Friends. That was not the label I wanted. Lupo seemed happy about it but I was less than thrilled. We had been sleeping together for the past month and a half and she just called me a friend. Sure, Jo called it quits (or tried to, many times) on the whole sleeping together thing, but still. Friends. It was a rare occasion when a woman labeled me as just a friend. Honestly it didn't matter much to me one way or the other, but with Jo Lupo, well, considering our history (or non-history now) being friends was the last thing I wanted.
"Zane, are you ok?" Jo's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up from the data pad, giving her a smile.
"Sorry, mind wandering," I mumbled as she gave me a questioning look.
"Maybe we should call it a night then? Besides, it looks like Vince is closing up soon," she mentioned, looking around. As I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that we were two of only a handful of people left in Café Diem.
"Yeah, maybe. My place or yours?" the question was out of my mouth before I could think better of it. I had slipped into the habit of asking that the last month or so anytime Jo and I were leaving somewhere. I winced at the pained expression on her face that appeared for only a second before she had that damn calm mask on.
"Neither Zane, remember just friends right now," she mumbled, gathering her stuff.
"Right, but you know, old habits," I smirked, turning it into a joke as I was prone to do. She sighed and shook her head at me, but I caught the slight smile which made me grin. So she really did think I was funny. Sweet, point for me. We were silent as we walked out of the diner, heading for where my bike was. Carter had borrowed Jo's car for now, seeing as his was in orbit. I had graciously offered Jo a ride, which she grudgingly accepted. As we walked, Jo's words played over in my head…friends right now. Right now implied not forever, which meant I could probably get her to go out with me again, or sleep with me, really either one worked in my favor.
"What are you grinning about?" Jo asked, gaining my attention.
"Nothing babe," I answered automatically, smirking as she gave me a skeptical look.
"Don't call me babe," she grumbled before we got on the bike and I headed for S.A.R.A.H. Maybe I shouldn't have offered the ride to Jo. My habit of taking turns and sharp curves too fast had Jo clinging to me the whole way, her body pressed again my back, arms wrapped around me, hands clutching fistfuls of my shirt. By the time we got to the smart house I was ready to just drag Jo up to her room and have my way with her, regardless if we passed Carter on the way or not. Of course, reality wasn't kind and as soon as I stopped, Jo was off the bike, pulling off her helmet.
"Thanks for the ride Zane," she said once I cut the engine and I could hear her.
"Any time Jo," I told her, smiling. She stood there a minute, looking like she wanted to say something else and I waited patiently (which is not a normal thing for me). She fidgeted for a minute before taking a deep breath and looking at me.
"And thanks for helping me out at the Café. It's probably pointless, but you know," she shrugged, smiling slightly. I frowned at that. We had talked about how even if I couldn't go on the mission to Titan because of my record that she could. Jo had mentioned she wasn't smart enough which was bullshit in my opinion. She was plenty smart, she just needed to learn the science to qualify. That little discussion turned into four hours of physics tutoring at Café Diem. Jo took a little longer to catch on, but she did.
"Jo, don't do that," I said, getting off my bike and setting on the stand so it wouldn't fall over.
"Do what?" she asked, as if she didn't have a clue.
"Don't put yourself down like that. We both know you're plenty smart for this. You just spent four hours at Café Diem learning this stuff. Don't say it's pointless," I argued, invading her personal space. At my angry tone she tensed, an annoyed expression settling on her face. If there was one thing Jo and I were good at (besides sex) it was fighting with one another.
"Zane, get it through your head, I know I'm smart, but I'm not smart enough to go to space. Thanks for being encouraging, which is a nice change from snarky, but there are plenty of other people in this town who are better qualified than me." With that said she turned away from me, heading for the door. Before she got too far away I grabbed her arm, pulling her back to me.
"Zane," she said with a warning tone.
"Jojo, is there another reason you don't want to try out for the mission? Everyone else is psyched about it and you and I both know you could learn all the science stuff in a week if you wanted to. I can't think of any other reason why you couldn't qualify," I mumbled, trying to read her expression. She ducked her head down, choosing to stare at the ground than look at me. She took a few deep breaths before leaning forward, resting her head against my shoulder. Without really thinking about it, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer.
"I would worry about everyone else. This timeline is still hard sometimes. There are still surprises…not to mention the regular disasters that happen normally. What if something else happens like today where everyone else freezes up? If I'm gone then Carter's sunk," she admitted, her words muffled and barely intelligible.
"I'm sure the town could survive a few months without you Jojo, I mean seriously, going to space is so much cooler," I tried joking. That actually managed to get her to laugh a little.
"I'm not so sure the town would survive and poor Carter. The only 'normal' person in this crazy place," she snickered. Yeah, poor Sheriff. I would probably make his life hell without Jo to keep me in line…or to distract me. Jo backed away from me suddenly, out of my arms and gave me a small smile.
"It's getting late. Good night Zane," she said. Before she got too far away I grabbed Jo and before she could ask what the hell I wanted this time I pressed me lips to hers. It certainly wasn't our most intimate kiss, but it was just as heated as all the others we had shared since I burnt down her house. She may want to be friends right now, but I don't think I had the patience to wait for her to come around and want to be more like I did. I would just have to be sneaky about getting what I wanted and what I wanted was Jo Lupo. I only broke the kiss when I desperately needed air, and even then I didn't back away, just pressed my forehead against hers, watching those beautiful hazel eyes of hers. She didn't look angry at me for kissing her but instead she seemed just as turned on as me. Of course, if I pushed this further she'd get pissed and probably stop talking to me altogether which is the opposite of what I wanted. So making a quick decision I backed away towards my bike, never looking away from her.
"Good night Jojo. See you tomorrow," I said before getting on my bike and heading home, thinking about Jo the entire ride.
A/N: I haven't had many ideas lately but i just had to write this little bit continuing "Up in the Air"