Something Blossoms

Built with different eating areas, this seafood restaurant creates an open atmosphere and is filled with nautical decorum. Its mainly rustic design offers a variety of different sized wooden tables are spread out along the rooms; all of them artfully arranged to make for both functionality and the movement of people. Each table is covered with plastic red-plaid cloths and has on it place settings with silverware and matching color napkins. Water, soda and iced-tea pitchers abound and glint in the lights that hang down over each table. Waiters and waitresses are all dressed in sailor-style outfits bustle about the tables and moving in and out of the kitchen as needed. A large chalkboard stands near the entrance, with the 'catch-of-the-day' and other specials posted on it in various colored chalk. The air is filled with the strains of soft conversation and the noises floating about the rooms.

Connor sprints through the door, trying his hardest not to be late after his brother had given him a million things to do on his way to the restaurant. As soon as Connor enters he scans the bodies of sailor suits in a search for Hope, figuring she's already there. His eyes roam as he tries to warm up from the brisk air outside.

Sure enough she's there, sitting at a table and getting chatted up by some rougher looking fellas. Not a bad lot just rough looking. She seems ot hold her own well enough though, totally oblivious to anything other than being friendly. She's so naive! Her laughter bubbles out from the interior giving away her position to the Irish lad at the door.

Connor lets his face light up as soon as he spots Hope and allows the laughter to guide him over to her. He slips between the boys to the chair that's meant for him and drapes his coat over the back of it. He gives a brief nod to the boys she was talking to in recognition and then looks over to Hope "Hey love, sorry I was late."

Hope's smile brightens even more as she sees Connor slip in and she turns towards him. "Oh don't worry about it. Liam and Nicky here were telling me about thier families and thier trips on the boats. Did you know that my oldest brother's name is Liam too?" She says to both Connor and the man named Liam.

Connor smiles back "Is that so?" He turns to the waiter as he approaches and tells him that he'll have a killians to drink before turning back to Hope "So how've you been the last couple days? We didn't really get to catch up due to your new friend last time."

Hope smiles and nods as the other two men make thier way with a friendly nod and smile to her. She looks over to Connor. "I'm so sorry about that. I didn't know that he would be like that. I've been good." She looks down a little coyly and says, adding to that "I..I kinda was hoping to see you at the wedding that my friends had last weekend. I...I got to be a bridesmaid."

Connor aws as he reaches out and touches her cheek "I'm sorry love, I didn't know or I would've been there. I'm sure you looked stunning. Who was it that got married?" His hand is still gently cupping her cheek across the table.

Hope smiles bashfully and glances up through her eyelashes. "Oh..I..I thought I left a message but..I probably got the wrong number or something. I'm ..not that good with numbers." she admits and blushes at his compliment "It was my friend Geneva and her beau Kris. It was beautiful. I threw them a reception. I think they liked it."

Connor moves his hand down to hers, running his fingers across hers. "I'm sure they loved it. I'll be expecting pictures." He really has a thing for her shy side, not sure what exactly it is. Maybe it's the mixture of that and the accent, but whatever it is, it works.

Well Hope's not your average girl, that's for sure. More like a nun than a normal girl. Goosebumps visibly raise on her arm when he touches her and she nods "They should be in next week. I hope anyway. My Aunt Emma ordered extras just in case they were good." she says with a chuckle. "But enough talking about me. How have you been? Busy at work?"

Connor nods "Aye, quite. It's been taking up almost all of my time lately, now's a rather busy time for it." He laces their fingers with a smile and moves his chair a little closer to hers.

Ya know? She never really asked him what he does for a living. Oh well, maybe it'll come to her later. She bites her bottom lip and blushes some more but doesn't move to take her hand from his. "The holidays and all...I figure everyone is getting more busy." She tries to find more words but stumbles over them trying to talk and then ends up laughing nervously.

Connor smiles and leans over a bit closer so his voice doesn't have to exceed a whisper as he speaks next to her ear "I missed you.." He's trying to conceal that school boy grin of his, not doing a good job, but trying nonetheless.

Hope looks up a little shocked but pleased somewhere through all that embarassment and smiles, nodding as she looks down at the table, then their hands. "I...I missed you too." she confesses in little more than a whisper. But that reminds her of something. "Oh..I have something for you...it's..it's not that good or anything but...I thought you might like it." She uses her free hand to pull out her sketch book and flips through some pages of various sketches of Saints and Christ and then regular people and cathedrals and scenery till she rests on one that is an exact replica of his tattoo on his neck.

Connor smiles as he studies the drawing "Wow...it's...it's exactly the same. How'd you do that without me?" His look is that of extreme impression considering he has trouble drawing stick people.

Hope shrugs a little and has tha 'aw shucks' look on her face. "I..I sort of have this photographic memory for that kind of thing. Well, as far as seeing things that is. Pictures, people, scenery....it's just somethign I've always done." She bites her bottom lip and tears it out of the book and hands it to him. "Here....take it." she offers.

Connor carefully places it in his jacket pocket and leans over to kiss her cheek "Thank you Hope, it's great. I'll put it up on the fridge" He smirks "That way Murphy can enjoy it too."

Hope smiles, proud that he likes it. She was afraid he might not. She carefully closes the book before it gets to the pictures of him that she's drawn and dips her head a little. 'You know...um..if ..he or..you have anything you have an interest in or..like...I can you know do a picture for you..Like a real one. Oil painting..It's really what I prefer. Painting."

Connor smiles and squeezes her hand gently "How about a self portrait then?" He's got that cute little puppy look in his eyes as he asks.

Hope blinks a little...in shock. Well she wasn't expecting that. her brow furrows a little and she wrinkles her nose, smiling. "I...I don't usually..I mean..I don't like to do..." Ah but how is a gal supposed to resist those puppy dog eyes. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather something else...Like.. a favortie pony from childhood or..um...your mother or...something? Maybe one of you and your brother?"

Connor conceals his outright smirk as he proceeds to make his next move. He sticks out his lower lip slightly and looks down at his feet "Yeah....sure...." His voice is a bit quiter that normal and he's still got those big brown puppy eyes working for him.

Hope whimpers quietly and sighs as she looks at him and is defeated by the pout. She says softly. "Well...I..um..I guess..if..if you really want one...I..could do some thing. " She frowns a little, more worries than anything "I..I can't promise it'll be any good though..I really stink at self protraits. Heck you should see the ones I did before for college." She shudders a little.

Connor smiles and whispers another thank you in her ear before kissing the back of her hand. "I'm sure you're just underestimating yourself and they're actually phenomenal"

Hope giggles softly and turns even pinker "Oh...I don't think so..but if it's really what you want?" she says it as more of a question as she looks up at him, her smile returning as she sees his.

Connor grins back with a twinkle of sorts in his eyes "You don't have to if you're uncomfortable with it Hope..anything would be great."

Hope shakes her head "No..I promised. A person's promise is thier word. If you can't live up to that then you're not an honest person. And I'm a girl of her word." It's funny how simple and rustic her thinking is in the big metropolis of Boston but it's part of how she was raise in a less hectic and more pastoral setting.

Connor nods with a smile "Alright great. Well I'm looking forward to seeing it then." His eyes scan over her, almost to try to recreate what the image will end up looking like.

Hope smiles shyly and doesn't look to where she is reaching for her water glass, managing to knock her sketchbook off the table. And as fate would have it...what page does it open to right there at his feet? The first one of him she drew. (http://www.geocities.com/bdsaints2002/Pics/bd_35.jpg) From where they had ice creame at the Hellfire Club. Her eyes widen and she lets go of his hand to reach for the sketch pad quickly.

Connor catches a glimpse of it but lets her get to the sketchpad first. "Ah, and what was that Hope? Looked a bit familiar..." He grins as he watches her expression.

Hope clears her throat quickly and looks away, closing it up fast after grabbing it. "Um..nothing..really. Just..." She sets the sketchpad on the table closed, her cheeks red with embarassment "Just some sketches you know...nothing more than um...doodles really." Boy she is rotten at lying.

Connor laughs and takes a sip of his drink "Doodles hmmm? That was a rather impressive doodle...of myself was it?" He can practically feel the heat radiating off her cheeks as he slips his hand back into hers.

Hope groans softly. Busted. even the tip of her nose colors. "Um..kinda...yeah." she says in a tiny voice as she feels his hand once more in hers and looks up shyly before looking down again. "I...I like to draw people I know. Always have."

Connor smirks "Well I'm honored that I was worthy...It looked amazing." He rubs the back of her hand with his thumb as they catch akward glances from the guys that were talking to her when Connor arrived.

Hope looks up through her eyelashes and smiles a little at him. "Thank you." Nope, no way she's admitting there are more in there. Heck she'd show him the book if it weren't the case. She doesn't seem to notice any glances but the guys are sure to note the difference in the girl's demeanor from when they were talking to her. "But really...those aren't my best work. Just..whatever the mood strikes me to draw." she admits softly, unwittingly giving away the fact that she was thinking of him.

Connor smiles back into her eyes and makes his voice a little softer as he leans closer to her "And what mood caused you to draw that picture?"

Hope smiles shyly, embarassed "I was ..um..just..ah...just thinking about..um..a..about when we had ice cream." Ack, another admittance. She raises her other hand and brushes her hair out of her eyes as she bites her bottom lip.

Connor keeps his eyes locked on her with more excitement inside then he's letting himself show "Any particular reason you were thinking about that night?" His thumb is still grazing her skin gently

Hope ducks her head a little and says in a voice that's no more than a breathed whisper "B..because...because....you...you're. I find you on my mind a lot these days." She looks up slowly at him to try to gauge his reaction at the same time trying to keep from blushing even more.

Connor smiles and responds in the same volume as she did "I know how you feel..." He squeezes her hand gently in a reassuring fashion

Hope blinks rapidly, trying to sort through his response mentaly. Does it mean what she thinks it means? Her hand tightens on his a little at the squeeze. "Really? I..I mean....you do?" Her large eyes lighting up a little as she speaks.

Connor laughs a little with his smile "Of course....all the time Hope.." His fingers lace through hers reassuringly as he smiles into her eyes

Hope smiles along with him even though her eyes are more than a little wider than normal. She's just kind of shocked, used to being the girl that's the best friend not...well..not the girl that people think of. Being true to form she says the first thing that comes to mind. "Wow" in an amazed sort of tone.

Connor smiles and brings her hand up to his lips, kissing it gently "Don't tell me you're actually suprised..." His eyes are at ease now that everything's in the open.

Hope nods and his kiss brings an all new blush to her cheeks. "Actually...yeah...I mean..I just..never thought that...well you..." She's a little too thrown to speak too clearly but it's obvious by her smile that it's a good thing. "I just...I'm more used to...being the friend you know?"

Connor grins at the newfound blush "Well I suppose we're going to have to change that aren't we Hope?" He winks and smiles at her nervousness/stuttering.

Hope ducks her head a little and smiles "I..I suppose." His self assuredness complimenting her shyness well. Her hand in his flexes a little in a light squeeze back to him and she glances up to him. A nervous giggle escapes her and she raises her other hand to her lips to cover it. Talk about being on top of the world. She's practically glowing.

Connor laughs at the covered giggle and leans in to kiss her cheek, taking his time in doing so before pulling away with a smile on his face and taking a drink of his water.

If only Aunt Emma could see him like this. A total gentleman and sweet and kind and...yeah, Hope thinks he hung the moon. She remembers somethng and smiles as she turns her face to his as he pulls back, smiling and looking down shyly before looking back up at him. "So...I..I guess it would be okay then, if...if I asked you to attend a party with me? You see my friend Katrin has this club and she's throwing a pre-opening party and..um...she said I could bring a guest." the little country bumpkin asks shyly. Wow...now she's asking him out. She's suprised even herself.

Connor smiles "I wouldn't be anywhere else...when and where?" He's on cloud 9 right now, having the time of his life just sitting in the restaurant with her.

And the day just gets better for her. Hope smiles brightly, like the sun peeking out from behind storm clouds. He said yes! He said yes! If she were at home she'd probably be dancing and twirling around her room right now. "Oh it's in a week or so...in New York. We ...we can fly up there on the jet so it won't take as long to get there. Ever heard of a club called the Pit? It's kinda of an Edgar Allen Poe themed place." Oh and there goes the quick babbling that happens when she's excited.

Connor laughs as he watches her, himself just as happy as her but doing a better job of containing it. "That'd be great, I can't wait." He continues to watch her with amusement.

Child-like is a term a lot of people have used for Hope. Her innocence and the way whatever she's thinking or feeling manages to show through. Right now it's obvious how happy this has all made her. "Wonderful!" she says softly but with enthusiasm. "Oh.." she pauses as she remembers something "What about your brother? I'd hate to be rude and not invite him as well. I can ask Katrin if it's alright to bring two guests if you think he might want to. I'd hate to have your family think poorly of me."

Connor laughs "No, it's fine...it's not really his kind of scene, I'm sure he'd rather be at the pub with a couple of friends." He smiles as he looks down at their intertwined hands before looking back up at her

Hope's head bobs slightly in acknowledgement, her smile returning as she covers the back of his hand with her other one and squeezes. "Alright then. If you think it's best. It'll be..just us." she says with a little giggle in her voice. All new to her, this whole boy thing. It goes a long way towards repairing the damage in her mind that was done. Able to look at the male gender in a little better light. "So ...how has work been?" she asks innocently.

Connor laughs at her cute attempt to make light conversation "I package meat...what do you think?" He's got that playful/mischevious grin on his face.

Hope grins back and looks down shyly. "Well I know that can be interesting. A cousin of mine works in a little meat shop back home and he's told me some stories. But I guess y'all don't go get the animals from the farm though..." she pauses and thinks, tilting her head a little "or process deer."

Connor shakes his head "No, no not quite...another department processes it, I just package the stuff." He smiles "So how's school and such going?"

Hope grins a bit sheepishly and shrugs "Pretty good. Finals are coming though. I did make an A on a paper I had to do recently. And my big project for art class is coming along well." She's never really stopped to think about it but they haven't really talked a lot about thier lives. Funny how that stuff becomes little things when there's stars in your eyes.

Connor nods "Congratulations on your A. I'm sure finals are going to go fine...you'll probably walk right through them" He smiles warmly at her for the thousanth time tonight.

Hope widens her eyes and rolls them as she smiles "I sure hope so." She catches a glimpse of the clock on the wall and her eyes widen "Oh no...I'm gonna be late." she says mostly to herself before looking over at Connor and explaining "I was supposed to meet Aunt Emma to go over some plans for the winter dance at school. I was gonna pitch the idea of the whole Sock Hop theme. A kind of 1950's thing." She reluctantly releases his hand and sighs before she thinks of something. "But..if you don't have any plans..I mean...if you don't mind...you could walk me home....or rather..the car. Snow Valley is kinda a long walk."

Connor smiles and stands up to pull her chair out for her "I'd love to." He tosses some money on the table for the drinks and tip. He grabs her coat and drapes it over her shoulders before putting his own coat on.

Hope stands and allows him to act as the gentleman she sees him as, her knight in shining armor, beaming brightly the whole time. She pauses as they start to leave and shyly stands on her tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." As the pass the gents she was talking to when he came in she waves "Good luck with the new baby." she says to one and smiles.

Connor slips his hand back into hers as they walk towards the door and grabs it, opening it for her as they reach the doorway. "Lady's first" He smiles and winks as he waits for her to leave first