The Relationship Mechanic (Peach Blossom #2)

Twenty-Two

V ini yawned, her eyes watering as something in her jaw clicked. She hadn’t gotten to the shop until ten after dropping Jessica back off at Grace’s house. They had spent the night trading slow kisses and heated touches until falling together in a heap sometime near dawn. It had been exhausting, and yet Vini had woken up feeling lighter than she had in a long while. They had barely been able to keep their hands off one another when they showered, falling into laughter when the water abruptly changed, pounding them both with drops of icicles. With teeth chattering, they had dried off and then put on their clothes from the day before and then checked out.

Vini hadn’t bothered going home, instead changing into the extra clothes she kept at the shop. When Aiden wandered in twenty minutes after she arrived, he’d given her a knowing smile and a thumbs-up before greeting the day’s first customer. Things had been steady all morning, and though Jessica hadn’t come by, Vini wasn’t upset. She knew Jessica was probably catching up on the sleep neither of them got. Hell, Vini would probably take an hour or so later for a catnap in her office.

By three, Vini was wide awake with a little extra pep in her step. She’d already finished an oil change and was working on another when Jessica called out from the lobby. With a wide smile, Vini stood up and grabbed the towel to wipe her hands. By the time she walked into the lobby, Jessica was already pulling out plates and setting them on the back counter.

“Seriously, Jess, you have to stop feeding Aiden, otherwise I’ll never get rid of him.”

“Ha ha. Funny,” Aiden replied, rolling his eyes. He took the offered plate. “I’ll make myself scarce so you two lovebirds can do your thing.”

He left before Vini could say anything, but also she didn’t want to deny it. Having Jessica alone was exactly what she wanted. “Sometimes I wonder if I could trade him in for a different model.”

“How much would you get for him, really?” When Vini laughed, Jessica smiled. “Did you miss me?”

Vini’s heartbeat quickened. “I saw you a few hours ago.”

“Yeah, but you still missed me.”

She shook her head but didn’t deny it. Vini leaned in, meeting Jessica’s lips and sighing at how right it all felt. She reached up, cupping her cheeks, and tilting her head up so they could press more firmly together. Vini was just getting into it, when a loud shriek cut through the air.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Vini felt Jessica jerk back, and when she realized whose voice that was, her eyes shot open. She turned in disbelief to see Ava and Grace standing in front of the counter.

“What are you doing here?” Vini asked, confusion making her slow as her brain tried to understand what was happening. Ava’s hands were balled into fists at her side, and her gaze was hooked on Jessica. Vini glanced over and saw Jessica standing there, mouth parted as if trying to think of the words to say.

“What am I doing here?” Ava asked loudly as she shifted to look at Vini. “What the fuck is she doing here? And why the hell did we walk in on you two kissing?”

“Ava, maybe we should—”

Vini cut Grace off. “She’s here because she wants to be.” Jessica was still silent, so Vini continued. “And because I want her to be.”

“I told you to stay away from her,” Ava said pointing at Jessica. “I told you she was no good for you. Jesus, Vini. Why would you get involved with someone who has no plans to stick around? That’s just inviting trouble when you let the wrong people into your life.”

“Who are you to decide who is good for me?” Vini asked raising her voice. “Who I want to let into my life is none of your business.”

Ava narrowed her eyes. “It is when you lie to us. I can’t believe you let her—”

“Vini didn’t let me do anything,” Jessica said, finally speaking up. She crossed her arms, and Vini was dismayed to see her expression shutter, giving no insight into what she was thinking. She looked like the same Jessica she met six weeks ago instead of the open person she had gotten to know.

“So you’re saying you forced her?”

Grace stepped forward, putting a hand on Ava’s shoulder. “Come on, Ava. Jessica would never force anyone to do anything. She’s not like that.” Ava whirled around, shrugging off her hand.

“Are you seriously taking her side right now? Did you know about this shit?” Her voice went shrill, and Grace winced. When Grace didn’t reply, Ava’s eyes widened. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“It wasn’t my busi—”

“Your friend was fucking my baby sister, and you knew about it and didn’t tell me?” Her voice echoed in the lobby, and Vini wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. This couldn’t be happening. Nowhere in her mind did she have this being a thing that would happen, and she wanted to rewind time.

“Actually, Vini is the one with the strap.” They all turned to look at Jessica. Vini was torn between crying and laughing hysterically, mostly because Jessica wasn’t lying. Ava, though, didn’t appear to find it amusing as she launched herself toward Jessica. If not for Grace, she might have actually made it.

Pandemonium ensued with everyone talking at once. Vini’s ears rang with Ava’s yells, and her throat twinged when she yelled back. This was not how she wanted everything to come out. Aiden appeared, probably having heard the commotion, and after a few aborted motions, he and Grace managed to contain an almost vibrating Ava between them. Jessica had stepped back and was now leaning against the wall as she stared.

“Calm the fuck down,” Vini said.

“‘Calm down,’ she says. You purposely got involved with someone who only came here because she got caught playing two other women. How does that scream relationship material to you?” Ava was breathing hard as she put her hands on her hips. “Was she the one who suggested keeping things on the down-low? Do you even like my sister, or were you just using her for entertainment?”

Grace spoke up this time. “Of course she likes Vini. How could she not?”

Vini appreciated the words even as something in her gut clenched, wondering the same thing. Surely Jessica liked her at least a little bit? She wouldn’t continuously seek her out if she didn’t. Vini glanced at Ava before hurrying to Jessica’s side.

“Jess, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Jessica’s tone was flat, and Vini knew just how not fine it was. When Jessica glanced down at her, her eyes were blank. There was nothing there to give Vini a hint at what she was thinking or feeling. Vini wanted to reach up, but now it was like there was a wall between them that she was afraid to penetrate. Something had shifted, and it made her want to cry out in anger.

“This is why I don’t do this.”

Jessica’s words were soft, soft enough that Vini almost missed them. But she didn’t understand what they meant. “What are you talking about? Don’t do what?”

Jessica blinked slowly before pushing off the wall and moving away. “This. Relationships.” When Vini tried to reach for her, Jessica stepped farther away. “I’m sorry, Vini, but I can’t give you what you want. I can’t do this.”

Everything in Vini cried out, but the pain of those words stole her breath. She was frozen and helpless to do anything but watch Jessica shake her head. Vini’s vision felt like it was darkening as she watched Jessica turn away. It wasn’t until she was out the door that whatever spell had fallen over her broke and she stumbled forward, only barely managing to catch herself on the counter. When the door closed behind Jessica, sound filtered back in, and she turned to where Ava and Grace were loudly arguing.

“How could you keep this from me?” Ava yelled. “I can’t believe you would lie to me.”

“I wasn’t lying,” Grace countered, trying to reach for her. When Ava flung herself away, Grace’s hand dropped back to her side. “Ava, please.”

Ava scowled before stomping over to the door. “I’m not going to stay here and listen to this shit.” She pushed the door open. “Do not follow me.”

“Ava!” The door slammed shut, cutting Grace off even as she reached out. The lobby was plunged into silence, and Vini felt like her strings had been cut. The only thing holding her up was her grip on the counter.

Aiden looked between her and Grace as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what. Vini didn’t think there was anything that could be said that would save the shitshow that this day had become.

“I should go,” Grace said finally. Her voice was quiet, and she didn’t turn around. Vini saw her shoulders fall, but she was too locked in her own pain and anger to offer her anything. Aiden gestured toward Grace, but Vini said nothing. All she could do was fall back on the one thing that kept her going: work.

She turned, ignoring the food on the counter, and made her way back into the garage. She had a lot to do and wanted nothing more than to lose herself in the familiar movements of her work. Cars were much easier to figure out than people, and she could use a little easy right now.

“Vini!”

Absolutely not. She ignored Ava’s voice and kicked her shoes off, preparing to shower and then fall into bed. She didn’t want to talk, especially not to Ava. The rest of the day had passed by in a blur. She had faint memories of finally eating when Aiden had pestered her for the third or fourth time and of him finally pushing her out the door when the sun had gone down. But everything else was a blank. She barely remembered driving home, and now she wished she had just stayed away and booked herself a hotel room.

Vini turned toward the stairs and was halfway up them before Ava called out to her again, this time from right behind her.

“Vini, we need to talk.”

“No, we don’t.” She continued up the stairs, ignoring the footsteps behind her. The rest of the house was suspiciously quiet, and she wondered where everyone else was. Did they already know? Well, Dani already knew what had been happening between her and Jessica, but clearly she hadn’t told anyone else since this was all blowing up today. She closed the door behind her. When Ava came barreling through not a minute after, Vini gritted her teeth and tried not to show just how aggravated she was. “Ava, go away.”

“Not until you talk to me.”

Vini kept her back to her. “You did plenty of talking earlier.”

“And you didn’t do enough.”

That had her finally whirling around. “Seriously? You think I have anything to fucking say to you after you walked into my shop and acted a fool in front of someone I—” Vini cut herself off with a click of her teeth.

“Someone you what? You like?” Ava narrowed her eyes at Vini’s silence. “Vini, you can’t be serious. You can’t seriously think that Jessica is relationship material.”

“And what if I do?” Vini countered, clenching her fists at Ava’s know-it-all tone. “What the hell makes you think you know better about my life than me? Are you really that delusional to think I can’t make my own choices about who I do and don’t want to be with? Do you really think that lowly of me?”

Ava’s eyes widened, and she dropped her arms from where they had been crossed over her chest. “Of course I don’t think lowly of you.”

“Oh, really?” Vini asked almost spitting out her words. “So explain, because from where I’m standing, all I hear is you telling me I need someone else to make decisions for me because I’m too stupid to be able to make them myself.”

Ava shook her head, but Vini didn’t believe it. “Vini, no. That’s not—”

“Well, congratulations,” she continued, not letting Ava get another word out. “You win. You’ve made the choice for me. I guarantee Jessica won’t want a damn thing to do with me now.” The burn of tears that had been threatening to fall was stronger than ever, and Vini knew she had to go. She wouldn’t give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her cry now.

Before Ava could say anything, Vini went to push past her. She could find new clothes later, but what she couldn’t do was stay in this house for another moment. Ava’s hand shot out and gripped Vini’s arm.

“Vini, wait.”

Vini didn’t hesitate to smack Ava’s hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me. You’ve done enough already.”

“I’m just trying to protect you.”

“You’re trying to control me. There’s a difference,” Vini shouted. “You’re not my mother, so stop acting like it.”

The words fell like a stone sinking into water. The moment they left Vini’s lips, she knew they would strike their mark, and when Ava’s lip quivered that was confirmed. They were the truth, and yet Vini wasn’t sure who was hurt the most by them, her or Ava.

“Hey. What’s going on here?” Vini swallowed hard at Dani’s voice. She turned to glance over her shoulder. Dani was still in her scrubs, eyes crinkled with clear exhaustion as she looked between Vini and Ava. “Why are we yelling at each other?”

Vini turned her head, determined not to be the one to break the silence. Ava’s silence seemed to be the same, but it didn’t matter because clearly Dani already suspected.

“This is about Jessica, isn’t it?”

“You knew?”

“Of course I did,” Dani replied. Vini felt the air shift as Dani walked by. The creak of her bed had Vini sighing in equal parts annoyance and relief. Why the fuck did this all require a family meeting? If their dad showed up too, she would throw herself from the window just to get away. “Vini?”

With a sigh, Vini turned to look at Dani. She was sitting on Vini’s bed with a tired smile on her face. She patted the bed beside her, but her sister didn’t take her up on it. She wanted to be near the door in case she needed to make a quick escape. Dani shrugged before waving a hand at her.

“Yeah,” she replied, “it’s about Jessica. Ava burst into the shop today and saw us kissing.”

“I didn’t burst into the shop,” Ava insisted. “I came by to talk to you.”

Vini chuckled, but it held no humor. “Whatever. She came in and started a fight about shit that had nothing to do with her. Then Jessica broke up with me and left.”

Dani nodded. “I thought you two weren’t dating.”

“We aren’t—weren’t.” Vini paused and scowled. “We had an arrangement, but it was one that worked for us.”

Ava scoffed, and Vini glared at her. “Vini, you are not the arrangement type, and you know it. You fall fast and hard.”

“You don’t know what the fuck I am because you never asked. You assumed and, instead of asking, ruined the best thing that I’ve had since Mom died.” It was another low blow, but Vini was tired of skirting around subjects. Keeping things to herself was obviously not allowed, so she was going to let it all hang loose. “You keep acting like I’m this baby who needs to be parented instead of a grown-ass woman who would like to be able to talk to her big sisters without them flying off the fucking handle.”

Ava reared back as if slapped though Dani didn’t look surprised in the slightest. When Ava turned to look at her, Dani shrugged. “I love you, Ava, but she’s not wrong.”

“You can’t really think Jessica—”

“It’s not actually about what I think, sis. Or about what you think,” Dani said cutting her off. “It’s about what Vini wants.”

Ava frowned as if she had never considered that before. The fists that had been clenched at her sides slowly opened, and when she looked up at Vini, her eyes were shiny. Vini looked back, not bothering to hide her anger or her frustration.

“Oh.” Ava’s voice was soft as she looked at Vini, and it seemed she finally saw her. “When did you get so old?”

Vini huffed out a breath, amusement bleeding through her frustration. “We literally just celebrated my twenty-third birthday.”

“I know, but...” It was like she was looking at Vini for the first time, and Vini was curious what she saw. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”

The apology was so unexpected that it took Vini’s anger with it. She could count on her hands the number of times in her life Ava had apologized to her. “Wow,” Vini replied. “I had almost forgotten what it sounds like to hear you say those words.”

“Shut up,” Ava said before shaking her head. She sighed and walked over to Dani. “Scoot over. I think I need to sit down for this.”

Vini rolled her eyes at Ava’s dramatics. “There’s nothing to sit down for. You apologized, and I accepted. All done.”

“I know you don’t think that’s all.” Dani raised an eyebrow. “We want to know all about how you feel about things with Jessica. Just because you’re grown, doesn’t mean we can’t be curious.”

“You didn’t give Ava shit about Grace.”

“Oh, yes she did,” Ava replied, side-eyeing Dani. “This heffa cornered me when I was in the shower and grilled me until I was through. Every time I didn’t answer a question, she flushed the toilet.”

Vini grimaced. “That’s just cruel.” She sighed when she realized they wouldn’t give up. “Fine, but there isn’t much to tell. I told you, we had an arrangement. Friends with benefits or whatever.”

Dani nodded. “But, you like her as more than just as a friend.” Before Vini could respond, she continued. “That wasn’t a question, by the way. That was a statement. Anyone who knows you and who doesn’t have their head buried in Grace’s cunt would have been able to see that.”

“Hey.”

Vini chuckled knowing that Dani was right. Maybe talking it out was what she needed to make sense of what to do next. “Fine, yeah. I like her.”

“And you want a relationship with her.”

“Yeah.” The weight of that was heavy. As soon as she said it, Vini realized just how impossible it was. “But she doesn’t. And before you get mad, she told me from the start that she doesn’t do relationships, so I went into this with my eyes wide-open.”

Ava glanced at Dani before speaking. “Then, why did you agree? And before you bite my head off, this isn’t about control. It’s about knowing you, and you’ve always said you wanted a relationship and marriage. Has that changed?”

Vini could appreciate Ava asking even if she didn’t appreciate having the truth put so blatantly before her. “No. That hasn’t changed. I thought I could handle just enjoying the time we had and then let her go, but I don’t know if I can.”

Dani nodded. “How long have you felt like this? Have you talked to Jessica about it?”

Vini ran a hand over her face, tired in a way she had never been. “I don’t know. A few weeks maybe. And no, I haven’t said anything to her about it. I was going to yesterday, but then she started talking about her plans for when she leaves, and she sounded so eager to go. I couldn’t bring it up.”

Dani and Ava exchanged looks, and Vini hated to see pity swirling in their gazes. “Then, what are you going to do?” Ava asked, and Vini could appreciate that she was trying.

What indeed? Vini knew what she wanted to do and what she needed to do, but how was she going to handle those two not being one and the same?