The day seemed to drag on. I’d finished the week’s worth of paperwork that had been building up in under three hours and now I was left with nothing else to do but sit in my office and wait for someone to call in that needed business.
I gave my stress ball a squeeze and enjoyed the squishy feeling of it giving way under my palm. It was now five in the afternoon and we’d had two calls come in during the last hour. A total of eleven calls today. Which was typical for a slow day and Mondays were always guaranteed to be that way, but when it got like this and we didn’t have over twenty calls coming in for help, I typically got tired of waiting around for the shit to stir up. That was my problem now.
There was no point in wasting power when I could just have my guys go home early.
Throwing my ball into a drawer in my desk, I grabbed my keys to my Ford and headed out of my office.
“Jonny, call everyone back man, we’re going to head home early today. I’m bored as fuck and nothing is going to happen in the next few hours before we close up shop.”
“Sounds like a plan, boss man,” Jonny said with glee.
It looked like I wasn’t the only one ready to get the hell out of this place. It would be nice to just get home. Maybe I could hit up the gym or watch one of the documentaries on Netflix again. If I was lucky, Jasmine would still be at her place packing… I could knock on her door and—
What? Ask her out like I’ve been trying to do for the last year? As if I’ll get around to doing that. There had never been the right opportunity and I wasn’t a typical guy, I had to have shit planned out. I wanted that moment to be special so she wouldn’t see me as just another fuck boy.
“Maybe I just need to get over all that shit and just ask her.” That was a great plan, now I just needed to wait until she got back home. Then I’d ask. This time I wouldn’t hesitate.
Three
Jasmine
Pulling onto the highway, I groaned as I looked at the wall to wall traffic in front of me. It had taken me longer than expected to get shit done. I didn’t have a lot of stuff in my apartment. I’d learned long ago never to hoard anything super valuable.
After calling around, I’d found a storage unit that I could leave the rest of my belongings in, had gone to rent a small truck and had boxed and moved everything I wasn’t taking with me. I’d worked my ass off packing shit as fast as I could and had switched out my skirt for a pair of yoga pants to make things easier. Nothing had been neat but at this point, I hadn’t cared.
I was paranoid as hell. Besides the four suitcases I’d packed to the brim with all my essentials and shoved inside the back of my car and trunk, I was leaving everything else behind in a storage unit paid with cash in a shady part of town, to make sure they had a harder time finding me. I’d been tempted to break my lease, but I chose not to. I would keep my account open for the automatic payment to come out for rent and keep it for when I got back and things had settled down. I didn’t plan to give up my place just yet, but I couldn’t stay there until I knew my parents would leave me alone. There was no way that I was going to go back to Mexico.
The whole reason I was here was because my mother was an American citizen and had run off to marry my father who had been born and raised in Mexico City, were I was later born. I was able to gain a dual citizenship that allowed me to live in both countries thanks to her. Part of me felt bad for taking advantage of her nationality, but no one had stopped me. I think she’d hoped that I would flourish in the city my family lived in, but I’d ended up sticking out like a sore thumb.
People always poked at the fact that I didn’t have an accent every time I switched from Spanish to English, and they always liked to make me feel bad that I could never tan to save my life. I was whiter than snow, with long brown hair, big green eyes and I looked more like my mother than I did my father. Part of me wondered if he was even truly my father, but there was no mistaking small pointed chin and nose, that was the only thing I’d gotten from him. Besides being bilingual in language, I looked every bit your average American citizen. That would work out to my advantage. It would make hiding easier.
“It’s better this way.” That’s what I was going to keep telling myself anyway. I couldn’t live a life there with my family. My mother was a pushover and thought my father was a god. My father… he was an asshole that thought himself above the law in many aspects and that wasn’t okay with me. I didn’t want to live a life on a chessboard always worrying about my next move around the local law enforcement. That wasn’t any way to spend your life. Not that what I was doing right now was any better. I was currently on the run yes, but for different reasons. I wanted to be free and I hoped that one day I would be able to tell my parents that and they would understand.
My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly at the thought of confronting my parents. I knew that day was coming fast. It was only a matter of time before we had to clash, I just needed to have a short vacation before I attempted that.
It was an annoyance and the more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became. “Why couldn’t they just leave me the fuck alone?!” I yelled inside my car. When my car sputtered, I cursed. Of course, my car would think to answer me when I was doing seventy-five on the highway in heavy flowing traffic.
Pulling off to the side, I got out and saw smoke streaming from my hood. Racing forward, I popped the hood and watched as a cloud of steam puffed up into the air in front of my face.
“Well, fuck!” I threw my hand up into the air. What was I going to do now? I didn’t have the slightest clue about car maintenance but I did know that this piece of shit had just had an oil change and I’d made sure that all the parts that had to be switched had been updated.
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. This was just my luck. I knew something like this would eventually get me, but I didn’t think it would catch me off guard when I was unprepared.
The traffic around me thinned out as the rush hour passed and the sky darkened, night coming upon me fast.
I took a deep, calming breath and walked back to the driver’s side and slammed the door as I took a seat inside the safety of my vehicle.
Resting my head on my steering wheel, I felt the pressure building in my eyes and tears began to run down my cheeks.
“What do I do now?” Did I call my parents and tell them I was a failure, because I sure felt like it, but I wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t, not in my lifetime. I would make them see that this was the better life for me, and that they needed to respect that.
A glint caught my eye and I gasped when I saw the black card Jasper had given me this morning poking out of my cup holder.
Dialing the main office number, I bit my bottom lip as the first ring went through. After several rings, I got the impression that no one was going to answer until the ringing tone stopped and I heard a soft growl on the other end.
“This is JB’s towing company, we’re currently closed for the rest of the day, but may I help you with something that doesn’t involve a tow?” the raspy voice said on the other line.
“Oh, um… Well that was actually why I was calling. My car broke down and I needed a tow.”
“Jasmine?”
Wait… “Jasper, is that you?”
“Yes, this is me, are you all right? What happened?”
I wanted to crawl under the seat of my car and hide. This was embarrassing. I’d been sort of hoping that I’d be dealing with someone else he worked with that wasn’t him. I could have sworn that he’d said other people did the dirty part and he did the paperwork. Hearing him on the line was a blessing and a curse.
“I’m fine but my…” I took a deep breath feeling my embarrassment hit me hard. “My car broke down on the side of the highway heading out of Killeen toward Dallas… I need a tow.” God this was shameful. “But if you’re closed, I’ll just call someone else.”
“No!” Jasper said in a rush. “Just tell me where you’re at and I’ll come get you.”
I told him wh
ere I was before saying my thanks and hanging up the phone. My heart raced inside my chest and I felt like I’d just ran the longest marathon. Jasper was on his way to come get me and I felt a small thrill that gave me goosebumps.
Fiddling with my hands, I thought about everything I would say to him and what I would do now that I couldn’t leave the state. Maybe… I could rent a hotel room… I would have to think of something because there was no way I would be able to stay inside my apartment tonight.
Four
Jasper
Throwing the last of Jasmine’s luggage into the back of the tow truck, I walked around the bed of the truck to make sure her car was secured one last time before jumping into the driver’s seat.
“Once I drop off the car at the shop to fix the radiator, should I drop you off at your apartment?”
Jasmine seemed to think about that for a moment before shaking her head no.
“I think I’d like to stay at the inn a block from our apartment.”
“You mean the inn next to the mall?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that one.”
My eyebrows rose and I felt my confusion deepen. Now I knew she was hiding something.
“Why would you want to go to that run-down place? Sorry, I’m not trying to pry but why don’t you want to go home?”
“It’s just really complicated, Jasper.”
I could understand things being complex, I had been in many of those with my business and at times, I’d even thought about shutting the place down, but I loved what I did and even though things got hard, I wouldn’t have been able to give it up.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
She sighed beside me and from the corner of my eye I saw her rubbing at the side of her neck.
“I’m trying to run away from my problems as per usual… It’s just a bunch of family shit really and I’m in need of a break from it,” she informed me as her short nails tapped away on the door handle.
“My dad has this big business… he thinks that I should take over and has been after me to do so since I was a teen, but I don’t want to, and I feel forced. I mean, I’ve said something to both of my parents, but they don’t listen to a single word I say!” She huffed out a long breath. “Some days I wish I didn’t have to run from them, but I’ve been running from them for years. I just don’t know what else to do.”
That did sound like a tough predicament to overcome but I could only see one way around that.
“Why don’t you tell—”
“No,” she cut me off. “I’m not trying to be rude,” she rushed as I pulled into the old hotel’s parking lot. “I really do appreciate being able to vent and the ride, but I can’t talk to them right now. I just need to get away.”
Things grew silent between us as she got out of my truck to pull her bags out of the back. Putting my truck in park and shutting it off, I got out to help her and felt a bit of frustration grow inside me. I didn’t want to see her leave, to be chased off like that by family that should have been more supportive of her choice, in my books. That would just take away all my chances to ask her out.
My mood only soured more at the thought of her skipping town when I didn’t want her to go.
“How long do you think it will take to fix my car?” she asked sweetly as I dropped her last bag off on the curb near the front entrance. Jasmine hugged a smaller tote bag close to her chest as she observed the area.
“Well…” Her car would be easy to fix, it would only take me a handful of days at most, but did I really want to tell her that? She waited for an answer, staring up at me with big eyes and a hip cocked. God, she was mouthwatering. In an instant, I’d made the choice to lie.
“It will take a long time, at least a week or two before I can get your car fixed.”
“You can’t get it done sooner?”
I shook my head and watched as the happiness drained from her face, and even though the lie had been small I didn’t like what I saw.
“I can’t stay here…” I heard her mumble.
Looking back at her car, I decided that I would help her any way I could just to see her smile reappear. I had some leave time that I could use up and if I left work for a bit, my guys would be just fine without me.
“You and I can go somewhere together.” We walked back to my truck and I leaned against my truck’s door, taking her in. Jasmine looked tired, as if the world was resting on her shoulders. I wanted to help lift that weight. “I’ll go grab my ruck back at the shop, some of my stuff, and meet you back here within an hour.”
Jasmine bit into her bottom lip, and I had to force back a groan. It made me wish that I was the one biting her lip, then I’d pull her to my chest and kiss her until I heard her moaned my name.
“I’m not sure. I mean, it sounds fun, but I don’t want to be a burden and take you away from your job and your life.”
Reaching out to cup her cheek, I enjoyed the fact that she jumped under my touch. She was nervous and seeing how unfamiliar to this behavior she was had my cock jerking to attention. The damn thing just had to pick now to wake up.
“Sometimes you just need to say thank you, Jasmine. This is an offer not up for discussion. I want to do this because—”
“Because what?” Her hand was now touching mine. The softness of her fingers tracing along my skin made me pause as I reveled in the moment between us.
“I’m doing this because it is the right thing to do and I don’t want to see you alone in your time of need.” And because I adore you…
“That is really nice of you, Jasper.” She shied away from me. “An hour then?”
Yes,” I confirmed. “I will be back shortly. Stay near the door.”
“Okay.”
I waited until she backed away before I jumped into my truck and sped off knowing she would be there waiting for my return.
Switching out my trucks was the easy part, telling my co-workers, my friends why I would be leaving the shop in their care for a bit turned out to be a hard part.
“Where are you going again? And you called us back to the shop for this why?” Jonny side eyed me. He was always the logical one and that was why he worked in the office with me. He was good at what he did, and he was the one I was leaving in charge. Having him question me though, was making me wish I’d have just handled all this over the phone instead of asking the two I trusted the most to stop back at the shop again after they left. It would have been a hell of a lot easier.
“I’m the boss and I have the keys, I need to hand them off to someone, now don’t I?”
“Leave the man alone,” Travis laughed. “Can’t you see the man is chasing after some fine pussy? You can see it written all over his face. The dude is smitten.”
“You and your women.” Jonny frowned at Travis. “You should be locked away far from the female population with the way you speak about them.”
“Hold your tongue, boy, you’ve got a lot of years before you can talk to me like that,” Travis growled in a playful way. He punched Jonny in the arm before heading back out to his car.
“I will see you when you get back, my friend. But since we had to stay an hour later than usual for your booty call, I do expect to get paid for that!” Travis yelled as the door closed to the shop.
A sly smile grew, the old man really had a way with words. “I shouldn’t be gone long, no more than a week or two at most, but I’ll have my phone on me. I, however, don’t expect you to call me unless hell freezes over, or someone dies.”
Jonny groaned and took the shop keys from my hand. “I suppose that I can handle this burden you have shoved upon my shoulders at short notice. But—”
I knew what was coming. Jonny was being Jonny and was planning to lay it on thick. He was like a brother to me, but the man could be dramatic. Before he could speak, I held up a hand and handed him a stack of ten, one-hundred dollar bills.
“Here are one thousand big ones if you keep your shit together while I’m gone.”<
br />
Jonny’s eyes lit up and the biggest grin covered his face. “You got it, boss.”
“Now that all that is covered, make sure the others that already left for the day know what’s up.”
“I will send out a mass-text once I get home.”
“Thank you, now get out of here. I need to lock the shop up again and head home to get my crap. You heard Travis, I’m after the woman of my dreams, and you’re holding me up!”
As I punched in the alarm code behind me, I toyed with the idea of being able to watch over Jasmine the way I’d wanted to since we’d formed this odd spark between us. This one woman that had captivated me was now going to be under my care—the way it should be.
Five
Jasmine
I checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time in the last five minutes. He said an hour, and it was now five minutes past the time he’d given me. I worried my bottom lip thinking over the possibility that maybe he just wasn’t going to come back. Part of me wondered why he would even want to accompany me when he had a business to run. I didn’t want to think too much on the whys, when I was too excited, he’d even offered to ride along with me. It was like a fantasy come true.
Jasper just wants to help, he’s a nice guy. He will come back.
I just had to think positive. Yes, that’s what I had to do, if I just kept thinking he would come back then I wouldn’t be stressing my butt off. Toeing my tote bag that was sitting between my feet, I thought about grabbing one of the chocolate-filled hard candies that I kept in the side pouch. My stomach chose that moment to growl furiously. Gah, I was hungry. I should have grabbed something from the burger joint next door, but I didn’t want to leave my luggage here on the sidewalk.
It was dark now and the only thing that I could see was the streetlights and the glow of the vehicles on the road as they zoomed by.
Travelers Love Page 2