32. Chapter 32
thirty-two
POSTALMONDCLARITY - Bilmuri
Jackie hobbled into the living room with a bag of cheddar popcorn and a Diet Coke.
She settled back onto the couch with a heavy, frustrated sigh.
The knee brace they’d released her from the hospital with did nothing for her pain management and was just cumbersome enough to obstruct her walking.
She’d taken it off once in frustration, and Dimitri had told her off in a way she’d never heard before.
She’d been taken aback and unsettled by it, but his gentle fingers and deep scowl as he put the brace back on had Jackie very close to asking him to undress her.
She hadn’t.
As much as she’d yearned for him to touch her in the moment, as soon as Dimitri entered her in the fantasy, her skin began to feel tight and uncomfortable.
She hated the feeling. Dimitri had been very patient with her; he hadn’t pushed or even asked to touch her, keeping to his word about waiting for her to ask him first. He had rubbed her legs and feet most evenings, which she appreciated, but besides those, some idly affectionate touches, and holding her at night, he hadn’t touched her.
He looked at her now like he was considering asking. He shook his head to himself, turning away for a moment to set his sketchbook aside before reaching down for Jackie’s feet.
“I could have got you that,” he scolded.
“My legs still work,” she countered.
“And you’re still supposed to be resting them.” He shook his head at her stubbornness. He was happily going to spend the rest of his life trying to figure out how to break through to her so he could take care of her. “You’re going to make me prematurely grey,” he joked.
Jackie eyed him a moment before sitting up to pull some hair out of his eyes. “You’re going to be such a sexy silver fox.” She flopped back on the couch and opened her Coke with a satisfying crack. “What were you drawing?”
“Same thing I’ve been drawing since the night I met you.” He smiled.
Jackie looked away, her cheeks turning bright red as she took a sip of her drink.
Before Jackie, Dimitri had usually stuck to landscapes.
He hadn’t met anyone who captured his creative eye quite like Jackie.
He was so embarrassed when he showed her his sketchbook while he was in the hospital and flipped to the first one of her.
The page was filled with different angles of Jackie at Temp the night they’d met.
Small, quick sketches of her, all her curves and the teal-blue dress that had immediately caught and held his eye.
He’d had to go out and buy coloured sketching pencils just to draw her in it.
His face had turned a shade of red similar to hers now, but she’d smiled, kissed him and asked how many other sketches he’d made of her.
She’d turned to the next page before he could warn her.
Her eyes went wide as she stared down at a sketched version of them, her nose and plump lips wrapped around his cock right below.
He’d thought he might die right there as she gasped at the sight.
But a moment later, she’d turned to him, a broad, cheeky grin plastered across her face.
“Something dirty?” she teased, having recovered from her momentary embarrassment.
“Not this time.” He smiled, reaching for the sketchbook to show her. He flipped to the page he’d just been working on and handed the book to her. She smiled back at him before looking down at the sketch.
He’d been working on the view he’d woken up to: Jackie lying on her stomach, her cheek resting on her crossed arms as she watched him sleep. She had a dreamy smile on her face as she watched him; seeing him at peace made her feel at peace as well.
Jackie’s smile faltered a moment as she took in the sketch.
Something about the way Dimitri drew her made her heart skip a beat.
It felt so affectionate. Her heart swelled every chance she had to look through Dimitri’s sketchbooks.
No one had ever looked at her or cared for her as he did.
It made her chest ache; Dimitri Fraser was more than she’d ever hoped for herself, and she’d never understand how she was so lucky to have found him.
She handed the sketchbook back to him, her earlier shyness returning as she felt that swell of affection from him again.
“Every day I get to draw you is a good one.” He smiled, taking the book back and placing it on the end table next to him. “I’m thankful every day that I was luck—”
He was cut off by Jackie’s phone playing Billie Eilish’s “Lunch.” They both turned toward the phone on the coffee table.
Talia’s ringtone.
They hadn’t heard anything from her in the week and a half since they’d dropped her off at home. Dimitri had texted her updates on Jackie’s condition and when she was released from the hospital, but she had left him on read each time.
Their eyes met, and Jackie sighed. “Well, let’s get this over with.
” She sat up, reaching for her phone before settling into Dimitri’s waiting arm and held up the phone to answer the FaceTime.
“Hi, how are you doing?” She tried to sound casual and empathetic, even though her heart was pounding in anticipation.
“I’m doing okay,” Talia replied, sounding even quieter than usual. She looked down at her hands and took a deep breath.
“You’re not at your place,” Dimitri said, noting the background didn’t match Talia’s room or office at home.
“I’m at my parents’.” She nodded.
Jackie’s heart sank, but she tried not to show it. “I’m glad you’re with your family right now. I know you missed each other.”
“It’s good you got out of the city,” Dimitri agreed.
“Yeah, I needed to get away,” Talia agreed with him. She hesitated, picking at her nails like Jackie at the hospital, while she searched for the words she wanted to speak. “I won’t be back for a while.”
“That’s okay,” Jackie soothed. “Take as much time as you need.”
“I’ve been working on a remote encryption setup so I can still do that side of my job for you. But I’m leaving for a while.”
“Leaving where?” Jackie asked. As relieved as she was that Talia was at home and safe, she didn’t like the thought that she might never see her again—even if she assumed this was the breakup call she and Dimitri had been anticipating.
“My parents had been planning a trip back to Senegal that was pushed back when I was taken. They’re leaving at the beginning of April for two months, so I’m going to go with them. I’ve never been, so it seems like a good time to visit and meet some family for the first time.”
Jackie opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. She didn’t want Talia to overwhelm herself so soon after all the trauma she’d experienced.
Dimitri cut her off before Jackie could find her words. “That sounds great, Tails. You’re going to have a great time.”
Jackie turned to him, hating that he said it even though she knew he was right. She could call it concern for Talia all she wanted, but Jackie knew she was being selfish because she wanted Talia to stay put so she could stay near them.
“I hope so,” she said before hesitating again.
She wouldn’t look into the camera or even at her phone as she continued wringing her hands.
“I’ll get in touch once I’m back, but… I just…
I think I need space from more than just the city.
I think… It’s just too dangerous being with you two.
I don’t…” She sighed heavily, her voice cracking slightly.
“You don’t have to say it,” Jackie said quietly. Finally, Talia looked up at her screen. “We know. We were ready for this call.”
“I’m sorry,” Talia breathed.
“Don’t be,” Dimitri asserted. “We’re so sorry. I am so sorry that you were dragged into this stupidity with the Bratva. It’s my fault, and I am so sorry. You shouldn’t have been involved in it. My stupid actions shouldn’t have hurt you.”
Talia bit her lip, nodding in agreement and understanding. A tear streaked down her face, breaking Jackie’s heart all over again.
“Just… please take care of yourself,” Jackie begged gently. “It is good that you’re getting away, but I’d find out if Kendra could still see you. I’m sure she’d—”
“We’ve already set up remote appointments. I’m going to be seeing her even when I’m away with my family.”
“Good,” Jackie sighed with relief. Silence bore down on them a moment before she finally said, “Take all the time and space you need, but can I ask something?” Talia hesitated but nodded.
“Please take this time and heal. Like Dimitri said, we hate that you were dragged into this bratva bullshit, so please, take whatever time you need to heal. But please don’t go away forever?
You were a great friend long before you were a great girlfriend.
And… I don’t have a whole lot of friends, so I’d really hate to lose you completely over this. ”
Talia smiled for the first time since Jackie had answered the call. “I’ll come back to be your friend,” she agreed.
“Good,” Jackie sighed with relief.
“Okay, well, I should go,” Talia said, sounding lighter than she had at the beginning of the call. “I really am sorry it’s ending like this. I love you both, but I just…”
“You don’t have to justify anything to us. We get it,” Dimitri soothed. Jackie nodded along with him.
“Okay. I’ll call you when I’m back in Toronto.”
“I can’t wait to hear about your adventure in Senegal.” Jackie smiled.
“Yeah.” Talia’s smile grew. “Okay, well, bye.”
“Bye,” Jackie and Dimitri said in unison.
The call ended, and silence fell over the couple. It felt heavy.
“That sucked,” Jackie sighed, peering up at Dimitri. His fingers wove through her hair, pulling her head toward him to kiss her temple.
“Yeah,” he agreed.