Chapter 8
Our morning commute looks clear this morning with all major roadways clear and no accidents reported. Stay tuned for weather in ten.
Jasmine lifted her head up slowly from the couch. Her cheek peeled away from leather it had adhered to overnight.
“Jesus.” She groaned, the soreness in her neck alerting her that she hadn’t been as comfortable as she thought while she slept. Glancing around the living room, she looked at the time displayed on the morning news broadcast.
Like clockwork, Jasmine always managed to wake up between six thirty and six forty-five, and this morning was no different. The quiet house around her indicated that Leo either wasn’t home yet, or if he was, he had made his way to the bedroom to sleep after an exhausting night.
Jasmine stretched before folding the blanket and laying it over the back of the couch. Still trying to wake herself up a little bit, she ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed her face a bit.
God, what she wouldn’t do for a large cup of coffee right now. With the idea of coffee swirling around her head she walked into the kitchen that was just to the left of the living room. Glancing around the counter, she noted that there wasn’t a coffee pot in sight. The idea that someone would willingly live without coffee was a bit too much for her to accept this early. Backing out of the kitchen, she shuffled to the bathroom she had used last night to change and took care of her morning rituals before peeking into the bedroom.
Empty.
Well, damn. That meant that Leo was either at the station or the fire was still being tended to across town. Considering that a news crew had not been reporting from the warehouse district this morning, Jasmine assumed that the men were probably at the station. Skimming off the T-shirt that Leo had insisted she wear, Jasmine folded it over and placed it on the end of the bed after looking for and not finding a hamper out in the open. Gathering her things up, she was grateful that Leo had simply tossed her keys onto the entryway table when the stumbled in the night before.
Making sure she had everything, Jasmine opened the front and found her lost shoe laying on its side next to the welcome mat. The visual of her forgotten heel made her smile when she remembered exactly why she had been so quick to forget it.
Flicking the lock on the doorknob, Jasmine closed Leo’s house hoping that the one lock was secure enough for him considering she didn’t have a key for the deadbolt. It wasn’t until after the door had closed that Jasmine realized she probably should have left Leo a note.
Nothing too long, something simple like, “Thanks for the use of your couch,” or something else casual along with her number in case he wanted to get together again. Even after last night and her constant worrying about him, Jasmine wouldn’t be against seeing him a bit more. She needed more fun in her life and Leo definitely seemed the type to deliver on the fun.
As she climbed into her car she realized one thing though: whatever she had with Leo needed to stay in the simply fun category. He was the exact opposite of what she wanted long-term, not that he had hinted at more, but she needed to watch herself. If the call last night was any indication, Jasmine would be the worst partner for someone who had a dangerous job.
Give her an accountant, or maybe an architect, someone who would be more prone to fending off papercuts instead of five alarm fires, and she’d be set.
Pulling out of his driveway, she cast one look back at his cute little house. Part of her wished for something that obviously would never happen.
Once back in her own apartment, Jasmine debated the pros and cons of simply going back to bed until it was time to meet Winter for lunch. Realizing that she needed a shower, she went ahead and started with that while her phone played an 80s mix. The music helping her to not only wake up, but to cheer up as well. Bopping and bouncing around the apartment, Jasmine ran through what was on her agenda for the day.
Yesterday, she had taken care of seeing her parents for the week and had run by the old house to grab some of her mail while she had been in Kansas City, a task that she had normally always done Saturday. That freed up her day quite a bit, allowing Jasmine to be as lazy as she wanted.
Except for laundry. Laundry definitely needed to be done, especially considering that today she was going commando underneath her jean shorts. It wasn’t ideal but she hadn’t been able to find another bikini bottom that still fit. So, a girl had to do what a girl had to do.
Grabbing her overstuffed laundry bag, Jasmine texted Winter seeing that it was finally past nine in the morning. She had learned early on that Winter was the opposite of a morning person. That worked out great for Winter seeing as how she had taken on multiple night jobs while going to school when they lived together, but it also meant that her schedule was usually the exact opposite of Jasmine’s.
Where Jasmine preferred to get up and get everything done so she could sit and relax, Winter liked to sleep until at least nine, normally ten or later, before even getting dressed. She knew that her chipper morning routine drove her former roommate nuts, but it worked out for them as much as it could.
Hey bitch, I’m going to do laundry. Want to meet for breakfast instead of lunch?
Jasmine only had to wait a few seconds for a reply.
Nah, Will didn’t get home until after seven. I’m going to snuggle with him while I can. Can we move lunch to one?
Jasmine ran through her daily checklist, rearranging a few things wouldn’t be hard since it was all errands so that wouldn’t be a problem.
No problem. See you at one.
Jasmine hefted the large canvas laundry sack over her shoulder and made her way carefully down the stairs outside her apartment. The complex had a nice laundry facility, but it also happened to always be crowded so she normally drove her laundry over to one of the bigger laundry mats in Larryville that happened to be right next door to her favorite downtown coffee shop.
Getting three loads started, she walked over to her normal table and grabbed a copy of The Onion to read while she sipped the nectar of life. Luckily for her, the coffee shop didn’t fill up until ten or so on the weekends when the other stores started to open. Checking her watch, she made sure to pay attention to how much time she had left on not only the parking meter, but also the washing machine.
Jasmine finished her second cup of coffee just as her timer went off for her clothes to be switched over. Walking back into the laundromat, she glanced up at the three TVs scattered throughout the area.
“Investigators think that lightning may be to blame for the flames that engulfed the old Fairfax warehouse off Six Street. The building has been vacant for some time, but still housed furniture and fabrics from the previous tenants. Firefighters battled the flames until early this morning. No injuries were reported and the fire was contained to the one building even though neighbors were evacuated as a precaution…”
Jasmine raised her eyebrows at the location of the fire that Leo and Will had been called to the night before. The old warehouse district had been steadily changing from industrial to lofts and shopping the last couple of years. Most of the buildings were simply being renovated into hipster living with exposed brick and easily accessible to shopping. Jasmine’s parents at one point had considered buying up some of the property as an investment considering how high the rent was for students who wanted to live off campus. They had realized that it would have been lucrative, but also a tedious process considering how old some of the properties were.
Jasmine was surprised that other buildings hadn’t been affected by the fire considering that most of the area was closely packed, but luck must have been on their side…something she was grateful for considering she knew almost all of the crew that battled it last night.
Waiting for the dryers to finish up, Jasmine went through the guys that she knew on Will’s crew. Nix, Jack and Justin were a few that always tended to come to get-togethers at Will and Winter’s place, but there were a couple more on the crew that she knew but hadn’t talked to. Winter on the other hand had become close with all of the men that her fiancé worked with. It probably had been hard not to considering that she depended on them to have Will’s back when he was on the job. A few times Winter had suggested setting her up with one of them, but Jasmine had always struck that idea down as quickly as it was brought up.
Thinking of the guys that she had come to know as friends, Jasmine made a mental note to make cookies for the guys at the station later today after she went grocery shopping. A wicked smile crossed her face when she realized it would give her the perfect chance to try out her new cookie cutter that she had bought for Winter’s bachelorette party. Quickly stuffing her dry clothes back into the bag, Jasmine knew she needed to hurry if she wanted to have cookies baked, iced and ready to deliver after she met Winter for lunch.
* * * *
“Are those dicks?” Winter laughed when Jasmine gave her a Tupperware with a few cookies in it.
“Why, yes they are, and I have a couple dozen in this cooler to drop off at the station after we finish eating.” Jasmine smiled wide lifting up a small cooler that she had bought from one of those bag parties everyone seemed to be throwing lately.
“I can’t believe you even put little squiggles of icing for the ball hair,” Winter noted, her voice cracking with humor.
“Hey, I’m all about the presentation.” Jasmine scoffed. “I wish I had more time though so I could put some veins on them. I just didn’t think that they were going to have enough time to dry.”
Winter was shaking her head at Jasmine across the table while tucking the small plastic container into her bag. “I can’t believe you sometimes—”
“Good afternoon ladies, do you know what you want to order or do you need a few minutes?” the waiter asked from beside the table where he had walked up without them paying attention.
“I’m ready—” Jasmine started just as Winter spoke.
“We’re waiting for one more.” Winter looked across the table at Jasmine with an explanation. “Will said he wanted to join us before heading to the station today.”
“Oh, well. Okay.” Jasmine looked at the waiter still present. “Can we get some chips and queso, please?”
“Of course, I’ll keep my eye open for your guests. If you don’t see me and you’re ready to order just flag down Geoff at the bar.” Tilting his head to the side, he gestured to the bartender who was changing the channel on the TV for someone at another table.
“Thanks,” Jasmine said with a smile, already familiar with how The Tinderbox worked on the weekends. It was a great place to eat and famous for their wings, but it was first-come first-serve and very laid back so it was usually always packed with college kids or the working class when they ran their weekend specials.
As he walked away, Jasmine picked up her menu even though she pretty much knew what she was going to order. That was typical Jasmine though, she had her favorites at all her normal hang outs and she rarely deviated from them. There was nothing wrong with being predictable if it meant you always had a plan and that was one thing that Jasmine ran her life by.
A plan.
She had a plan for everything down to what type of flowers she wanted to plant when she finally got her own place.
“That guy was eating you up,” Winter said in a loud whisper from behind her own menu.
Lowering the large folded plastic to look over at her BFF, Jasmine cocked her eyebrow. “Puh-lease. He was not.”
“He totally was…and he’s not bad looking either.” Winter wiggled her eyebrows in a comical leer.
“You’re nuts.” Jasmine raised her menu back up trying to block out the weirdo across from her.
“Am not, oh look! There’s Will.” Winter raised her voice and waved. “Over here, babe.”
Considering the pair was seated at a table behind a large beam in the bar with Jasmine facing away from the door, she didn’t see him walk in. Will leaned over to give Winter a kiss hello before pulling out his own chair at their four-topper.
Glancing up to a now red-faced Winter, Jasmine winked at Will. “You should have Winter show you the cookies I made for her today.”
“And why is that?” Will asked, scooting his chair closer to the table.
“Yeah, why is that?” A deeper voice came from directly behind Jasmine.
A voice that caused Jasmine to sit up straight in her chair as she shot a semi-panicked look at her best friend. A best friend who was now watching Jasmine as if she were a bug under a microscope.
A heavy hand landed softly on her shoulder, his presence unable to be ignored, causing Jasmine to tilt her head back to look up at the man beside her.
“Hey, Leo,” Jasmine whispered. The sound croaked out as if she had smoked a pack a day for the last fifty years.
“Hey.” Tilting her chin back with his fingers underneath her jaw, Leo stared at Jasmine for a split second before leaning down and giving her the same treatment that Will had given Winter just moments before.
“Daaamn,” Winter dragged out softly, her eyes eating up the scene in front of her.
Jasmine could feel her cheeks heat at the attention that Leo was bestowing upon her. Attention that was unexpected but not unwelcome.
Leo continued to look at her. Even after their kiss had ended, his eyes dancing with humor and desire. A mixture that Jasmine had never had directed at her before.
“You weren’t at my house this morning,” Leo pointed out, still not taking the empty seat at the table and instead towering over her.
“I had some stuff to do this morning and didn’t think you would have wanted me to hang around.” Jasmine defended herself, unsure why he was pointing out the obvious.
“Sugar, I hurried home thinking that you were going to be all snuggled up on my bed wearing the T-shirt I gave you. Instead I found the shirt folded up and no note in sight.” Leo gave her another quick peck before sitting down, his expression telling her that she wasn’t off the hook yet.
“Well, I didn’t know it would be an issue….” Jasmine was wading into unfamiliar territory with Leo and wasn’t quite sure what answer he was looking for when he spoke again.
“I’ll let you make it up to me tonight,” Leo said firmly before picking up his menu and unfolding it. “What’s good here?”
Jasmine continued to stare at him with her mouth open for a moment before looking across the table at Winter.
What the hell had just happened?
Jasmine noticed that her friends hadn’t been taken aback by Leo’s kiss or his little speech. That didn’t really surprise her much considering that Will and his band of walking testosterone-filled friends normally were pretty frank in their words and actions. She vividly remembered when Winter had freaked out over Will constantly saying he was going to marry her someday…starting after their first date. The lightning speed at which their relationship developed hadn’t been shocking to anyone except Winter. In fact, it was normal for the guys that Will worked with to go into alpha-mode with their wives or girlfriends. They tended to say and do things that shocked those outside of their circle. Within the group, they didn’t bat an eye when an ass was smacked, or pinched for that matter…with Winter doing the pinching. Not that Jasmine could blame her. Will may be engaged to her best friend but he had a totally pinchable ass.
So, Jasmine wasn’t shocked by what Leo said. No, she was shocked that he said those things to her.
She looked at last night as a failed attempt to hook up.
That’s all it was, right?