Page 37 of The Relationship Mechanic

Vini gave her a crooked smile, the one that always made Jessica feel a little drunk. “What are you going to do, sit there and watch me eat?”

This time, Jessica answered with a sharp smile of her own. “Watching you eat is one of my favorite things to do.” She knew Vini meant it in a different way than she did, but when Vini’s eyes darkened with heat, Jessica knew she understood exactly what she’d meant. It was the truth. Vini was more than a little talented when it came to her eating technique, and just the thought of it left Jessica clenching her thighs with arousal.

“If I didn’t have three cars to get out by the end of the day, I would give you a reminder of just how good I am.” Jessica didn’t have to be told to follow Vini out the door. She went more than a little willingly, her eyes glued on the way Vini’s ass looked in her overalls. If she were a weaker woman, she wouldn’t have been able to resist reaching out and touching.

Jessica sat across from Vini, unable to keep her eyes from doing anything but following every movement as she unboxed her food and took a first bite. When Vini’s eyes fluttered, Jessica laughed knowing that she was milking her reaction just to get a rise out of Jessica. “You are something else.”

Vini didn’t reply as she dug more into her food. Normally Jessica would feel the need to fill the silence with words, no matter what the words were. And yet for some reason in the here and now with Vini across from her and only the sounds of birds chirping in the background, she was okay with not speaking. It reminded her of when she would walk into a room and see her parents sitting together quietly on the sofa, not conversing yet somehow soaking up one another’s company. She had always found it strange before and would speak as soon as she came into the room, but now she understood. There was no need to say anything just to hear the sound of her own voice. The silence was not uncomfortable. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Vini seemed to feel the same way as she continued digging into her breakfast, not uttering another word until only a single strip of bacon remained.

“Do you want the last slice?” Vini asked looking up. She picked up the bacon between her fingers and held it out to Jessica. The scent drew Jessica in, but instead of taking the bacon from Vini with her own fingers, she leaned forward letting part of it rest on her lips before sliding it into her mouth and taking a bite. She hadn’t planned the action, and yet she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the reaction it invoked.

Vini’s eyes widened slightly, and she could feel the heat in them as they looked down at her lips. Vini’s hand didn’t move, still offering up the bacon as a sacrifice, one that Jessica planned on readily accepting. Something about it being from Vini’s hands made it taste all the better, and Jessica didn’t stop to think before leaning in for a second bite. This time she took a larger bite, letting her lips brush against Vini’s fingers as she bit through the meat and leaned away. This time Vini’s eyes were on hers, their gazes locked in a standoff as they waited for one of them to make a move.

The moment was electric, and Jessica felt it go through her like a zap of lightning. The day was cooler, and yet she could feel sweat starting to build on the small of her back. She needed Vini to move away because Jessica was no longer sure that she could be trusted not to try to take things further. She was almost disappointed when Vini seemed to hear her thoughts and pulled back. These moments, while few and far between, had been the most connection she had felt to someone in a long time. They were the reason why she pushed down her disappointment.

They had time.

Twenty

“How were things at work today? Anyone new come in that we should know about?”

Vini glanced at Ava. The question wasn’t abnormal, and yet it made her think of Jessica. Most things these days did. It was like with each day that passed, her mind conjured more and more thoughts of Jessica that refused to be exorcised.

Three days. That’s all she had left before she would drive out of Vini’s life, probably for good. Vini didn’t hold any illusions that Jessica would come back to Peach Blossom. She had practically said that more than once. This was a once-in-a-lifetime stopover for her before she moved on to places that more matched her large personality. Vini didn’t blame her for that. She couldn’t. She was too busy trying to put boards over the windows of her heart before the hurricane of sadness that came in the wake of Jessica leaving did its damage.

“No. It was pretty quiet,” Vini replied. It was the truth. There hadn’t been anyone new that came in. She had some routine work from the people in their town and the next one over. Jessica had come in again during Vini’s lunch and though there had been the type of sexual tension that normally would have had them relieving it in the seat of Vini’s car, they had spent the time talking. Just talking.

It had been a frustratingly wonderful past couple days, and Vini wasn’t sure whether to be happy about the fact that Jessica seemed to like her enough to start really opening up or resentful over the fact that she was doing so now right before she left. The more Vini found out about Jessica, the more she liked her and the more she knew for sure it was going to hurt once Jessica was gone. She couldn’t say anything, though, especially not to Jessica. This was the type of relationship she had agreed to. One that was nothing more than a few weeks of fun before she went back to the humdrum of normal life.

“So is Jessica still coming by the shop?” Ava asked. She phrased it nonchalantly, but Vini could hear a thread of something in her voice.

Vini paused cutting the vegetables and placed the knife down on the board before turning to look at Ava. “If you have a question, just ask.”

“I’m just saying it’s weird that that girl is always hanging around your shop,” Ava remarked. She glanced over at Vini with a raised eyebrow. “It’s almost like she’s trying to get something from you.”

Now Vini was angry. Sure, Ava actually wasn’t far off, in that both Vini and Jessica were getting things from one another, but the idea that the only reason Jessica was around was for sexual reasons didn’t sit right with Vini. Why was it so hard to believe that someone like Jessica might have been interested in her for pure reasons? “And what if she is?” Vini asked voice going sharp. “I don’t really see why it would be your business anyway.”

Ava paused what she was doing and looked at Vini more fully. “It would be my business because you’re my baby sister, she’s Grace’s friend and you don’t know her.”

“You don’t know her either,” Vini countered. “Seems to me that all you’ve got are some half-assed stories and some preconceived notions. I mean, Jessica was even nice enough to help throw me a birthday weekend, a weekend that you fully enjoyed, and yet you’re still sitting here telling me you’re suspicious of her for some reason. It’s not adding up, so you tell me what your deal is so we can move the hell on.”

Vini was growing tired of it. She had had a great few days, and she wasn’t trying to spend the next couple days arguing about something that was no one’s business but her own. Ava had always tended to overstep, especially when it came to Vini, but this was a new low. Never had she tried to get involved in Vini’s relationships before.

“My deal is that you don’t know the type of person Jessica is, so I don’t know why we’re even having to have this conversation. And why are you getting so defensive? You know I wouldn’t ever do something to hurt you. Jessica is nice and everything, but she has a reputation, that’s all. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“It seems like all you’re doing is sticking your nose in business that doesn’t pertain to you,” Vini said. She looked down at the vegetables and sighed before taking a step back and wiping her hands on her pants. She wasn’t even hungry now, and she definitely didn’t have any desire to stick around while Ava was spewing this nonsense. “If you want to sit here and speculate on shit like this, you’re more than welcome to do it by yourself. I have other things I’d rather be doing.”

“Where are you going?”

“Out,” Vini replied. She didn’t bother going upstairs to get changed, instead grabbing her keys and leaving the house. She was halfway down the street before she dialed Jessica’s number. She didn’t know what she was doing, she just knew that she needed to get out of there. When Jessica answered the phone, she sounded like she was in a far better mood than Vini.

“Hey, Vin. What’s going on?”

“Have you eaten dinner already? I’m kind of in the mood to get out of town for a little bit.” Vini wasn’t sure where she was planning on going, but she just knew she couldn’t stick around. Not tonight. “There’s a really nice Mexican place about thirty minutes from here, if you’re interested.”

She could hear talking in the background and wondered if she had interrupted when Grace and Jessica were busy. She felt tendrils of guilt slither in at the idea that she was once again monopolizing Jessica’s time and eating into the days she could be spending with Grace. Especially since she’d come to Peach Blossom to visit Grace in the first place. It didn’t seem like they had spent that much time together, and Vini knew it was because of not only her but also Ava monopolizing their time.

“Yeah, that sounds great, actually,” Jessica replied finally. “I can be ready in about fifteen minutes if that works for you.”

---