It's the Holidays

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Ani laughed as Ashton tried to redeem himself with that last comment. She had understood what he meant -- the comparison of her to a 70-year old Asian lady honestly hadn't even occurred to her. She didn't quite understand why he was asking if she liked the set, so she decided to just be honest. It wasn't bad, but there were others she liked more. "Personally?" Ani shrugged, inspecting the cups. "Eh, it's all right. Not quite my cup of tea though."

She froze, suddenly realizing the pun she'd just accidentally let slip. "Oh God... Hah hah, pun unintended...?" she chuckled.
 
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-Ashton-
-Location- Teavana
Ashton laughed along with her, relieved she didn't seemed to mind his slip of speech. It took him only a moment to catch onto the pun. He didn't mind cheesy puns, in fact he used them a lot in his day-to-day life, but what made him laugh was the fact she didn't mean to make a pun. Plus her awkward reaction was cute.

"So what would be your cup of tea exactly? That is, if you like things like this." Ashton asked, his eyes not leaving her face. She really had such a cute charm about her. It was weird how he couldn't just be outright with her, feeling like he should try and hide the fact he was flirting with her.​
 
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Ani scratched her chin, letting her eyes float over the selection. In fact, she did rather like pottery. While it wasn't exactly her area of expertise, she spent a lot of time learning about pottery from an archaeological stand point in school, and some of her research at the museum dealt with pottery shards and other various artifacts deposited around the Mediterranean. While a lot of people might find the study of pottery to be painfully boring, Ani came to rather appreciate it -- much to her own surprise.

Of course, modern pottery was also nice. There were several sets on the rack that caught her eye, but one of the simpler and more artistic sets stuck out to her most. "I think this one's pretty nice," she said, carefully picking up the teapot for a moment. "I know the colors aren't anything magnificent, but... it's got character, you know?"

At this point, it really hit Ani that she was acting entirely like an employee, trying to sell this guys a bunch of sets. "Oh, b-but, I don't mean to be picking out your gifts for you or anything...!" she added, hurriedly putting the teapot back in it's spot in the box.
 
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-Ashton-
Location- Teavana
Snapping back to reality, Ashton looked at the set she referred to and nodded. "I understand." He added, noticing the sets rather old-fashioned, if not ancient style. It was a strange pick to him, seeing as she was a young woman that-well now that he noticed it, her shirt was a simple artist style. What did she do for a living? Certainly nothing that would bring her in contact with other modern, Chicago girls.

Ashton looked back up at her quickly as she spoke again. He laughed shortly. "I'm buying it for you." He said as though it were obvious. "It's my christmas present to you, Ani." He said smoothly, picking up the set. "Something to remind you of our first meeting."​
 
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|| location : Teavana ||
|| tagged : @CuccoLady ||

Ani's first instinct was to smile and say thank you, as she had been carrying out this conversation as if this guy was actually an acquaintance of hers. It was a bit of a coping mechanism so that she wouldn't feel so awkward during this exchange with this stranger. "Oh no, you don't have t-- Wait, what?!" But then it dawned on her. Wake up, Ani -- this was not a casual conversation between friends happening. This was a very, very strange interaction. And it was definitely flirtatious! EARTH TO ANI.

As the man next to her picked up the set, Ani caught a glimpse of the price tag and cringed. "Oh my goodness, please--you really don't have to do that!" She said hurriedly, following after him. By this point, she was very red in the face. She hadn't looked like she wanted the set that bad, had she? She tugged gently at his shirt sleeve to try to stop him. "I-I mean, we don't know each other at all. I... I don't even know your name!"

And that was the honest truth. Didn't most guys, when flirting, just say a few cheesy lines and then offer a phone number? What was so different about this one that he thought to buy her an expensive tea set before doing literally anything else? Ani's mind was reeling.
 
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-Ashton-
-Location-Teavana
Ashton only laughed lightly at her reaction. Had it just dawned on her that he was intending on buying it for her? Weren't girls supposed to catch on to hints like his gave? Ash began to turn and walk to the counter but paused and looked back at her. "It's fine, really." He assured her, then hesitated. "Do you not want it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Had she lied to him earlier just to get him to go away?

Hearing her reason, Ash lightened up. "Oh. I didn't realize I hadn't told you. My name is Ashton. Let's get to know each other." He said before giving her the first real smile since they met.
(Cue ending of first episode! xD. I feel like this is some drama series)​
 
(LOL , perfect. xD And maybe this should be a drama series! :P)

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|| location : Teavana ||
|| tagged : @CuccoLady ||

When he asked if she didn't actually want it, Ani recoiled a bit. How could he keep acting like that was such a normal thing to do? "I mean, of course I like the set, but..."

He then finally introduced himself. She thought about telling him off or something like that, but it was something about the way he delivered that final line and the genuine smile that he had on his face that stopped her. It was all kind of weird, but Ani hadn't been talked to like this or treated like this in a long time. And definitely not since college...

"So, you're buying me this because..." she paused, narrowing her eyes slightly. "...because you want to get to know me?" She was skeptical. It couldn't have been that simple, could it? Sure, Ashton was super tall and super cute, but Ani wasn't going to let herself be bought off that easily.
 
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Ashton
-Location- Teavana -Mentioned- @Thurrbo
Ashton nodded his head in assurance. "Well, why not? If you've got no other special one for christmas to get you a gift why not let me?" He asked, still not understanding why she wouldn't accept this gift. It was almost starting to bug him in fact. Ash had rarely been turned down by girls, and each time Ani declined, it only made him want to peruse her more.

"Yes. This can be the memento of our newly made friendship." Ashton said dramatically. At last Ashton put it on the cashiers' counter and handed her his credit card. "So, Ani, what do you do here in Chicago? Are you going to school still?" He asked, looking at her briefly. The cashier asked if he wanted it wrapped and Ashton nodded at her.​
 
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|| location : Teavana ||
|| tagged : @CuccoLady ||

Ani hesitated, watching as the tea set was placed on the counter, paid for, and taken to be wrapped up. "Special one for Christmas...?" she muttered under her breath. She suddenly had a thought, recalling the phone conversation she'd had with her brother only moments before meeting Ashton. She had literally just lied to him -- and, as a result, to her parents as well -- and said that she was bringing someone home for the holidays. Of course, there was no one really... but then, out of nowhere, this guy shows up?

This can't be a coincidence... Realizing the chance she was being given, Ani decided she should just try going with the flow on this one. "I suppose so..." she said, laughing lightly in response to Ashton's dramatic flourish. "Well, thank you very much for doing this. It's very kind of you."

She leaned back against the counter as the gift was being wrapped, fiddling with the ends of her shirt. "Oh, no, I've graduated already. Right now, I'm an archaeology intern at the Field Museum of Natural History." She looked up and chuckled a bit awkwardly, self-conscious as she realized how nerdy that probably sounded. "Kinda boring, I-I know... But what about you? What do you do?"
 
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Ashton
-Location- Teavana -Mentioned- @Thurrbo
Ashton shrugged, his expression returning to the constant flirty smile had become accustomed to. She seemed to be lightening up about the situation, making him feel at successful at last. "Not a problem. It's my honor. Really." He assured her. Ash then glanced back as he waited for the gift to be finished, also making sure the wrapping wasn't cheesy like the majority of christmas wrapping paper.

"Oh?" He said, raising his eyebrows at the news of her job. That would explain her style of clothes and choice of teapots. "That doesn't sound boring at all, actually." Ashton said casually. He actually liked learning about things of the past, though museums in general did creep him out. "I'm a tour guide...of sorts. To specify further would take a lot of explanation that probably wouldn't interest you." He laughed lightly.

Asking advantage of the pause in conversation, the cashier presented the wrapped package. Ashton took it in his hands and smiled at Ani. "Since it's quite some time till Christmas I couldn't possibly give this to you now." He began to explain. "You'll have to wait till Christmas Eve to receive it. I'll have to have your phone number, though, so I can contact you."​
 
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