Chapter 10
“I’m glad we got some rain last night,” Jasmine drawled, unsure what to say now that she was alone with Leo in his truck.
“Are we really going to chit chat about the weather?” Leo’s deep voice rumbled as he turned the steering wheel to head north.
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to catch 6th Street—”
“Yeah, but we are going to stop by the station first so you can drop off your cookies.” Leo looked over at her where she sat clutching the small cooler she had with her at the restaurant.
“I can do it tonight before I head home. No big deal.” Jasmine patted the floral printed canvas bag as if it were a pet.
“I figured you would stay at my place tonight,” Leo added, causing Jasmine’s heart to accelerate at the implications.
“Really?” Jasmine looked toward the window and closed her eyes in annoyance when her voice squeaked out that one word.
“Yeah, really.” Leo reached over and let his warm hand settle on her bare thigh. “I had planned on having you in my bed this morning and since that didn’t happen I figured you could make it up to me tonight.”
Jasmine was silent for a moment, her brain trying to figure out a way to say yes without sounding too eager. Eventually she settled on a response and said calmly, “I guess I can.”
“Do you go to church? I can take you tomorrow morning if that’s something you’re into.”
Jasmine wanted to laugh at the fact that he was mentioning church while his fingers traced lazy figure eights on her thigh and she was imagining him naked, but her mouth had run dry at the start of this conversation. The thought was still very sweet of him though, especially since it sounded like he didn’t attend church.
“I haven’t been to church in years,” Jasmine started only to stop when his gaze quickly met hers before going back to the road. “I remember Janet always had Sunday off so she could attend services. Did you go with her?”
“Nah, that was something Mom really enjoyed but I couldn’t get into it,” Leo admitted. “It always made me angry when I would hear them saying one thing but doing another. Mom loved everything about church, but most the people around her were hypocrites and she didn’t notice it.”
“Hypocrites?” Jasmine had heard the slight bitterness in Leo’s voice at his words and was wondering if there was something personal he had dealt with.
“Yeah, the pastor that Mom spoke so highly of was not only cheating on his wife but he also made moves on one of the girls that volunteered for the youth group. He was kind of pushy and she came to me for help before it got out of hand.” Leo rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Remember when I dated Dannie for a couple months our senior year?” He waited for her to nod before continuing, “We only went out a couple times, but it was so she could get him off her back. We were friends more than anything. I also went to a service with her and let him know that I was aware of what he was up to and I didn’t appreciate it.”
“Well…shit,” Jasmine whispered remembering the pretty girl he was talking about.
“Not long after that he transferred to another church down south. I have a feeling his wife found out he was stepping out.” Leo’s voice was full of disgust at the memories.
“I guess that would sour somebody on the whole church experience, huh?”
“I believe there is a higher power than me. I just don’t need a hypocrite preaching it to me…especially when they can’t keep it in their own damn pants.” Leo’s voice was matter of fact as he laid out his views.
“I agree with you there.” Jasmine nodded. “I don’t think I’ve been to church in years. We used to go for the big holidays like Easter and Christmas. You know, those big events that everyone expects you to attend? That lasted until my parents got busier at the hospital and then it was as if it never happened. Sunday became the day that they could get errands taken care of or catch up on patient files.”
“I don’t think there is a time when I remember your parents not working.” Leo pulled into the fire station parking lot and parked near the front. “I’m sorry—”
“No, you don’t need to apologize,” Jasmine said quickly. “My parents are the definition of workaholics. You witnessed that for yourself when we were younger and it’s pretty much never changed.”
Leo jogged around the front of the truck to help her out. With the high step, she passed down the cooler before climbing down. As he held her hand to steady her as she stepped off the running boards, he squeezed her fingers. “Regardless, you turned out really well for someone who had absentee parents for most of their childhood.”
Jasmine felt her face heat in the wake of the compliment. “Thanks, I could say the same for you considering how much Janet worked while you were little.”
Leo nodded. His dimple popped into place as he smiled. “Mom was amazing. I was lucky to have her, and, now when I look back at those years, I am happy that you were the one I was sharing her with.”
Jasmine swallowed hard as the words warmed her heart from the inside out. “Thanks?”
Leo held her hand snugly in his own as they walked into the station to deliver her cookies.
“Hey, man!” Justin popped his head out of the kitchen area to see who had entered the building. “I didn’t think you would be in until tomorrow considering the call last night.”
Leo nodded to his friend and coworker. “We are just stopping by so my lady can drop off some cookies.”
When Justin looked behind Leo to see if there was another female present it almost made Jasmine laugh. She couldn’t stop the smile that took over her face when his eyes fell to their linked hands, his expression finally showing that he had caught on to what Leo was implying.
“You and Jazz?” Justin asked with his brows raised.
“Yeah, you got a problem with that?” Leo’s voice had a slight edge to it at the question.
“Nah, man…you might want to fill Nix in though.” Justin raised his hands in peace, one of them holding a forgotten loaf of bread.
“That’s what I came to do.”
At Leo’s words, Jasmine realized why he had been so set on bringing her by with the cookies. Apparently, this was his chance to mark his territory. Jasmine would have normally been a bit pissy at the thought of a man peeing in a circle around her, but when it came to Leo things were a little different. She wasn’t quite sure when they had become a thing, but she wasn’t going to worry too much on that right now. The fact that she was interested in a man who was obviously interested in her was such a change from her normal routine that Jasmine wanted to just absorb the excitement for once instead of second guessing herself. Plus, Leo had a way about him that made it hard for her to say no….and right now she wasn’t even close to saying anything remotely close to no.
His alpha tendencies turned her on instead of doing the opposite. He made her feel as if he could pick her up and take charge in almost any situation, and that wasn’t something she was used to. Normally, she was surrounded by men who asked before they held your hand, which was nice it its own way but that wasn’t what Jasmine wanted.
No, she wanted a man who would kiss her when he felt like it, grab her ass like he couldn’t help himself and lay his claim like only he could.
“Good luck man, I think Nix had some high hopes tacked onto that little lady.” Justin nodded his head toward Jasmine as if she didn’t have a mind of her own.
“I highly doubt that considering he hasn’t said more than ten words to me in the entire time I’ve known him,” Jasmine butted in, her patience wearing thin the longer they stood chatting about her as if she weren’t there.
Leo pulled her away, obviously catching on to the change in her voice. “Sugar, there isn’t a whole lot a man has to say when he knows what he wants. I have a feeling Nix finally dragged his head out of his ass after last night and realized he had overlooked a gem right under his nose.”
“Pfft.” Jasmine blew out a raspberry, completely unconcerned with the entire situation. “I have some cookies to deliver; where are the rest of the guys?”
Leo held her hand firmly as he pulled her farther into the station. “I bet the guys are back in the rec room shooting the shit.”
Having no choice except to follow Leo or lose an arm, Jasmine allowed herself to be tugged behind him at a leisurely pace.
At the doorway to the rec room, Leo paused for a moment taking in the view in front of him. Most of the guys were on a large leather sectional while a few of the men were taking advantage of the weight machines in the corner of the large space.
“Hey, Leo,” Al greeted Leo as they walked into the room, not catching sight of Jasmine until she cleared the doorway. “Jazz!”
At his words, almost all action stopped in the room for the men to yell out greetings.
“What brings you by, man?” Al stood up to give Jazz a quick fatherly hug. “Your next shift isn’t until Tuesday.”
“I know but Jazz made some cookies that she wanted to drop off so I thought we would stop by on the way to my place.” Leo’s words rang through the large space, his meaning obvious.
A couple of the men nodded at Leo as if giving him the proverbial high five, while others simply raised their eyebrows in question.
“Cookies?” The men crowded around Al after Jasmine handed off the cooler.
“These were the practice run for Winter’s bachelorette party,” Jasmine warned, trying not to laugh when the men got a look at what the container held.
“Those are dicks, man,” Al observed, looking at Leo, as if he had anything to do with it.
“Not my doing, Al.” Leo held up his hands with a laugh.
“I don’t know if I can eat a dick,” one man said before another laughed and volleyed back, “You do it all the time!”
Jasmine tried to control her giggles when Al picked it up and sniffed it as if it would smell different from a regular sugar cookie. “They are just shaped like a penis, not scented like one.”
“Ohhh man, Jazz is feisty today,” one of the guys teased before biting into the offering. “These are pretty good. Just close your eyes and take a bite, Al.”
Al did indeed close his eyes to eat the cookie and managed it in only three bites. As he chomped and chewed, the men around him watched.
“Fuck it, I’m not going to let cookies go uneaten,” Russo declared as he reached in and grabbed two of the treats.
After Russo caved, most of the guys dug into the cooler. A couple of them laughed over the detail that Jasmine had fussed over when icing them.
Jasmine was getting ready to ask if they tasted okay just as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out she noticed the caller was her mom. Not wanting to be rude, Jasmine held up the phone and turned to Leo. “I’m going to step outside for a minute to take this.”
Leo nodded. “Everything ok?”
“Yeah, she’s probably just calling to ask if I’m coming to visit this weekend or not.” Jasmine hit the button to answer the call as she cleared the doorway to the hall.
“Mother, give me a second so I can find someplace quiet.” Jasmine walked out the front of the station and sat down on the bench that one of the guys had built at the beginning of the summer. “What are you up to?”
“I was wanting to know if we should expect you for dinner tonight?” Victoria Kingsford’s voice came over the phone loud and clear despite the small amount of traffic driving in front of the station.
“I was just planning to stay in Larryville tonight since I drove in yesterday for the ceremony. Is that okay?” Jasmine asked out of politeness since she had absolutely no plan to drive almost two hours just so she could sit at a cold dinner table with her parents.
“Of course, dear,” her mom replied, sounding as if she didn’t care one way or the other. “By the way, your father wanted me to let you know that he would like your input on your graduation present.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes, annoyed that this conversation had come around again. “Can you please help him understand that I don’t need a new car right now?”
“Jasmine Jane, your father wants to reward your hard work with a car that is fit for a Kingsford and you are sounding extremely ungrateful. There are people out there who would love to have what your father is trying to give you.”
Jasmine took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. “I know that I sound like a brat and that is the last thing I want. Of course I am grateful for you guys. I appreciate every single thing that you and dad have done for me. It’s just that my car is fine and it has great gas mileage. I don’t want to have to change all my insurance stuff and I don’t even want to go into how much car tags would run me for what Dad is wanting to buy.”
“We could cover all of that for you,” her mom argued.
“I know that you hate that I drive an older car but it seriously does its job perfectly for me. I don’t want to worry about an expensive car being parked at my apartment. The students who live around me don’t care if they ding doors and last summer there was a bunch of break-ins. My little car is perfect for where I live and what I need. If Dad is really set on getting me a gift then maybe instead of a car we could talk about an account for a down payment on a little house here.”
Jasmine stayed silent while her words were processed by her mom. She was over the moon that her parents wanted to give her a seventy-five-thousand-dollar car; she just wanted the money to be put toward something that she needed instead of something flashy that would probably have a window smashed within two months.
“Fine. I’ll talk to him and we can go over a couple properties that might work—”
“In Larryville,” Jasmine interrupted.
“Jasmine,” her mother protested.
“Mother, I want to stay here in Larryville,” Jasmine reiterated, her voice firm. “I love it here. It’s big enough that I have everything I need, but small enough that I don’t have to worry about the problems of living in the city. I love Kansas City, but there are things I don’t like and Larryville is close enough for me to drive in for the things that I need that we don’t have here.”
“We can discuss this later,” her mother said swiftly, most likely wanting to hold off on this particular conversation until Jasmine’s father could back her up. “I will let you get back to whatever you were doing. Just give me a call tomorrow sometime and we can plan dinner for some time next week.”
Jasmine rubbed the bridge of her nose, already knowing that the dinner her mom was suggesting was probably going to be a blitz attack on her and what she wanted. “Okay, Mother. Have a good day and I’ll call you later.”
Just as she was getting ready to say, “I love you,” Jasmine heard the click indicating her mother had already hung up on her end.
“Cocksucker motherfucker,” Jasmine grumbled using one of her favorite phrases from one of her favorite people.
“Excuse me?” Nix’s voice came from behind her.
Turning to look at him, Jasmine was quiet for a moment as she studied him. Phoenix “Nix” Jones was built like a Viking but had a more polished edge to him. Jasmine hadn’t necessarily talked to him very much, mostly because his presence always put her on edge.
She would be lying if she said she wasn’t attracted to him but that wasn’t what made her wary of him. No, Nix had a commanding way about him that she knew she couldn’t handle when it came right down to it. The best way to explain it was that Nix not only gave off the alpha vibe but his presence screamed dominant to the core.
And if there was one thing that Jasmine knew, it was that she was nowhere near submissive enough to even try to take on a man like Nix.
“Hi, Nix.” Jasmine licked her lips, noting that he watched the action as if he were memorizing every second of it. “Do you mind if we talk for a minute?”