a broad, confident smirk and a challenging look that she tossed his way.

832 words - Jasper Covington - boop boop

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

”I am not that intimidating, am I?”

Ezra gave him a long look for a moment, as if questioning if he was serious. Finally, she raised a brow at him as a bemused smirk spread across her face. ”You’re like eight feet tall.” She responded bluntly, tilting her head in his direction. ”But don’t worry, I’ve seen scarier guys.” Her tone was teasing, playful. She tried not to take too much from the look he gave her when she slipped up, making plans for a future she had no part planning for. So she liked him; she was bound to meet at least one guy who didn’t annoy her. But this wasn’t a platonic kind of like, and she knew that. She was an adult.

But the part that made her nervous was how much she liked the way he looked at her. Treated her. With her past encounters with the opposite sex, it’s usually just been surface flirting and one night stands. There was no discussing their pasts, or comforting one another. Ezra had never just slept beside someone. In fact, except for drunken escapades, Ezra preferred to sleep alone. She’d never felt the need to reach out to someone else for comfort. Never felt like leaning on anyone else. She was independent. Tough. She definitely didn’t want to get trapped with a man she hated.

The issue here was that she most certainly did not hate Jasper. Which was exactly why she was playing a dangerous game. She couldn’t help but think that if he knew her better, he wouldn’t be quite as interested.

His laugh brought her back to the present. She shook her head when he told her what most people went for when it came to nicknames. Fabio. ”That’s way too easy.” She replied, her tone confident. ”I think you’re stuck with Casanova.” Though she knew immediately that if he told her he didn’t like the nickname she wouldn’t keep calling him that. Which was a strange thing to feel - consideration for another person’s feelings. She’d never worried about upsetting someone before, at least not someone who wasn’t her boss.

“Besides, the flattery has gotten me this far with you...”

He wasn’t wrong, but Ezra still rolled her eyes. Kiss a man once and it’s like she already had a wedding ring on her finger. ”We haven’t really gotten anywhere yet.” Ezra said, her expression blatantly suggestive, a playful smirk on her face. And then they were taking the turn, and she was pressed up against him. She was almost too distracted by the exhilaration to focus on their bodies touching, but as soon as his hand found her knee, her entire focus shifted, and suddenly there wasn’t enough oxygen in the vehicle. The fleeting squeeze only made her stomach drop, her mouth going dry. Jesus. He had to know exactly what he was doing.

“And that, little one, is why we were seat belts.”

Ezra shrugged her shoulders. ”Easy to forget they exist when your main mode of transportation is a motorcycle.” She said innocently, the devilish smirk on her face speaking volumes against her tone. She obviously couldn’t have planned the slide, but she certainly wasn’t upset that it had happened. Once she’d assured herself the food had survived their tomfoolery, she felt a lot better. They parked, and he looked over at her. She couldn’t help but meet his gaze, but she couldn’t have ever guessed what words were going to come out of his mouth in response to her compliment on his vehicle.

“Not quite as gorgeous as you, but she’s a close contender.”

The smile froze on her face, her heartbeat suddenly strong and pounding in her throat. Her chest felt cold and hollow, but not in a bad way. More like she was about to float away. Ezra had never really concerned herself with compliments. She didn’t need other people to tell her that she was pretty, preferred to not hear the hollow words. But his tone wasn’t like she was used to. It wasn’t false flattery. Thankfully, he carried on, addressing her challenge. It was like time took back up it’s usual pace suddenly, and she had to really focus on his words in order to even hear them. ”We’ll see.” She told him plainly, a placid, self-confident smile on her face.

Once again, he was leaning into her. Ezra didn’t back down from him, tilting her head up, a bemused smirk firmly on her face as she locked eyes with him. She wasn’t going to fall for this trick twice in less than an hour, but it was cute that he was trying-

“Now, be a good girl and get out so we can get your stomach to stop growling.”

Alarms blared in her mind as she felt heat blooming in her face. Her lips parted to throw something back at him, but he was already snagging the bag of food and getting out before she could think of something to say. Sputtering, she slid out of the car, giving him a glare that wasn’t even remotely angry. She tried to press her lips in a firm line to stop from grinning. ”I’m getting out because you took the food, not because you told me to.” She clarified, coming around to the hood and watching as he laid out the food.

’Oh, thank God.’ She couldn’t help but think as he laid it all out. Most guys looked at her small stature and assumed she didn’t eat like a grown man. That was always their first mistake, assuming that because she was small that she ate like a rabbit. ”Where’s your food?” She asked, painting a quizzical look on her face as she reached out and took the container with the fruit. She couldn’t hold the innocent look for long, a smirk playing on the edges of her mouth as she opened the container and looked over the fruit. A lot of times, when a restaurant advertised fresh fruit, they meant a handful of grapes and some old slices of strawberry. Thankfully, this colorful array of fruit didn’t seem to be quite that sad. She took a chunk of honeydew and popped it in her mouth.

1040 words - Jasper Covington - boop boop

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

“Whatever helps you sleep better at night, princess.”

Ezra rolled her eyes in response to his words, slowly losing the fight against the grin on her face. She was starting to recognize the feeling of electricity in her gut that she felt every time she interacted with him. It was an entirely different feeling to the way she normally got around guys she was attracted to. Something in addition to that blatant physical attraction - which, any woman who had eyes would likely find the man before her attractive.

She was entirely distracted from the fruit she was eating as she watched him dig into the more savory food options. The wink he sent her way had her chuckling, shaking her head as she selected a grape and popped it into her mouth.

“If this isn’t enough, we can go get more. But I have a feeling you will be more filled up if you have some pancakes. And some of that too. Unless you are a vegetarian?”

The loud burst of surprised laughter that escaped her mouth was unavoidable as his words sank in. ”I was just giving you a chance to get some before I inhale it all.” She replied, setting the container of fruit back on the hood and wagging a finger. ”But you’re not doing it right.” She warned, reaching out for a pancake and then plucking a couple pieces of bacon and sausage. Taking the pancake, she held it in one hand, folding it with her fingers so that it looked like an empty taco shell. Placing the bacon and sausage in the pancake, she glanced up at Jasper and quirked a brow before reaching out for the small plastic containers of syrup. Easily removing the lid with just the one hand, clearly showing she was used to eating this way, Ezra drizzled the syrup over the creation. ”Pancake taco.” Ezra proclaimed, shrugging a shoulder casually as she threw him a self-satisfied smirk. The final step was to roll the pancake up so it could be eaten, relatively mess-free, with one hand.

Unceremoniously, she took a bite. As it usually did, the pancake did it’s best to fall apart. Ezra had learned the practice from the guys she’d worked with at the auto shop. The first few times had resulted with sticky pancake and bacon crumbles in places they certainly didn’t belong. But she’d gotten pretty good at eating the monstrosity without causing absolute chaos. Still, though the food held together and none fell from her grip, she could still feel syrup on her chin. Ah well, if her eating habits turned him off, maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about the way he made her feel.

Using her free hand to brush the syrup away, Ezra was at least graceful enough to fully chew and swallow her bite before speaking. ”Best thing I ever learned in an auto shop.” She said, shrugging her shoulders as a smile spread across her face. Thankfully, it didn't take her but a few more bites to finish her handmade taco. Normally, when she was alone, she licked the syrup from her fingers like an animal, but she wasn't brave enough to do that in front of someone else - at least, not Jasper. She took one of the napkins from the stack that had been provided, and cleaned her fingers. Once the stickiness was relatively gone, she helped herself to another piece of bacon.

577 words - Jasper Covington - boop boop

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE