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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 3, 2009 11:31:53 GMT -5
Mikaela was soaking in the moment for the first time in her existence instead of pushing on through. Jackson was literally the best thing in the world that could have happened to her. She never thought she would find someone who got her so completely and totally the way he did. It seemed that he had been specifically made for her. And being in this place with him just made things even better because Italy was one of the most romantic places in the entire world in Mikaela's mind. Turning toward him as they floated downstream, she couldn't help but smile as he asked her where she thought he was taking her when she had begun looking for him.
"I honestly was a little confused," she admitted. "At first you seemed like you were heading North from Forks, but then the trail changed and took me to California." Mikaela thought about her journey to Italy and how the woman at the counter addressed her as Jackson's fiancee. That had amused her. "Oh and I have to say that I was quite impressed with how you got the woman at the counter at the airport to believe that we were engaged." She let out a small laugh and looked away for a moment at the sights surrounding them off the river. It was absolutely beautiful to see the city like this at night, with everything all lit up. She had never seen anything like it before.
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Post by Jackson Conner on Nov 5, 2009 0:23:53 GMT -5
Jackson couldn't hide his smile, or the small chuckle that escaped from deep in his throat. He remembered how the young woman behind the counter nearly swooned as he told her his "story" of him and his fiancé. She had a dreamy look on her face, as if she were picturing all of what he was saying with her in the roll of his fiancé. Needless to say Jackson was glad it wasn't her. "Yeah, originally, I was going to take you north, to Canada, but then just changed my mind, on a whim. I don't really know why, but I did, and I'm glad because this…" he said, extending his hand to highlight the beautiful scenery around them and continued, "...is absolutely beautiful, and you are still stunning."
As he finished his sentence he looked back into her eyes and lost himself. "And the lady behind the counter….man, it was all I could do to not laugh as I told her the story about how I was surprising my fiancé with a trip, and she didn't know where she was going, or who would be there when she arrived, and I needed her to really get you on the right plane and yadda, yadda, yadda…blah, blah, blah." He laughed some more and shook his head. "It was a bit more extensive than you are probably thinking, but it was well worth it, don't you think?" and as he finished saying this he cocked his head to the side and winked at her.
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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 6, 2009 18:02:26 GMT -5
For a moment, Mikaela decided to "bend" the rules and peek into Jackson's thoughts after she admitted to being impressed by his planning and explanation to the woman at the airport. He was picturing the woman's face at the airport as he explained that his fiancee would be picking up the ticket to fly to Italy for a surprise. Mikaela was impressed that he had actually pulled it off. However, the last part she caught was what impressed her the most. Jackson was glad that it wasn't the airport woman that he was "engaged" to. No one had ever thought so highly of her, at least not the opposite sex. It warmed her heart to hear him think such things and him saying aloud that she was stunning made that feeling just grow deeper. Mikaela wondered if this is what it felt like to have someone in your life that cared that much and wanted to be around.
She turned to look in his eyes and listened as he continued his story aloud. Biting her lip and smiling a little, she knew that when she arrived at that airport the woman behind the counter knew exactly who she was and greeted her enthusiastically. Nodding her head lightly, she allowed her smile to grow a little. "Yes, it was well worth it," she said. "I never imagined that you would bring me all the way to Italy, but now that we're here...I couldn't imagine being anywhere else but right here, right now." Mikaela knew that all of this was the most terrifying experience she had ever had in her entire life, but at the same time she felt completely at ease with the world because Jackson was there with her. She couldn't quite grasp what she was feeling in that moment, but it was unlike any other feeling she had ever had in her life, mortal or immortal.
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Post by Jackson Conner on Nov 8, 2009 17:55:08 GMT -5
Yes, they had just let each other know that they liked each other, but Jackson felt the pull of affection from deep in his chest, and he began to think about that other "L-word. He didn't want to be the first one to say it though, but he may have to sacrifice his pride someday. "Well, I agree, and I didn't think I'd be playing this kind of game without knowing what the stakes were, or what exactly was on the line, but now I think I have an idea of what that may be." He paused a few moments and thought it over. "Yes, it's now or never man...' he thought to himself.
As he leaned closer to Mikaela, it was all he could do to restrain from going crazy with the thoughts racing around in his mind. He got closer and closer, inching forward as to not intimidate her, and finally, there she was. Inches from her face Jackson stared into her eyes and then closed his as he claimed his first kiss with the girl of his dreams.
He pulled back, VERY unwillingly as he felt the gondola stop abruptly, and heard the gondolier say in a heavy, French accent, "Alright kiddies, my shift is up, Raphael must now return to getting...how you say...hammered." and ended with his thumb pointing to himself and a proud, and feeble minded smile on his face. Jackson couldn't believe this guy...'Really? NOW!?' he screamed to himself. Jackson rolled his eyes and said something not very polite to the man in Italian and proceeded to get out and then help Mikaela out as well. The man responded and Jackson shot him down again, and walked off holding on to Mikaela's hand. A short way down the road he turned to her and said, "I am so very sorry, I didn't think that our gondolier would be such a pig. I hope it didn't ruin your evening. He got quiet for a few seconds and then reluctantly asked her, "So, is this the part where you have to leave me in order to go and hide?"
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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 8, 2009 21:42:23 GMT -5
Mikaela knew how true Jackson was in stating that there were stakes involved in the game. For one, she knew that her heart was on the line. She had never willingly given it to someone before, so she had no idea what to expect in return. So far, she had not been disappointed in the time she had spent with Jackson. In fact, she was perilously close to calling off the entire game just to stay with him, but her sense of pride kicked in and she wanted to take him on an adventure to somewhere new. She wondered if this is what it felt like to be in a relationship with someone; the give and take part of it that she had always heard about from her parents, who had shown her what a real relationship looked like while she was growing up in her human life.
As she thought about it, Jackson suddenly took her by surprise and pulled her in for a kiss she was not expecting. It was soft and a little awkward at first because this was Mikaela's very first kiss, but after a few moments she felt herself getting the hang of it. And then, just as unexpectedly as it began, their kiss ended when the gondolier declared it was time for them to get out because his shift had ended and he wanted to go get drunk. Jackson pulled away from her, cursed the man in Italian, and proceeded to help her out of the gondola onto dry land before shooting the man again in Italian. Mikaela couldn't help but smile because Jackson seemed very irritated that their moment had to be interrupted by a selfish man. Stupid gondolier... she thought to herself as they took off from the water, Jackson slipping his hand down to take her own.
When they stopped a few minutes later, he apologized for the man's behavior and asked if it was time for her to leave him to begin the next part of their game. Smiling, she placed her hand on the side of his face. "My evening could never be ruined because I have you to make up for any impositions that may be caused because of rude gondoliers," she said. "And yes, it's time for me to leave and go hide, but the sooner I go..." she pulled him in for another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and intertwining her fingers with his hair. This kiss was uninterrupted and perfect as she pulled away and pressed her forehead to his gently. "...the sooner you can come find me."
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Post by Jackson Conner on Nov 8, 2009 22:51:08 GMT -5
Jackson stood there in a daze. Right smack in the middle of her sentence she landed a kiss on his lips that left him lightheaded and disoriented. As she finished her sentence it was all he could do to not argue her point. He didn't want her to leave, he never wanted to be apart from her again. "Then you'd better hurry yourself up. I'm already missing you, and I can already taste our next kiss...go now, before I decide to call this whole game off." He took a deliberate step back and stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned up against a nearby post. "I'll be here for the next 6 hours, in case you change your mind...but bye for now."
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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 8, 2009 23:09:55 GMT -5
It took every ounce of self-control that Mikaela had inside of her to leave that moment with Jackson to begin the next leg of their game. His words and temptation of their next kiss motivated her to leave so that their lips could touch again when he found her at their next destination. The vision of him leaning against the lamp post would stay with her until they were reunited. She blew him a kiss and took off from their location down the street until she found the main road leading out of Venice back to Rome. She circled the Coliseum a few times and then ran to France and up to the Eifel Tower, which was one of the most romantic spots in the entire world. This took less than an hour to complete. From there, she ran under the cover of the night to the airport where she had arrived from the United States back in Rome. She approached the counter and asked the woman at the counter to give a note and ticket to her "fiance that would be following her in a few hours. The woman happily obliged and gave her a piece of paper to write the note on.
Hey Twinkle Toes,
Here is a ticket to your next destination. Hope you don't get bored on long flights sweetheart because this one is sure to be an interesting one.
xoxo
Mikaela
Mikaela handed the woman at the counter the note and she attached it to the ticket before going to catch her own flight. As she settled into her seat for the twenty hour flight, she couldn't help but smile. This was going to be a lot more fun that she had originally thought it to be now that the stakes were perfectly clear. While on the flight, she read a few of the books she had originally picked up in the states as well as pretending to "sleep" at the appropriate times. It was almost monotonous to sit there when she could very well be back in Rome with Jackson, but she knew that this would all be worth it in the end. Near the end of the flight, she struck up a conversation with an older gentleman who asked her what she was doing flying across the ocean. She explained that she was meeting her fiance for something very special, which was the half-truth if she was being honest with herself...even if Jackson wasn't exactly her fiance. When they landed in Brasilia, Brazil, Mikaela bid her goodbyes with the kind gentleman and immediately took off from the airport. Fortunately, it was night and she needed no cover as she made her trek from Brasilia to her ultimate destination, Iguazu Falls. Even though it was night, she thought that they were ultimately beautiful in the moonlight and could not wait to share this with Jackson. She knew that in the daylight hours, she would have to take shelter in the forest nearby, but by the next night Jackson would have arrived and they could share this moment together.
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Post by Jackson Conner on Nov 9, 2009 0:10:39 GMT -5
Watching the clock on the sign of a pub down the street Jackson literally counted the seconds before he could move. 'Three, two, one, I'm outta here.' Exactly six hours had passed, it was now early a.m. and it was just now getting light outside. He sprinted as fast as he could, down the street and back into Rome. Her scent seemed to stop at the coliseum , he then figured out that she must have circled it and then kept going. So, that is what he did too, and right after that, her scent led him to the Eifel Tower where he stopped for less than a second and thought, 'Oh yeah, I could have brought her here…hmm, o well.' He then continued on to the airport. Thankfully he still had his nice clothes on and most of his body was covered. However as he got close to the airport he ran quickly by a man and he stole his hat. He put it on before the man knew what hit him and walked in the door, hiding under the over sized hat, just as the sun came out from behind the clouds in the early morning.
He walked in and found a lady behind the desk who looked half asleep. He approached the counter and slammed his wallet down as if on accident. This startled the lady and she gave a slight yelp. Jackson refrained from laughing and asked if his 'fiancé' had been here and left anything for him. She smiled a big smile, and this brought back memories from when he had left the note for Mikaela, and again, he did his best not to laugh. She handed him the packet with the note and his ticket and he smiled curtly and thanked her. He walked to his gate and sat down because he would have to wait an hour before his flight. He read the note over and over again, chuckling to himself and thinking 'ok, Mikaela, way to be original…o well…haha, I wonder where on earth in Brazil I'm going?' Finally time came for him to board the flight and as he settled in for a 20 hour flight. Just as he was about to open the book he'd bought on the way in, a woman came and sat down next to him in the window seat. She pushed open the window and a stream of sunlight came shining through, and landed on Jackson's neck. He jumped out of the chair and pretended like he needed to go to the bathroom already. On his way back he asked for a blanket to cover his head just in case the woman still had the window shade open. She did, and he covered his head and acted like he was asleep. He stayed in that position until he noticed that she closed the window. He woke up then and read his book, and other stupid acts of humanism…and 20 grueling hours later they landed in Brazil.
The sun was setting as he left this airport and picked up her scent once more. Although it was fading he could still pick it up and the fact that he was this close to her, made him run that much faster. Eventually he came upon a monstrous waterfall, and in the cool of the night he slowed his sprint to a slow walk. He couldn't see her, but he could feel that he was oh so very close and he yelled, "Come out, come out, where ever you are…I believe that our game has a flaw in it because I think you cheated by picking a longer flight time. 28 hours and 14 minutes, and I've never been so antsy in my life…human or other wise."
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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 9, 2009 0:33:02 GMT -5
As the sun began to rise over the horizon, Mikaela took shelter in the nearby rain forest that enclosed the falls. It was nice and shaded as she found a tree to stretch out in like a hammock. It was comfortable position to sit and think. The sunlight glittered through the leaves in the trees and danced on her skin, causing it to come alive and cast glittering sparkles on the rain forest floor. It was truly a beautiful sight that Mikaela appreciated; one of the few things she actually loved about being a monster. All of the myths about vampires burning in the sun were nil. When she actually became one, she learned that quickly and came to accept that most myths about vampires weren't true but just made up stories from long ago. In fact, most myths were circulated by the vampire race themselves to protect the real truths.
While lying in the tree, she thought of Jackson. In her immortal life, she had never encountered another vampire that was as compassionate and fun to be around as him. For the first time, she didn't want to kill the person she was around and that was a very good thing. Mikaela was not the type of person to be around others so easily because she preferred her lonely life, but now that she had met Jackson, she knew that maybe she could change that opinion. She considered that as she laid on her branch. It was a whole new concept to Mikaela to have a 'mate' as other vampires called it. She didn't know where she and Jackson stood, but she definitely wanted to spend every moment with him now.
As the sun set and the dim lights of twilight were creeping around her, she knew that he would be arriving soon enough. Dropping to her feet from the tree, she walked out of the forest to stand near the falls. The night air was creeping in and she enjoyed how refreshing it was to stand near a pure, fresh source of water. Everything smelled better. As she stood there, she heard a voice ring out into the night...one that could only belong to Jackson as it was taunting her and accusing her of cheating for the longer flight. She stepped out of her hiding place to where he was standing, smiling. "Now, I don't think it's fair to call me a cheater...there were no set rules on flight times," she teased. Walking over to him, she trailed a finger across his chest and ran her hand up to the side of his face. "Miss me much?" she asked.
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Post by Jackson Conner on Nov 10, 2009 13:32:50 GMT -5
Jackson scanned the scene before him taking in his surroundings and searching for the shadow of the girl of his dreams. Then he saw something move, slowly and gently coming out of the shadows nearer to him than he was expecting. He laughed a silent laugh and said, "Um, yes. Miss ME much?!" He moved in closer to her and intertwined his fingers with hers and wanted nothing more than to kiss her and cherish these fleeting moments of their immortal existence. But for some reason, he hesitated. 'Is this really happening to me? Am I really chasing a girl that I hardly know back and forth across the entire world!? Yes, yes, I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way.' As he stood there gazing into her gorgeous amber eyes all he could do was thank his lucky stars that their lives had slammed into each other and were now, hopefully, permanently stuck together. "So, what are your plans now?"
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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 10, 2009 13:40:41 GMT -5
Mikaela couldn't help but smile as Jackson fired back with his own set of sarcasm, laced with the actual meaning that he had missed her in their time apart. She couldn't help but know that in truth, she had missed him terribly. However, she simply nodded in reply to his question, trying to keep her seductive nature. Biting her lip as he intertwined his fingers with hers, she knew that she could never resist this kind of torture. Yet, at the same time, she enjoyed every moment of it because his skin was soft against hers. Forgetting that her guard was down, she heard his thoughts without even really thinking about it. And she had the exact sentiments. She knew that while she had only known Jackson for a short time, he was the best thing that happened to her. Life itself had taken on a whole new meaning now that she had him to keep her company.
As he asked her what her plans were now, she simply grinned and let go of his hand. Stepping away from him, she shimmied out of the dress she was wearing down to her undergarments that looked more like a bikini. Giving him a sly wink, she jumped from the nearby ledge down into the water below. It would have been freezing to any human, but felt just right to her. Looking back up at Jackson, she floated onto her back. "So, are you going to just stand there and stare or are you going to join me?" she teased.
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Post by Jackson Conner on Nov 10, 2009 14:52:34 GMT -5
Jackson stared in awe, it wasn't every day that a beautiful lady stripped down in front of him and dove into the pool of water beneath a waterfall in a rainforest. He blinked his eyes, as if to make sure he wasn't seeing things and then realized that, yes, she had let go of his hands and was now swimming in her underthings, just waiting for him to join her. She was being unnecessarily cruel as she teased him by saying, "So, are you going to just stand there and stare or are you going to join me?" Right away Jackson began trying to undress but he was trying to so fast that he began fumbling around and only slowing himself down. Finally he stood there awkwardly for a few seconds in his boxers before finally jumping in after her.
Swimming was something that Jackson hadn't done in ages, literally, and yet it felt completely right. Especially because of the person that he was with. He felt so at ease as soon as he jumped in, and swam closer to Mikaela. He popped his head up out of the water right in front of her and said, "There, you happy now? I stood and stared and joined you…" He smiled a goofy smile and slid his hand through his hair.
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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 10, 2009 16:44:11 GMT -5
Mikaela watched amusedly as Jackson seemed dumbfounded at what she had just done, which she expected him to be as she perpetually kept surprising him with the things that she did. In fact, she was surprising herself with her actions as they were becoming bolder and bolder with every place they went to together. As she watched Jackson strip down to his boxers, she couldn't help but smile. His body was perfectly white and cut, unlike any vampire she had ever seen before...which weren't many to begin with, but he was still the most attractive. As he jumped into the water, she backed away from where he was going to land and covered her face from the back splash.
Once he was in the water, she looked around to find him but he did not come up immediately. Instead, he swam right up next to her and popped his head out of the water. She laughed at his smart-ass reply, but couldn't help but appreciate it. As he slid his hand through his hair, she couldn't help but bit her lip a little. She was dangerously close to him, so it would be all to easy to let herself wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him then, but she wanted to prolong that for a little while. Instead, she smirked and kicked away, swimming toward the huge falls that fed into the pool of water they were swimming in. "Bet you can't catch me!" she said as she saw faster toward the falls.
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Post by Jackson Conner on Nov 10, 2009 19:32:00 GMT -5
Jackson noticed the very small movement she made...she bit her lip. He had noticed her do it a few times before but for some reason this time he really noticed. He took a few seconds to really notice every thing about her, especially her face. Her face was more than beautiful, and so was the rest of her for that matter. and as he sat there watching the water drip from her hair around her face, he couldn't do anything but laugh to himself, still in disbelief.
"Bet you can't catch me!" She said as she splashed away from him. Jackson moaned and pretended to be defeated and whined, "Buuuuut, but, but, but, I just came all this way, exactly 28 hours and 14 minutes to "catch you"...remember...and you wanna make me chase you AGAIN once I finally get close?" Inside his head Jackson laughed with mock arrogance, because he didn't know if this plan would work or not, but he was being hopeful. Honestly, he would chase her to the moon and back if it would keep him near her.
He made a face by wrinkling his forehead, pulling eyebrows together, and slightly poking out his lower lip to give her the most pathetic look he could muster up. Then he let his arms go limp and leaned backwards so that he began to float to show that he was "exhausted" which was of course a lie, but he knew that she would get a kick out of his charade. While lying there with the "look" on his face and floating around in the water, he stole a sideways glance at her to see what she was doing.
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Post by Mikaela Conner on Nov 11, 2009 0:47:18 GMT -5
Mikaela watched as Jackson's face turned to disbelief and shock as she swam away and she laughed as he began to 'whine' in protest that he had to chase her yet again, but she would not yield to his mockery as it would defeat her purpose in swimming away in the first place. As he puckered out his lip and gave the most pathetic face she had ever seen anyone give, she couldn't help but laugh and smile as she continued to swim right toward the falls. A moment later, she found a boulder to climb out of the water onto and wrang her hair out before looking back at Jackson, who was now floating on his back pretending to be worn out from his trip, which he reminded her was twenty-eight hours and fourteen minutes long.
Giving him a sly smirk and motioning for him to come hither with her index finger of her right hand, she jumped through the falls to the little cave that was behind them. She was now totally shielded from him by the water flowing from the falls, but couldn't help but feel the excitement rise within her as she waited for him to come follow her. For a moment, she remembered the first time she had come to these falls when she was a human. It was the summer after her freshman year of college and her family had taken a trip to South America. She had been the brave one and jumped into the water when no one else would and found this very cave that she was no standing in. And now, here she was, so many years later, looking the exact same as she did with the exception of the porcelein skin and amber eyes. She wanted to share this with Jackson and hoped he would appreciate the beauty of this place as she did.
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