“You are a good boy, Leo, and you’re going to be a fine man. Don’t mess around with that girl until you know for sure that you can handle being her everything.”
Leo had puzzled over her words for quite a while and the truth of them hadn’t hit him until her graduation party when they danced together. Holding her close to him, he could smell the perfume she always wore that was a blend of coconut and something fruity. Seeing all of her friends bail on her party early had made him angry, especially when they had basically just shown up to eat food and steal some of the champagne bottles that were sitting out.
Jazz was alone in the world. She had parents who provided for her basic needs but other than his mom she had nobody looking out for her. It was then that he knew if he started something with her just for fun he would be just as heartless as her friends. Jasmine needed someone who was going to put her first. Eighteen-year-old Leo had enough sense to know that he wasn’t in any place to do that, and honestly, he hadn’t been sure he wanted to. There had been a whole world out there waiting for him to explore and plenty of females in it that wanted his attention as well.
He was glad that he had walked away after that party. It had been easy to do and that was the first indication that he wasn’t what she needed. Even at eighteen, Jazz had been a keeper. Seeing her at the party yesterday had to boil down to divine intervention.
It had been a couple weeks of his buddy saying how he needed to meet his fiancé’s best friend. It had been the same amount of time that Leo had declined while he got his shit in order settling into a new town and new job. Being back in Kansas had also given him an opportunity to think about looking up the girl he had grown up with in KCK. Fate must have been laughing her ass off when Leo figured out they were the same lady.
From the moment he spied her hustling into the ballroom he had been hooked. Or should he say, hooked again?
Leo held her hand in his own as he drove to his house, laying her hand palm down when he needed both to maneuver his truck. It amused him whenever her face turned pink at some of the things he did and he couldn’t help but chuckle remembering how red her face had been last night in his bedroom.
“What are you laughing about over there?” Jazz’s voice sounded a little miffed which made his smile get bigger. He loved getting under her skin.
“I was just remembering how much I love pink flamingos.” At his words, her cheeks got even brighter and she huffed, folding her arms across her stomach.
“Very. Funny.”
Taking her hand, Leo raised it to his mouth and kissed the back of it, marveling at how soft her skin was. “C’mon, you have to admit it was a little funny.” When she stayed silent and refused to look over at him, he said something that he was sure would get a reaction out of her. “Think of it this way. It will be a great story to tell the grandkids in forty years.”
Leo’s words had the desired effect as he watched her sputter and flap her hands. “First off, wow. And second, when would you ever want to tell your grandkids about seeing their grandma in bikini bottoms instead of panties?! That doesn’t even make any sense.”
Leo chuckled, mostly to himself considering how wound up he had gotten Jazz. She was still mumbling under her breath when he reached out and took hold of her hand once again. After last night, Leo had quickly figured out that he needed to be physically connected to her as much as possible.
Not want.
Need.
There was just something inside him that calmed when their bodies made contact, whether it be having his leg next to hers while they were sitting or simply holding hands. Funny enough, it was the exact opposite of all his previous experience. Don’t get him wrong, he loved touching women. Women were amazing creatures that he knew just how and when to touch. With Jazz though…it was as if all the chaos inside of him quieted down to a manageable white noise when they were together. She grounded him in a way that he hadn’t ever felt before. Normally, when he touched a woman, there was an end game, usually his bed, and everything up to that point was almost a race to get to the finish line. With Jazz it was as if the end game was simply their future…and there was no time limit when it came to the future.
Call him crazy, but Leo was fairly certain that this was going to be the woman he was going to marry.
And he had been called crazy. Repeatedly and very recently. By none other than his best friend when he told him that he was serious about Jazz mere hours after seeing her again.
Will had laughed until he realized that Leo wasn’t laughing with him. Then Leo had gotten the ‘talk’.
The talk had consisted of a couple major talking points that began with “Don’t fuck with my girl’s best friend,” and concluded with, “Don’t fuck with my girl’s best friend.”
Will had only come around once Leo explained their past and the fact that there was something within him that simply knew Jazz was it for him. Will had simply nodded his head, patted him on the back and wished him luck, ending with, “When you know, you know.”
Now he had to convince her of that.
Chapter 12
This was happening.
It was finally happening.
Jasmine was going to get laid.
Not that she had a long dry spell that she was breaking. Wait… did one and a half years qualify as a long dry spell?
She guessed for a healthy twenty-six-year-old it was longer than a majority of her girlfriends, but she had been going to school nonstop for what seemed like a lifetime. While she had been cramming for tests and getting her clinical days in, the friends she had met around campus had been taking lighter semesters and actually getting to enjoy their twenties.
Jasmine peeked out of the corner of her eye and tried to study Leo without him knowing that her concentration was focused on him. He drove the same way he seemed to do everything else, with the utmost control and attention. Both of his hands were back on the wheel at ten and two, he was always checking the mirrors and he was one of the few men that she had witnessed using his blinker.
It was as if he were almost perfect. The only way he could reach that mark was if he yelled, “Surprise! I’m actually an accountant and not a firefighter.”
Jasmine shook her head at the silly thought. No, Leo was doing exactly what he seemed to be destined to do. From the top of his head to the tips of his toes, Leo had the physique of a fireman. Heavily muscled arms and chest that tapered into a trim waist with strong legs. He looked like he would be able to carry a person out of a burning building without even breaking a sweat. Two people, if necessary. There was no way that his body was going to be happy behind a desk with the only physical exertion being the mid-day walk to the water cooler.
The only hiccup that Jasmine knew they would need to talk about was the fact that Leo seemed a little caveman for her tastes, especially since this was only a hookup. Jasmine hated that she had been questioning the implications of sleeping with him since they almost wound up in bed yesterday. At this point in any of her previous relationships, she would have known where she was standing. Right now, she was so confused, she had no idea what to call what they were doing. Leo seemed to be treating her as if she were a girlfriend instead of a booty call and that flustered her more than anything. He had essentially laid his claim at the fire house when it came to Nix, not that she would have been receptive to his advances anyway. In fact, Jasmine had been just about to say something along the lines of, “Thanks, but no thanks,” when she had been jerked back into Leo and his solid chest. It was at that point that she got a bit pissy when it was apparent that Leo decided to mark his territory. They weren’t exclusive as far as she knew, but if today’s possessive behavior was anything to go by, then she was spoken for.
This was one of those times where she would love to know what he was thinking, because not knowing made her a feel like she was going to lose her mind.
Seeing that they were nearin
g his house, Jasmine figured it was now or never to figure out where they stood with each other.
Clearing her throat, she cast Leo a nervous smile when his attention shifted to her for a moment.
“So, what exactly are we doing here?” Jasmine squeaked out the words and then wanted to die from mortification at the cracking she had heard in her voice.
“Doing?” Leo repeated, and then waited for her nod before continuing. “I assumed we would go to the house and then maybe talk and relax for a bit before grilling steaks for dinner. Why?”
Jasmine had started shaking her head before he was even finished. “No, I mean what are we doing?”
“Sugar, you are going to need to be a little clearer on what you mean.” Leo chuckled.
“Dear lord, I want to know if this is just a hookup or—” Jasmine jumped when Leo reached over and put his hand softly over her mouth.
“No need to get upset. I just didn’t know what you were getting at,” Leo said softly, his voice gentle as if he were talking to a frightened animal. “We are not just hooking up. That much I can promise you.”
“Well then what the hell is this?” Jasmine gestured to the space between them.
“This is us. We are two adults who find each other attractive, right?”
Jasmine nodded at Leo’s question.
“We don’t have to have a word for what it is right now as long as we are both doing what we want. I want you and you want me. I’m old enough to know that I want you for more than just a quick screw, and believe me sweetie, if I wanted a quick screw, I would find literally anyone else other than my best friend’s almost sister-in-law.”
“So, what exactly are we doing?” Jasmine asked because his words still hadn’t given her the answer she felt she needed.
“We are together and that’s good enough for me. While we are seeing each other, there won’t be anyone else for me or for you for that matter.” His words were emphasized with a stern look from the driver’s seat. “There are no limits to where this can go…and sugar, I’m gonna tell you right now that I’m hoping this goes pretty damn far. I’ve had my eyes on you for years and now that you’re all grown up and out from under mommy and daddy’s thumb, I plan to have you. Is that what you needed to hear?”
“You’ve had your eyes on me for years?” Jasmine’s question no doubt sounded as shocked as she felt. She had no idea that he had ever thought about her as anything other than competition for his mom’s attention.
“I wanted you since I was fifteen years old. Probably younger than that, but I didn’t know what this feeling was. The timing has never been right though.” Leo scrubbed his scruffy jaw, his hand making a rasping sound over his trimmed beard. “I’m old enough to know what I want and so are you. I can’t help but feel as if destiny has thrown us together again to have another chance now that we are all grown up and ready to turn it into something more.”
“More?” Jasmine croaked, her heart in her throat.
“More than just a quick screw or a booty call for sure. Maybe more than you even thought you wanted last night when you walked into that party,” Leo offered. “I haven’t been with anyone in the last six months.”
“Wow, six whole months?” Sarcasm dripped from her words, a part of her jealous that he had slept with someone so recently.
“Hey, don’t get upset. I’m a healthy man with a healthy sex drive, and the women in my past knew what they were getting before things went too far. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about the future. It was all fun and games and everyone was happy with the situation. Then, I found out my best friend was engaged and there was an opening at the station here, and I had a feeling things were about to change. The whole thing made me take a hard look at the women I was seeing and they seemed interchangeable. I probably sound like an asshole but I never led anyone on and I was as faithful as I could be considering that there was an understanding between me and whichever female I was seeing at the time. I’ve even stayed friends with quite a few of my old flames and introduced two of them to their new husbands.”
“Goody for you,” Jasmine mumbled, her stomach feeling sour at hearing his past exploits. She knew it was ridiculous because she had a past too. Apparently not as full of a past as Leo but she wasn’t a blushing virgin by any means.
“The minute I saw you again I realized we had unfinished business.” Leo shrugged as if his words made perfect sense. “Let me give you the rundown if it makes you feel better. I’m clean, I was tested when I applied to the Larryville station, but I haven’t been with anyone for six months. I don’t have any children, but would love to start a large family in a couple years once I’ve settled down and gotten a bigger house. I’m allergic to cats, but love dogs. I have paid off my school debts, but still owe on my truck and the house. I love meat and question the sanity of anyone who says they’re a vegetarian and I call my mom at least once a week.”
Jasmine sat mute while she went over his words in her head, not realizing he was waiting for her to speak until he gently nudged her with his elbow. “Now you.”
Licking her lips, Jasmine thought of what he said before she started to speak. “I don’t have school debt because my parents took care of my tuition and living expenses until I graduated a month ago. My car is the same one I got when I moved out, the miles are high but Petunia is great on gas and I think she has a couple more years in her.”
“Petunia?”
Jasmine swatted at him when he laughed at the nickname for her car. “I haven’t dated anyone serious before now. Mainly because I was too focused on school and I didn’t want distractions, but I have had some friends with benefits type of situations off and on since I started college.”
“When was the last one?” Leo gritted out the words, showing Jasmine that he had a problem with her having a past as much as she did with him.
“About a year and a half ago. He graduated and moved to Colorado. I think he’s engaged now from what I’ve seen online though.”
“You’re still friends?” Leo said, surprise evident in his voice.
“Yes.” Jasmine fiddled with the strap of her purse. “We don’t really talk but I see what he posts and he looks happy.”
“That’s good. You’re not upset about him moving on?”
Jasmine rolled her eyes at that question. “Leo, I didn’t turn into a stalker with a temptation to kill bunnies with any of the guys I used to date. I guess if I were honest then my relationships were similar to yours. We had fun and none of the relationships were started with the goal of making them long term. I was in school, they were in school and it was just college fun.” Jasmine straightened her spine and decided to lay her cards on the table so to speak. “I’m a healthy woman who likes sex. It’s not that uncommon.”
“I don’t like hearing about you liking sex. It makes me think of the men before me,” Leo gritted out, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.
“Well too fucking bad. It may make you uncomfortable to hear, but I’m a normal woman with normal needs…just like all those women you used to date. Don’t be a hypocrite and try to shame me because if that’s what you’re going to do then you can turn this truck around and take me home.”
Jasmine watched Leo breathe deep a couple times. Her eyes narrowed on his reaction to her words. Fortunately for him, he looked like he had relaxed after a moment or two. She hadn’t been joking on him taking her home. There was no room in her life for a man who thought that he had the ability to judge her for her past.
She liked sex and that was okay.
When she had been a teenager, sex and love had been hand in hand in her head when she thought about the future. As an adult, she had come to terms with the fact that you didn’t have to be in love to have a physical relationship. The only thing she required before intimacy was an understanding of expectations and personal respect and there was no way she was going to take anything l
ess. No matter how hot Leo was.
“I’m sorry,” Leo said softly. When she merely cocked her head at him and stayed quiet, he pointed out the front window of the truck. “I don’t want to take you home and this conversation is best said without me being distracted while driving. That’s my street up ahead. Is it okay to hit pause on this conversation so I don’t say anything else I may regret?”
Jasmine nodded, and waited for him to pull into his driveway before unbuckling her belt and turning to face him. Leo was going to have a hell of a time digging himself out of this mess and she was anxious to hear what he had to say.
Leo left the truck running with the AC on high but turned off the radio which had been humming a tune in the background during their drive across town.
“First off, I’m sorry. I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world if I expected you to not have a past considering my own before we saw each other again,” Leo started, his voice calm but still with an edge to it. “For some reason, when I think of another man touching you…even if it was almost two years ago it makes me want to hit something. I can certainly tell you that none of the other women I have seen in the past managed to get this reaction out of me. Hell, I’ve dated women that had gone out with close friends of mine a couple times and didn’t have a problem with it.”
Jasmine licked her lips and admitted her own issue as well, “I wasn’t too keen on hearing about your previous hookups either so I can give you a break on that.”
“Jazz, I can’t tell you that if we don’t work out I’m going to be smiling and waving you off to the next man in your life either. In fact, the thought of you dating anybody I know makes me feel homicidal. Nix touching your hair almost pushed me over the edge and I know that there wasn’t anything going on there…at least for you.”
Jasmine reached over and ran her fingers over Leo’s scruffy jaw. “Leo, thinking of you dating any of the pole bunnies that stalk the guys at the station makes me want to scream, so I get what you mean.”
Simmering Heat Page 9