Chapter 33: Dinner for three 1 (Chloe and Jason)

(Pov Chloe)

Chloe held the brush vertically as she applied the mascara to the corners of her eyes. She moved her hands carefully as she pulled the brush upward, applying the black, viscous liquid to her eyelashes. She dipped the brush back into the bottle, carefully removing the excess before she moved to the other side.

Everything needed to look perfect. 

Two days ago, she had gotten a message from Jasmine inviting her out to dinner at a fancier restaurant downtown. Her now sister girlfriend –she guessed was the best word for it– had said it was on her. It was also with Jason. 

All in all, it was a date. For the three of them… God, this is so weird. 

Chloe bit her lip as she carefully inspected her work in the mirror. She had gotten the vibe that tonight was the night. The night they finally discussed how all of this would work.

Chloe placed the mascara brush back in the bottle and then carefully brushed her hand down her sky-blue ribbed halter top and over her ivory skirt. She looked good. Or at least that's what she thought about it. She showed some cleavage, but not too much. Some leg, but not so much that it was trashy. More than she would normally show of either, but she was going on a date after all. The question was if it would strike a chord with her intended audience. An audience of one. Though she wouldn't mind if others liked the outfit too.

No, tonight was important. They needed to have that discussion. Things were working for the moment. Hell, she had spent a lot more time with the two of them over the last few weeks. She had been over for dinner, dropped by after work. Mostly because she wanted to spend time with Jason, but also because Jasmine had confided in her that she was somewhat concerned about him being alone too much. 

Yet, despite all the time she had spent with them, there was always this somewhat awkward tension. It wasn't something they did. She knew that. It was entirely on her. The way she hesitated too much, the places she sat down in the living room. How it was always a little further away from the two of them. When she just couldn't stop questioning herself about what she was allowed to do. How Jason and Jasmine would interpret it. How to avoid being as… possessive as she had been earlier.

Jasmine was big on displays of affection in a way, she was touching him whenever she could. Not in big ways; it was always something small. Chloe didn't really blame her for that, but it did make her envious. They needed to properly discuss how this relationship of theirs was gonna work. 

Chloe stepped out of her bathroom and into the rest of the small room she had in the enclave dormitory. The smell of her lavender perfume faded as she moved farther from the bathroom. It had weirded her out when she first moved here that she would have her own bathroom, but she did. Though she had later learned that most rooms didn't have private bathrooms, and that the only reason she did was because Jasmine and her new employer pulled some strings. It did mean she could avoid the fledglings, though. At least when she needed to use the bathroom.

The newly turned noctians were the most common inhabitants of the dormitory, simply because they were never allowed to live outside the clan enclaves. Something they wouldn't stop bitching about. Living with them was, if anything, interesting. She had learned that conversion felt like going through an even worse form of puberty. With all the poor impulse control and general strangeness that came with puberty. Except now the person going through it could be thirty and was developing both superhuman powers and a pressing need to drink human blood. 

Chloe opened her purse and carefully took inventory of her stuff. She didn't want to forget anything. Not for their first date as all three of them. It might leave a bad impression… Do I care that much about Jasmine's opinion? Jason wouldn't judge her for it, she knew that. She might not get along all that well with Jasmine, but she doubted she would either. Yet. This was the first date with all three of them as a… thing.

Bzzzzz

Everything was… Chloe blinked as she listened for the faint buzzing sound, only to hear faint moans coming from the leftmost wall in the room. 

Again!

It was almost impressive how her neighbor's vibrator hadn't worn out yet. The thirty-year-old woman in the next room had at least been mildly apologetic over it. She had explicitly stated, one day they got breakfast together, and they had somehow gotten to the topic of conversion, that she had finally figured out how her brother felt during puberty. 

It sounded like a horrendous combination of power, blood hunger, drastically increased sex drive, and poor impulse control that would eventually end in disaster for someone. Even if they didn't force themselves on some poor guy, and most didn't seem the type, one moment of poor judgment was all they needed before they could hurt or even kill someone. Hell, regular teenagers had enough trouble getting used to bodily changes. All of these girls could be strong enough to make Eddie Hall look like a poorly trained twelve-year-old, and all of them had very sharp fangs. One entirely consensual encounter could turn into a more depressing version of sitting in the splash zone at OceanWorld. It was safe to say she didn't feel all together too bad for them when the clans decided to keep them close at hand.

Chloe, however, had absolutely no desire to stay here to listen, nor to put on her new headset, with far better noise cancellation than her old ones. She needed to go. 

Chloe picked up her things as she made for the door. It would only be a short bus ride downtown, and she'd be set.

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(Pov Jason)

The mattress was soft, giving way as Jason carefully sat down. The sheets were cool and satiny against his bare legs. The room smelled faintly of Jasmine's perfume, a hint of sandalwood.

Jason shifted on the bed as he pulled on his khakis. They were the nicest pants he had, well, at least here in Spokane. He hadn't really planned on needing nicer clothes, and it wasn't like he could just ask his mom to drop by with more clothes. There were limits to what you could ask for, and that wasn't an extra burden she needed right now. He could probably buy some, but he had no way to get to a store. Jasmine would take him if he asked. But she would just end up insisting on paying, and then they would find some strange compromise that still ended with her paying. He wasn't allowed to drive himself. The doctors had been very clear about that. No, the khakis would have to do. Not that they weren't nice. 

Jason grabbed his crutches from where they were leaning on the bed next to him and heaved himself up. He had gotten rather proficient at moving around with the things, and while he wasn't certain they contributed all that much to him retraining his balance, they worked wonders for his arms. Sure, he might not be back to how strong he was before. But things were improving. 

Still, crutches weren't the best thing to use when going to a fancier restaurant. Not that anyone would blame a guy in crutches. I think. 

Jason's gaze scanned the small bedroom. It would have been smarter to have all his mobility stuff in one place. Of course he hadn't done that. With any of his stuff, actually. 

Jason's things lay interspersed with Jasmine's all over the room. Though hers were more organized. Not that he would call his messy in the first place. But she simply had more time to organize it. Not needing more than 4 hours of sleep was certainly an advantage he didn't share.

“Where is it?” Jason mumbled quietly to himself as he walked into the living room.

Jasmine looked up from the couch, a small smile gracing her face. The crimson halter dress she was wearing complemented her eyes in a way that had made Jason's jaw drop when he first saw it. It certainly looked better than his khakis and Light blue button-down. 

“Looking for something?”

“Yeah. I was just looking for my cane. Have you seen it anywhere?”

Jasmine's eyebrows furrowed. “I have, but sweetie, are you sure that's a good idea? I don't doubt you can walk around just fine inside the restaurant, but it's a long walk from the parking lot to the restaurant for you to do with a cane.”

Jason chewed on the inside of his cheek. She was right; he didn't use the thing all that often, nearly not at all. He had no guarantee it wouldn't be tiring not to be able to rely more on his arms. 

Yet, this was their first proper date. With all three of them, at least. Or was it really him being on two dates simultaneously? His chest tightened.

Could he manage that? How was he supposed to be on two separate dates simultaneously? Especially when he couldn't even halfway look the part. He couldn't even walk into his own damn date. Let alone manage two people's enjoyment of it.

Warm hands cupped his face, stopping his thoughts before they could spiral.

Jason blinked and noticed Jasmine had stood up and stood in front of him. “Hey, It's fine. Let's just keep the crutches in the car. And then we can reach a compromise on the cane.”

“What kind of compromise?”

One of Jasmine's fingers slowly traced down his neck and over his shoulders. “Well, I do like having a handsome guy on my arm, and you are very handsome.” A smile bloomed on her face. “Plus, on our trip back to the car, I am sure Chloe will take the other one, and you can have a girl on each arm.” She winked at him.

Jason couldn't stop himself from chuckling. He certainly didn't mind the idea. Though it might place more of a burden on Jasmine than it should. It would, however, solve the immediate problem. He would just have to make it up to her.

“Yeah, that works.”

“Also, honey. It's fine to depend on me. You don't owe me anything. I like buying you things; I like you leaning on me.” She paused. “Now I am bringing this up because I am fairly certain I know what you're thinking. And to tell you that you are more likely to get struck fifty times in a row by lightning than you are to pay for anything tonight. Got it.”

Jason was about to argue when Jasmine held up a hand, stopping him.

“Okay, compromise then. You probably want to pay me back for what you see as the burden of helping my fiancé, then how about you pay me back by letting me pay? Does that sound fine?”

He could probably argue his way into paying for something if he tried. It would be like pulling teeth, but he might get to the point of paying for a single drink. Even if he tried being sneaky about it, he doubted Jasmine wouldn't find some excuse to be the one who paid.

And it wasn't like she was lying about what she liked. She had made that obvious ever since their first date. He didn't like it, but…

“Fine, but nothing too expensive.” 

He regretted the words almost as soon as they left his mouth as Jasmine's smile grew almost predatory.

“Of course, sweetie. I won't go for anything too expensive. Now let me find that cane of yours.” She wandered into the hallway, disappearing only for a few seconds before she returned and handed him the cane. She checked her watch. “Well then, it seems we should leave.” 

Jason couldn't stop the faint red that tinged his cheeks as Jasmine offered him her arm.