She didn’t respond.Her light touch on his arm was grounding him and, he thought in a sense, doing the same for her.She was private.Clammed up.And deadly as hell, but she cared more than she ever wanted people to know, so for her to feel so bad about being alive gutted him.
Without asking for permission, he rotated her so she faced him, allowed her to tuck her face into his neck.Sprawling his hands along her spine, he nudged her even closer, securing a leg over hers.
“Jasmine.”
“Don’t, Lance.I’m just… Don’t.Please.”The words were a bare whisper, exposing all her fragility which she normally hid behind iron doors.
That dried up all his questions in a flash.This woman, the proud, feisty, sexy woman didn’t say please.Until now.
“Okay, baby, but we will talk about this later.”
Her response wasn’t verbal.No, she wrapped her strong arms around him and held tight.Small sobs rocked her and all he could do was take it.Close his eyes, tuck his face in her hair and stroke her back, offering the silent support he hoped would be enough.
This went far deeper than putting her sister in a rough predicament.It was years of not having anyone but herself to count on.Of being let down by those who were in positions of mentorship and power tossing her away as if she were disposable.
“You’re enough, Jasmine.Trust me, baby, you’re enough.”
* * * *
When she walked out into the living room three hours later, he watched her from where he stood over the skillet as he finished up the pan-seared pork chops.The mashed potatoes were done, the sauteed veggies were on the back burner, covered and waiting.He watched her as she strode into the kitchen.
Armor’s back in place.
Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, her sweats hung low on curvy hips and it was his shirt that covered her upper body.That, he approved of.
“Perfect timing.”He turned off the stovetop and carried the pan to the table and set it on a cream-colored pot holder.
“What’s the occasion?”
Shooting her a glare over his shoulder as he returned to the stove for the veggies, he shook his head.“Nothing other than I thought we deserved to have a nice meal.”
She watched a bit before popping her shoulders and grabbing two beers from the fridge.
At the table, Lance served her before himself and kept his thoughts private as they ate.He didn’t want to ruin the meal, but she was fucking delusional if she believed he was going to let it go completely.
* * * *
Alternative rock played as they cleaned up, doing dishes shoulder to shoulder.He washed and she rinsed and dried.
“I hear your sighs over there, you know.”She flipped the towel over to land on the counter as she faced him.“What do you need to say?”
Lance dropped the sponge in the lukewarm water with minimal suds and gripped the sides of the sink.
“I want to make you sit down and listen to me about how you’re not a waste and that you fucking deserve happiness.”He’d started his declaration looking at the water but ended staring in her eyes.
“My own brother-in-law doesn’t want me around because I’m a danger to my twin sister and his son.The government would lock me away in a dark hole and throw away the key because I’m a reminder of things that went wrong.I’ve done shit that anyone with a slight sense of right and wrong would find reprehensible.”
Rolling his lower lip between his teeth, he reached by her to swipe the towel in order to wipe his hands off on it.He balled it up and set it back on the counter.Lance shook his head and cupped her jaw, narrowing his eyes when she shifted like she was going to pull away.
“Baby, tell me what you’ve done the past year.”
She pushed his hand off and blinked.“What?”
He took a deep breath digging deep to ensure his voice remained calm and modulated.“This past year.Before you ran into me in the alley, what have you done?”
A slight narrowing of her eyes as she thought before responding.“Hunted down some traffickers, put some drug dealers out of business and worked some odd jobs to help out some of the unhoused.”She crossed her arms.“Why?”
Lance mimicked her stance.“If you’re this horrible person you seem to be fixated on being, what the fuck is that?Where’s the stealing vehicles, getting drunk and beating someone to death, the doing drugs?Where’s that on your list?”
