AN - Part 4...which is very short but whatever. xD

Enjooooooooooy!


The breeze blew through the open windows of the car as they bustled down a back road. She was rather surprised to have only passed by a few cars. They were steadily moving to the coast, and then planned on heading down along it as they returned to Angel Grove.

The road and the breeze and the beautiful day, however, were the last thing on her mind.

At a solid five-foot-eight-and-three-fourths-inches-that-might-as-well-be-nine, Jess was taller than average. The car was small for her own long frame, but she'd never complain about it again after today.

Watching Del try and pile himself inside had had her stifling laughter and cringing sympathetically. At a good six inches taller than herself, with the added weight on his frame to match, it had been a challenge to get him inside and the door shut. When all was said and done, Lily stood with a polite hand covering her mouth, Theo had averted him eyes, RJ was chuckling, and Casey and Dom were hanging on one another, howling with laughter, and she leaned against the now-closed door with relief. The seat was pushed all the way back, one leg was half bent and yet rested against the front, and the other was pressed against the dash. They'd managed to stuff their bags—but, really, Del only had one duffel bag, and her pack—into the trunk.

She rounded the car, saying her goodbyes, and then slid into her own seat. RJ came forward, his crew right behind him, and he smiled at Del, "You'd better watch her, Del."

"Of course," The man grinned back, and then RJ focused on Jess, "And you'd better take good care of him, Jess."

"Part of the job description," She smiled slightly, giving him a lazy salute, "We'll see you soon, RJ. I'm sure we'll need help eventually." She looked to the other four, "Lily, Theo, Dom, Casey…keep him outta trouble, yeah?"

"Of course!" Casey grinned, waving, "Be careful!"

She nodded, waving as she pulled away. It had been a fairly easy trip, lacking traffic, and even though she was directionally challenged, her traveling partner seemed to be pretty handy with a map.

"Take this next right," He told her from where he lounged in the passenger's seat.

She jumped slightly, but hummed her consent and turned her signal on.

She hadn't been paying attention because, quite frankly, the man was distracting. His huge form was one reason, every time she went to shift a gear her long arm brushed against his hot, muscular one. Glancing anywhere remotely to the right brought some part of him into her line of vision. But even beyond that, she cloud hear his breathing, hear him hum a tune on occasion, feel his very presence as a calm, enveloping thing.

She was starting to feel like she needed a pair of blinders.

His hand rose, a big, tanned thing, with a multitude of small, pink scars, and he caressed the things hanging from her rear view mirror with the gentlest of touches. She glanced over, eyes momentarily locked there, until she forced them back to the road.

"Your high school tassel," He commented needlessly, and she gave a curt nod. When a deep, and dare she think, sexy, chuckle rumbled from his chest, she glanced at him, "What?"

"Black, fuzzy handcuffs?" He asked, a grin on his face, and she felt her face heat just enough to tinge her cheeks pink, "…yeah. My friend got them for me. And put them there, actually."

"Any reason for that?" He teased, and she felt her brows furrow before she understood what he meant, then blurted, "No. It was a joke."

"Sure, sure," He murmured, and then they fell into silence once again.

The feeling hit her again, the one of knowing so completely that she was in over her head, that she was drowning, and that there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. Unlike when they were sparring, she no longer felt uncomfortable, and was now simply curious. It wasn't too outlandish to think he had something about him was naturally able to put others at ease, and she actually expected it.

"Take this right too," He said, and then continued humming his tune.

She didn't notice herself humming along with it, and certainly missed the smile it caused on his face.