the fire beneath my feet is burning bright {Genevieve}

[Genevieve]

"Of course," Genevieve replied seriously, "that would just be far too awkward." She smiled at Cal as she pulled the chair out for her, slipping into it and folding her hands somewhat awkwardly in her lap, feeling unsure of herself and how to hold herself in this situation.

As Cal leaned across her Genevieve felt her heart beat a little louder and faster, and hoped Cal couldn't hear it - before realising how ridiculous that was. Cal smelled really good, and Genevieve couldn't help taking a slightly deeper breath, smiling as she gazed at Cal rather than the chalkboard she was pointing at. She lowered her eyes and blushed at Cal's last comment though, twisting her hands in her lap and looking over to the chalkboard.

"I definitely need tea." She said as she scanned the board, having absolutely no idea what to choose. "Maybe you should choose for me, seeing as you're a regular. You must know what's worth having." She smiled shyly again, wishing she could be a little more confident and learn to have some kind of control over this blush.

[Cal Karnstein]

The girl still somehow managed to look awkward and nervous, even in a relaxed coffee shop. how on earth had she managed that? "Oh, tea the secret to getting you to unclench then?" asked Cal, smiling. She scanned the board again, wondering what to order for the other girl. The food here bordered on light enough fare, after all.

"Are you a vegetarian or anything that we should be worried about?" asked Cal, looking over just in time to see Genevieve smiling shyly. Girl was so cherry it almost hurt, and Cal had the urge to just lean over and nibble her neck. Give her something to actually be embarrassed about. Except that Cal could also hear her more polite mothers' advice in her mind: on a proper first date, you treat someone right. After all, her mom's first date had been with her other mom. funny how that turned out.

"and hey, I can totally use that as my question," she said, reaching over to lightly tap Genevieve's nose. "Which means you get to ask something much more fun in response."

[Genevieve]

"Tea is the elixir of life." Genevieve smiled at Cal. "Where there's tea there's hope." Cal was right though, Genevieve was likely to relax and feel much more comfortable with a cup of tea in her hands. Having grown up a Summer, tea was the accompaniment to every event in life, regardless of the emotions associated with the event, tea was always a staple. And it meant that tea relaxed Genevieve - it was familiar and it was safe.

She shook her head in response to Cal's question. "I'll eat anything." She cringed slightly, realising how that sounded. "I mean... erm..." She rested her elbow on the table, covering her face with her hand. "I'm not vegetarian." She said through her fingers, looking up at Cal and trying not to laugh.

"So the game continues?" She asked with a smile, biting her lip a little as Cal touched her nose. She leaned forward, resting on the table, bringing her face closer to Cal's. She looked around a little, looking for inspiration. "Something fun... I'm not usually the fun one." She thought for a second. "What do you usually do for fun?"

[Cal Karnstein]

"That sounds quite proper," replied Cal, but there was some warmth to her smile as she gave it. She made a mental note to make sure to order some tea when she got their order in: anything to help Genevieve relax. Though the poor thing was apparently determined to be embarrassed by anything.

The comment and question had Cal giggling. she moved, wrapping her arms around Genevieve, bringing her close for a quick peck on the cheek, so she could whisper the next bit. "Relax. You already impressed me in the cafeteria, and if I wasn't interested, I wouldn't have dragged you somewhere people know me. You're fascinating by yourself, got it?"

Cal gave another smile. "As for what I do for fun, well, there's music, sure. But mostly?" she leaned in, whispering. "I help people realize how attractive they are." She took a quick nip of the ear, before sliding up. "I'ma go put in our order now." Since she was almost betting that Genevieve had collapsed into blushing.

[Genevieve]

"I'm a princess of the Summer country," Genevieve said with a smile. "I'm always proper."

Her heart beat a little faster as she found herself in Cal's arms, and she couldn't help but smile at her words. She had never been described as fascinating before - as the quietest of the Summer clan she was often overlooked in favour of her more interesting siblings. She thought briefly back to her mother's words, about her own spotlight. For the first time, here with Cal, she started to feel like maybe there was some truth in her mother's words after all.

If Cal had put money on that bet, she'd be raking it in right now. As she got up and moved away, Genevieve's blush made her feel like her whole head was on fire, and she pressed her hands against her cheeks to try and cool her face and calm herself a little before Cal came back. She glanced over as Cal walked away, unable to stop herself from smiling, her elbow on the table and her head resting on her hand. She didn't know where this evening was going, but she was finally starting to enjoy stepping outside her comfort zone.

She just wished she could stop blushing.

[Cal Karnstein]

Cal exchanged a few pleasantries with the people behind the counter. As Genevieve had noticed, she did know the regulars pretty well. The black card slid out of Cal's sleeve as she placed the order, smiling.

"Stage is set," said a middle aged woman, giving Cal a quick thumbs up. The rainbow-haired girl just rolled her eyes, but gathered up the house tea blend, the sandwiches, and the two bowls of soup, balancing them all in her arms like she'd been trained to do it. She sauntered back, noting Genevieve's smile and the brilliant pink color that had taken over her face. It just made Cal's grin get all the wider and toothier as a result.

She slid their food on the table, before sliding down. "House-blend tea,' she pointed to Genevieve's drink. Her own was a coffee with a few additions. "Sandwiches are made from bread they bake on the premises, and some light turkey or something. The soup's the soup of the day," she gestured toward the chalkboard. "Always order the soup of the day here." She took a sip of her own coffee, closing her eyes and relishing the flavor for a while.

Her eyes flicked toward the stage though. "Do you like live music?" she asked, looking back to Genevieve, taking a bite of her sandwich as she did, chewing with an oddly proper stance and posture.

[Genevieve]

Tea - thank the gods. Thanking Cal, Genevieve quickly and with a well practiced hand added a little milk and sugar, stirring for a second before taking a sip. She immediately felt herself relax a little; it was amazing what tea could do for the nerves. She looked at the food Cal had brought over, nodding at the information provided. “Noted.” She replied, making a start on a bowl of soup.

She thought for a second at Cal’s question. “To be honest I’ve never really experienced live music.” She said with an almost apologetic look. “Unless you count the Court minstrels, and somehow I don’t think you will.” She smiled, glancing at the currently unoccupied stage. “In fact I don’t think you should. I somehow expect that will be nothing like the sort of live music you’re talking about.”

She took another sip of tea, glad to have something to do with her hands. “I expect you’ve been to a lot of...” what was the word? Concerts didn’t sound right, and Genevieve didn’t want to sound stupid. “Seen a lot of live music?” She glances at the guitar, her next question forming. “Do you play any instruments?”

[Cal Karnstein]

Cal nibbled at her sandwich, again acting perhaps a bit more daintily than one might expect from someone who wore ragged clothes and dyed her hair a brilliant rainbow of colors. Her attention remained mostly focused on Genevieve, but her eyes kept flicking toward the stage as they did. The answer drew those lips of hers upward yet again, showing off more of those too sharp teeth.

"Court minstrels would totally count," Cal said, while making a mental note precisely what Genevieve had mentioned. Then again, she'd already said she was a Summer: Cal had known that from the first meeting. Not hard to draw the connections and to figure some very broad stuff out. "And sometimes it ain't so different. Guitar, talented singer," Cal shrugged. She'd actually seen a few minstrels that would've been awesome with a bit more encouragement.

Cal took a deep sip of her coffee next, enjoying it. The next question, no, questions came. "Oh, you could say that," she said, before setting down her drink and dusting off her hands. "And I play a few," she rose up, giving Genevieve a wink. She walked toward the stage. "Everything set for tonight?" she called to the woman behind the counter, who nodded as Cal bent down to grab the guitar with obvious comfort, tossing the strap over her shoulder as she moved around, sliding back onto the stool. She flashed another of those teasing grins toward Genevieve as she started adjusting the mic.

Not that Cal would actually need it...

[Genevieve]

She was about to speak again when Cal stood up, and Genevieve stared, wondering what on earth was coming next and where Cal was going. She continued to stare, mouth slightly open as Cal called out to the woman behind the counter, looking between the two of them, her nerves right back to peak once more.

She began to sink down slightly into her chair as Cal took the stage and picked up the guitar, bringing a hand to her face. Cal hadn't even done anything yet and Genevieve was already a shade of pink previously unseen on human skin.

"Oh my Gods..." She muttered as Cal grinned at her, feeling a strange combination of wanting the ground to open up and swallow her, and that creature living in her stomach doing excited backflips. She stared at Cal on the stage, biting her lip and trying not to laugh. This was so far out of her comfort zone now, that Genevieve wondered if she'd ever be able to find it again.

[Cal Karnstein]

Poor Just Genevieve looked about ready to melt into a puddle. And Cal hadn't even started singing yet! She chuckled slightly as she adjusted the mic, then moved to start tuning the guitar, getting everything all situated and ready for the performance. Several people were already turning, likely recognizing Cal from her previous performances. She gave them a smile, wiggling a few fingers while she started strumming the guitar.

"Hey there beautiful people," Cal all but purred into the mic. She strummed again, starting a bit of a tune while she hummed. She leaned into the mic. "Right, so I'm actually on a date tonight. Yes, that's why I'm there with the pretty thing in blue and what looks like a lovely shade of pink," she gave Genevieve a wink. "So I'm probably just gonna do a song or two. Don't want to scare her off just yet."

Some of the crowd chuckled, while at least one person whooped, probably thrilled at imagining the whiplean girl on the stool dating another girl. Cal's fingers started working, showing pretty decent skill at the acoustic guitar. She wasn't a brilliant player, but she could do well enough. no, Cal's real talent and ability lay in her voice. She leaned forward, all but purring into the mic: "Written in these walls are the stories that I can't explain...~" a song that people had heard her singing before, a song that sometimes Cal dragged out for people. It was soft, technically a pop cover, but Cal's clear, powerful voice could give it some more weight. She might have wanted to show off a bit, reaching some impressive power and range. She also sort of liked playing it as a slight warning to some dates and so forth: she wasn't exactly the best choice for a lot of things. Call it the vampire in her.

"The story of my life, I give her hope, I spend her love, till she's broke insiiide~"

With stretched words and a voice that lulled the shop into a near silence while the guitar gently strummed.

[Genevieve]

She was still staring, completely nonplussed at the turn the evening had taken. She was kind of impressed at the confidence Cal had - bringing a date to listen to you perform, and a first date at that, was verging on arrogance, and Genevieve wouldn't help but wonder if Cal was going to turn out to be good enough to pull that off. She couldn't help but smile as she watched her begin.

The smile disappeared completely, to be replaced by a look of sheer mortification when Cal brought the entire shop's attention to her. She felt her face burn and sank further down into her seat, glaring at Cal as she pulled the neck of her dress up to cover her mouth. If the entire shop hadn't already been looking at her, she would have crawled under the table and stayed there until Cal dragged her out again. This was, without a doubt, the most embarrassing experience of her life.

But then Cal started singing. Genevieve sat still, awkwardly slumped in her seat, and watched her date with her eyebrows slightly raised, a smile appearing on her face. The girl could sing, and Genevieve bit her lip, feeling more attracted to Cal in that moment than she had to anyone in her entire life. She kept her eyes on Cal as she performed, the flips in her stomach settling to something else, similar to what she'd felt when she had felt Cal's mouth on her ear, but even more intense.

She hadn't even noticed the silence that had fallen on the rest of the shop, she was well and truly under this girl's spell.

[Cal Karnstein]

"The story of my liiiiiiiife; the story of my liiiiife" crooned Cal, falling just short of quite using the full force of her voice. The range was there; Cal just nudged against it now, brushing against the upper reaches and teasing her full power with each word. But not quite here, not for this song. The song ended instead with a nearly spoken lyric: "The story of my life~" laid over otherwise silence as she stopped playing.

A few people applauded, but this wasn't quite the cheering locale. That made Cal smile. She stood up, walking back to the table to take a quick swig of the coffee and treat Genevieve to another quick wink. She knew she had to move quickly though, didn't want to quite lose the audience's thrall. That and while Cal definitely loved performing, would likely have spent an hour or so on a set, as she often did, she didn't want to completely leave her date in the lurch: that wouldn't be polite at all.

"Alright, now that I've calmed ya'll down,' said Cal, grinning, a few people chuckling at the comment. "This one will probably be the last for the night. But don't worry: I pop in regular." Her hands started going, this tune obviously more upbeat than the last. Technically she should've left them on the more sorrowful note, but, hey, why not leave them on something higher?

Besides, this was the one that Cal had actually practiced a few times to make sure was ready.

She skipped the stupid beginning that the original singers did, instead leaning forward to start singing. "She's a good girl, she's Daddy's favourite,~" she sang with a more punk cadence, eyes drifting toward Genevieve for a moment, just in case the girl wasn't picking up on something. She kept going: "He's saved for Harvard, he knows she'll make it; She's good at school, she's never truant; She can speak French~." A pause while Cal smiled lasciviously, definitely speaking the next line: "I think she's fluent." And in this case, fluent sounded downright dirty. Not that it stopped the song...

[Genevieve]

She applauded with the others, but as Cal returned to the table briefly, Genevieve glared at her again, but the impact was somewhat lessened by the goofy smile that she was unable to hide. Before Genevieve could say anything she was gone again, back on the stage and playing to her audience. Genevieve let herself relax a little having a sip of tea as Cal began to play her next song. So, Cal was a singer, and a really good one at that, and she was doing a set - that wasn't anything to be that embarrassed about, was it? And she was only doing one more, Genevieve could easily survive through one more.

She started the song and Genevieve looked back up at Cal to watch. She frowned slightly as Cal looked at her, and the blush grew once more as Genevieve heard the words of the song. She sank back down in the chair as the song continued - it wasn't too horrendous to start with, although it had clearly been chosen very specifically for a performance when Genevieve was in the audience... Her mouth opened slightly at the line about French. "Oh no..."

As the chorus started, Genevieve was back to wanting to crawl under the table. 'Good girls were bad girls who haven't been caught'? "Oh Gods..." She covered her face in her hands and watched Cal through the gaps between her fingers.

[Cal Karnstein]

The song kept going, Cal driving the beat through the guitar. However, by the time she hit the chorus, she was unleashing her voice just a bit more: "She told to me, forget what you thought. 'cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught. So just turn around and forget what you saw. 'cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught~" she grinned as her guitar kept going for a bit after the chorus. A few of the crowd who knew the song did add in a few "do do's'" Most were at least tactfully ignoring the girl who was rather obviously the poor target of the song. Though a few looked with slight smirks, and one or two actually looked quite jealous. After all, it wasn't often that you had someone getting in front of a crowd to serenade you.

The next lines came easily enough: all that self improvement. "I swear she lives in that library. But if you ask her, she'll say 'that's where you'll find me.'f But if you look then you won't find her there; She may be clever but she just acts too square;'Cause in the back of the room where nobody looks; She'll be with her girlfriend,~" Why yes, that was technically a twist in the lyrics, but Cal was hardly fitting the original song, now wasn't she? And now she got to the next bit she got to speak, meeting Genevieve's mostly hidden gaze. Oh, don't think Cal didn't notice the eyes peeking through the fingers. "She's not reading books!" she cried, ending with a quick kiss."

And chorus time~

[Genevieve]

This song was neverending, and Genevieve was sinking lower and lower in the chair, fully aware of the eyes on her from around the room and hating every second of it.

Except, not really hating it, because how many people could say they were serenaded on their first date? The choice of song though... Genevieve was so glad there was no one she knew in this shop, because that song could have been written for her. Except, she actually was a good girl... for now anyway. She met Cal's eyes through her fingers, and the parts of her face that were still visible flushed a bit more.

She was never telling anyone about this. Probably. Maybe.