The Relationship Mechanic (Peach Blossom #2)

Seventeen

“Y ou’re staring.”

Jessica looked over at Grace with an unamused expression. The morning had been going so well, but leave it to Grace to rain on her fucking parade. Last night’s fuck fest with Vini had her waking up over the moon. As soon as Jessica had opened her eyes, she knew the day was going to be a good one. When Vini joined her for a very handsy shower, that fact was pretty much confirmed. They had barely managed to stop at one orgasm, and if not for having made plans to meet everyone in the lobby to head out for a brunch tour, Jessica would have tumbled Vini back on the bed, wet or not.

“I’m not staring,” Jessica replied, not wanting to give Grace any ammunition, regardless of how right she was. Jessica was staring, but Grace didn’t need to call her out about it, especially not when Vini and her sisters were only a few paces in front of them. “Don’t make it weird. The morning has been going so well.”

Grace’s snort was unnecessary, but being that Jessica was an adult, she opted to do the mature thing and ignore it. As good as the day had been so far, it wasn’t without its struggles. Mainly the way she could hardly think about anything other than Vini. She had gotten Jessica bent into positions she had only ever dreamed of. It was an amazing and terrifying revelation that the past few weeks had been the best sex she had ever had in her life. And for the first time, she was realizing that she was going to miss Vini in her bed.

Jessica had had plenty of sex in her lifetime, but never had someone gotten to know her body so well so quickly. Is this how all small-town, corn-fed lesbians got down? Because if so, she might need to visit a few more small towns to check them out. Or...maybe she just needed to see whether or not it would be possible to stop in Peach Blossom maybe once or twice a year just to catch up and get her back blown out. Or maybe she could offer to fly Vini out once or twice a year to wherever Jessica was for a little impromptu vacation.

People did that all the time, right? Sure, Vini had her business, but surely she took time off sometimes. Jessica wasn’t too proud to admit that not only was the sex fire but she had also been enjoying the enthusiasm that Vini showcased outside of the bedroom. Their conversations were always lively, especially once Vini had gotten over her shyness. She could argue with Jessica about everything from the price of gold to whether or not macaroni and cheese was an entrée or a side dish. Jessica’s assumption that their conversations would taper off into nothing after a week or two had been so wrong it was almost laughable. They may have come from different worlds, but they were getting along just fine. It was part of the reason Jessica had taken charge for Vini’s birthday.

She had come up with an entire brunch plan that allowed her to show Vini another side of life. Specifically, Jessica’s life. All the places on their stop were places Jessica enjoyed and that she thought Vini and her sisters would as well. She had spent a few hours asking Dani what they liked and asking Grace to ask Ava what she liked as well. It had taken some searching, but Jessica had done well judging by the Williams sisters’ responses. The wide smiles on all their faces had Jessica calling the morning a great success.

“Everyone is getting along and having fun.”

Grace held her hands up. “I never said they weren’t. And I’m not trying to make it weird.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “It sure seems that way, considering you’re on my ass about staring at Vini.”

Grace put her hands down with a crooked smile. “So you were staring.”

She opened her mouth before closing it again. Jessica narrowed her eyes as she realized Grace had gotten her to admit to it. “Maybe I was. Is that illegal now?”

“Of course not. I’m just saying, the way you’re staring at Vini with hearts in your eyes is making it obvious what’s going on between you two. You said you guys were only in a situationship, but from where I’m standing, it looks like a whole lot of something else.”

Jessica grabbed Grace’s arm and stopped her in the middle of the sidewalk. When Ava, Dani and Vini turned to look at them, Jessica smiled and waved them off. “Grace and I just need to have a quick conversation about the plans for later on. You guys go on ahead, and we’ll meet you at the next location.”

Ava raised an eyebrow as she looked between Grace and Jessica. Vini at first appeared to have no expression, but slowly Jessica began to see concern bleed into her gaze. There were questions there too, questions that she had to ignore. Dani, on the other hand, just looked amused by whatever was going on. Jessica still couldn’t get a lock on Dani’s thoughts or feeling about a lot of things, and it was slightly unnerving. The woman should join the circuit with that poker face. Jessica had no doubt she would be able to fake people out with the best of them.

She was also surprised by the fact that it didn’t seem like Dani was interested in snitching on her and Vini. Jessica didn’t doubt that Ava would have flown off the handle if she knew just how close Jessica and Vini had been getting, so clearly she was still in the dark. She could understand Ava’s desire to keep Vini from getting hurt. Vini was an awesome person, and Jessica was self-aware enough to know she wasn’t girlfriend material. Hell, it wasn’t like she was trying to be. But she just couldn’t figure out what Dani was getting from keeping her mouth closed about it. If she were anyone else, Jessica would’ve assumed that she wanted something, and yet no demands had been made. If she had come to Jessica with some blackmail-type shit in the beginning, Jessica would have never let things go as far as they had. Now though, she could admit she would give in to Dani’s demands, had she made any. Jessica was woman enough to admit that.

This whole family was confusing in ways Jessica had never experienced. Things with Jason and her had always been so straightforward. It’s not that he had never acted protective of her, but they were enough years apart that they had hardly overlapped even in school. When Dani, Ava and Vini turned and continued down the sidewalk without Jessica and Grace, Jessica waited for a moment before speaking up again. She didn’t want any part of their conversation to be overheard.

“Okay. Explain to me exactly what your problem is. It’s been weeks, and we already hashed this whole thing out once before.”

Grace jerked her arm out of Jessica’s hold. “My problem is that you’re still doing the same shit. You and Vini are out galivanting, thinking you’re being all stealthy, but I know what’s going on, and it’s eating away at me to keep this from Ava.”

Jessica groaned and looked to the sky as if for guidance. Surely someone was up there who could help her deal with Grace and her misguided conscience.

“First of all, this thing with Vini and me is not your secret to tell. I don’t know why I have to say this all over again when we’ve already had this discussion.” She couldn’t believe they were still having the same conversation after all this time. “Second, it’s not like we’re having sex right in front of you. We’re discreet about it.”

“That’s not the point, Jess.”

“Yes, it is,” Jessica insisted. “I’m not telling you to lie to Ava, because none of this is her business to begin with. Plus I’m only here for like another week. Then you won’t have to worry about keeping anything secret.”

Grace didn’t look convinced, and Jessica was quickly coming to the tail end of her patience. “Has Vini seemed off at all to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, has she seemed upset or emotional?” Jessica waited for Grace’s answer while also thinking on that question herself. She couldn’t call to mind anytime Vini had seemed unwilling or apprehensive about their situationship beyond acting shifty at Dani’s recent acknowledgment.

“No,” Grace answered finally. “But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

Grace’s sigh sounded way more put-out than it had any right to, and Jessica readied herself for another round of arguments. Grace really could be stubborn as hell when she got an idea stuck in her damn head. It normally didn’t bother Jessica, but then again, normally Grace’s relentlessness had nothing to do with her.

Finally, Grace threw up her hands. “You know what? Fine. I won’t worry about hurt feelings anymore. You’re right. You’re both grown-ass women, so when this explodes in both your faces it’s on you.”

Before Jessica could say anything else, Grace turned and stomped her way down the sidewalk. Jessica would have found it amusing if not for their conversation. She watched Grace for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and following in her footsteps.

“What was all that earlier?”

Jessica sat down on the bed, sighing at finally getting off her feet. The afternoon had been a lot of fun, but it had been a while since she walked that much. After her third mimosa, she had switched to water, so she wasn’t feeling as intoxicated as she probably would be if she had attempted to keep up with Ava and Dani. Grace had practically had to carry Ava the last few blocks back to the hotel. It would have been amusing if not for the previous conversation between her and Grace still rolling around in Jessica’s brain. The pushback she was getting from Grace had her rethinking things.

“Grace is still giving me shit about us.”

Vini frowned. “Us?”

“You know,” Jessica replied before making a crude gesture. “ Us. She’s upset about it because of Ava. I keep telling her it’s no one’s business but ours and to just let it go.”

Vini nodded slowly. Her expression went thoughtful, and Jessica was left wondering what was percolating in that pretty head of hers. All of a sudden, a thought stopped her in her tracks. What if Vini thought Grace was right? What if she decided they shouldn’t see each other anymore? It wasn’t something Jessica had even entertained until now. It wasn’t a pleasant thought. Far from it.

“You don’t think she’s right, do you?”

Silence, uncomfortable and still, met her words. Vini didn’t say anything, and so Jessica waited. She had no idea what she would say if Vini agreed with Grace.

“No.”

The amount of relief Jessica felt from that one word should have given her pause. Instead, she smiled feeling lighter than before when Vini smiled back. She didn’t stop to think about how worried she was that Vini might have called for an end to this thing they had stumbled into. She hadn’t, and that was all that mattered. A knock at the door had them breaking gazes, and Jessica frowned when she looked over at it.

“Did you call for room service?”

“No,” Vini replied shaking her head. “I didn’t even know that was an option.”

“Of course it is. It’s your birthday.” Jessica walked to the door and peeked out of the peephole. “It’s Dani. I wonder what she wants.”

When Jessica opened the door, Dani sauntered in like she owned the place. She looked around for a moment, and Jessica and Vini exchanged looks.

“Dani, what do you want?”

“Can’t a girl come say hello to her baby sister?” Dani asked with a wide smile. Jessica didn’t trust that innocent expression for a second, and by the look on Vini’s face she didn’t either.

“If all you wanted was to say hi, you could’ve just sent me a text. So again I ask, what do you want?”

“You’re no fun.” Dani rolled her eyes before continuing. “I just wanted to come say hello and let you know that Ava and Grace are keeping to themselves tonight. They called me and told me Ava is probably not moving from the bed anytime soon.”

Jessica raised her eyebrows. “She was pretty sloshed.”

Dani laughed. “That is putting it mildly. Sis was passed out when I went by. I almost feel bad for Grace for having to take care of her, but then again, I told Ava to stop after the fourth mimosa, but she didn’t want to listen to me. Serves her right.”

Jessica snorted but kept most of her thoughts to herself regarding Ava and her drink tolerance. “So what’s the plan, then?”

“Well, I plan to meet up with a couple friends who I haven’t seen in a while. I don’t know what y’all plan to do, but whatever it is, enjoy.” Dani gave them a mock salute before turning back to the door. Jessica was going to let her go, but the niggling thoughts in the back of her mind had her reaching out.

“Wait,” Jessica said. Dani paused, her hand on the doorknob. “You know about Vini and me, don’t you?”

Dani turned with an arched brow. “Do I?”

“Cut the shit, Dani,” Vini said.

“You first, little sis.” Dani didn’t say anything more, but there was something there, a tension that Jessica could feel. When she glanced back at Vini, she knew she was missing something very important, but she couldn’t figure out what. It was the kind of wordless conversation that was unique to siblings, and Jessica was on the outside looking in. When Dani finally left, Jessica stared at the door trying to gather her thoughts.

“So that was interesting.”

Vini gave her a look. “ Interesting isn’t exactly the word I would use.”

“True, but at least we know we have the night free. We can go wild.” Vini raised an eyebrow, and Jessica knew exactly where they should go. “In fact, let me make a call.”

“Should I be worried?” Vini asked. “I don’t know if I like the look of that smile you have on your face. I’m not trying to end up in jail.”

Jessica snorted before she grabbed her cell phone. “I’m not sure what you’re thinking of, but if handcuffs come into play at any time tonight, it won’t be because we’re being arrested, that’s for sure.” Vini’s wide-eyed expression set Jessica off into giggles.

Tonight was going to be one to remember. She would make sure of that.