Chapter 14: Late Night Visits

Jackie snuggled into the couch, pressing the mute button on the remote. Vince and her had spent the entire night on the couch, watching a marathon of Dirty Jobs. "You wanna do something this weekend? I was thinking we could take a road trip, see another beach," she said, turning towards him. Vince shrugged and glanced back at the television. "I've been spending a lot of time here with you. I was thinking I could spend the weekend with the team. Maybe take Letty out to dinner," he said.

"Cool," was Jackie's response. She shifted back towards the television and un-muted it. Vince watched her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she had bought his excuse. He didn't want her snooping around, but he also didn't want to piss her off. "Not mad?" Because I rather you not be, seeing as tomorrow night I'm going to be hanging off of the side of a big rig. Say the wrong thing and I might not be able to concentrate. Say the wrong thing and I might not make it back. So please, don't be mad. If you really care for me, say the right thing.

"Nope, not at all. Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Vince reached over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Where are we going with this?"

Jackie scrunched her eyebrows together before muting the television once again and facing him. "What do you mean?"

"Is this us just passing the time or are we working towards something?" V said, but what he really meant was why are you not letting me fuck you. Why do we make out and I fake falling asleep on the couch because I know I won't be able to control myself if we end up sleeping in the same bed. Why?

"Just hold on, V."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't give up on me, okay? And I'll do the same for you."

Somehow, it was like both of them understood that there was something missing. Like they both knew that things were going to get rough and that if they were going to make it, they would need to know when to hold on and when to let go.

Vince placed another kiss on her forehead and reached for the control. Jackie slapped his hand away and hit the mute button, leaning into his side. V threw an arm around her side and sighed, realizing that he was just fine like this.

Only if he kept getting it from somewhere else.

---

Vince groaned, slapping his hand down on to his sides. He was pissed off and tired because he couldn't seem to shut his mind down. He was still wired from the heists and he knew that he wouldn't be able to sit still long enough to fall asleep. He glanced down to his arm and the scar that twisted itself around it, a faint reminder of what once was and what still is- his past and his present. V traced the scar and sighed, feeling that lump in the back of his throat. Feeling that regret and anger start to make its way up to the surface. Another faint reminder.

He reached out and pulled the blanket that was currently covering him off and sat up in bed. After stretching out his neck, he stood up and began to move around the room. V swiftly slipped into a pair of jeans he found lying in a corner and threw on the first tank top he found.

He already knew where he was going and it didn't matter what he looked like or what he was wearing.

He was heading to Lou's. And that's all that mattered.

---

Lou groaned, shifting Vince's car into park and then reaching over and turning it off. He glanced over to V who was slumped over in the passenger side seat. He sighed and climbed out of the car, walking around it to help V out of the car.

The older man helped Vince up the stairs and hesitated knocking on the apartment door. Lou knew very well that Vince didn't live in this neighborhood and he also knew that the person in this apartment had to be the one.

The one he couldn't stop talking about at the bar. The one that V was trying to hide his fears from. The one he was trying to forget about when he entered the bar. He glanced down at his watch and sighed. It was 4 o'clock in the morning and he was in need of some sleep. Lou decided to knock on the door before it got any later and before his wife, who was waiting at the curb in her for him, got pissed off and left him there.

In a strange neighborhood. In front of a stranger's door. At 4 o'clock in the morning. With a drunk man hanging on to him for dear life.

They stood in front of the door for a few minutes, before V got impatient and began to kick the bottom of the door. Lou shoved him aside and cursed under his breath, as he heard footsteps making their way towards the door. The door opened and in front of him stood a female he considered to be extraordinarily beautiful.

Even with the sleep in her eyes and the hair matted on to the side of her face, he could see why Vince was drinking the way he was. He could see why she had him head over heels. As she stared at both of the men on her doorstep, he could see why they were meant to be.

As Jackie drank in Lou and V standing there, her facial expressions changed from defensive to worried. She questioned why Lou was standing there and then when her eyes landed on V and the condition he was currently in, she began to worry.

Before Lou could open his mouth to introduce himself, V lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Jackie, kissing her aggressively. They parted and Vince disappeared inside the house, leaving Lou and Jackie staring at each other awkwardly. He cleared his throat and stretched out a hand. "I'm Lou. V's a good friend of the family," he said.

J placed her hand in his and instantly fell at ease. There was something about this man that reminded her of V. Maybe it was the calluses on his hands or the intense eyes that were staring back at her, but there was something, alright. "I'm Jackie and by the looks of it, you were Vince's ride," she replied.

Lou laughed and reached into his pocket, digging out the car keys. "Yeah. Well it was nice meeting you. I wish I could stay but I have my wife downstairs waiting for me and according to her the only waiting she likes to do is for me to die." Jackie chuckled and nodded, waving him off.

She shut the door in the presence of Lou's retreating back and turned around to find V standing behind her, an enormous sandwich in his hands. She watched as V sat on the edge of the couch and began to devour it.

"You bought food," V said, a piece of lettuce hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, you eat a lot," she said, placing the locks back on the door.

As she finished locking back up, she heard a loud burp ring out through the room. She took that as V being finished with his early morning snack. She yawned and started to head towards the bedroom. "Come to bed, V. It's pretty early in the morning and you need to sober up if you're gonna make it to work on time," she said.

She dragged her hands against the wall as she made her way down towards the bedroom. Even though the house was silent, she could feel his presence following her down the hall. She could feel his eyes burning a hole into her lower back. Where he loved to place his hands. Where his fingers loved to graze her. As she entered the bedroom, she turned around and saw him heading towards her, pulling off his shirt.

It seemed like something out of a movie. The room was dark, warm and felt like home. She was barely dressed and he was making his way towards her. Jeans slung low on his hips, his eyes dreamy. Vince slid up to Jackie and wrapped his strong arms around her waist, digging his face into her neck, inhaling her scent. She lost her fingers in his hair, tugging softly at the roots, just how he liked it. It relaxed him. Calmed him down, brought him down from wherever he had lost his thoughts at.

She couldn't help but lift her face up and run her tongue across his bottom lip. V got the hint and kissed her, relishing how soft and warm her mouth was. Before he knew it, his hands were sliding underneath the hem of her shorts, pushing aside her panties and reaching for her opening.

Jackie moaned as she felt Vince's thick fingers entering her. She felt her legs start to shake as he moved them in and out, his thumb massaging her clit. Vince pushed her back into the bed and climbed on top of her, entwining his hands in her hand and kissing her roughly. Jackie moaned but it wasn't one of her usual moans. It was a cross between pleasure and pain. The fact that V was pleasuring her distracted her from the fact that he was being forceful with her.

She could feel her bottom lip getting raw as he dragged his teeth across it as he kissed her. She squirmed as his body weight pinned her down and made it difficult for her to breath. Nonetheless, she was enjoying it, even if in the back of her mind she had that residual doubt of what people had warned her about him.

Her body went cold, as V pulled away from her and began to shed his jeans. Jackie sat up in bed and watched as he pulled his pants off, her eyes landing on the bulge between his legs. She could clearly see where this was going.

V was drunk. V wanted sex.

Just how everyone had told her.

She stared up at him, they eyes interlocking and holding on to each other. Vince moved his hands down to his crotch and motioned for her to reach out and touch him. Even through his underwear, she could see how big he was.

How needy he was.

How ready she wasn't.

She shook her head softly and arranged her clothes, rushing to get onto her side of the bed and underneath the covers, where he couldn't see how vulnerable she was. Unlike her close friends and family, V hadn't met the vulnerable side of her. He didn't know how scared of the world she was, underneath her strong façade.

Once again, Vince sighed, dropping his hands down onto his sides and giving up on yet another thing. He walked over to the corner of the room and flopped down into a fluffy chair, that was usually exploding with clothes but tonight it seemed to be inviting him. He kicked his feet up and stared off into the ceiling, feeling J's eyes on him.

Vince knew what it looked like to her. That he was getting frustrated because she wouldn't give it up to him. That he was asshole. That all those other people were right.

But they were wrong.

Vince found himself pondering his very existence. That because of Dom's insecurities and their after-school activities, he forced him to chase after Jackie. And now he had fallen for her, hard. He realized it the moment the thoughts of fucking her came into his mind. It was how he shielded himself from all the other girls. Fuck 'em and leave 'em. But Jackie wouldn't do the first, so he couldn't do the second.

It was the usual for V. Not once had a girl wanted more than that. Not once had he actually wanted a real relationship, and yet here they were. He wanted her to be his, both physically and emotionally, and she wouldn't give in- just yet.

He threw his head back into chair and sighed softly, realizing that this was it. Jackie was the one. He couldn't fathom a day without speaking to her, a night with sleeping next to her, a minute without thinking about what she was doing. And yet their relationship was based on a lie. Their relationship was based on lies, betrayal and hate.

They had no relationship.

And even though V knew getting into the relationship what was going to happen, he couldn't help himself. He couldn't help falling for her. And this worried him, because eventually the truth would come out. And instead of setting him free, it would damn him. To an eternity without her.

He focused on an old water stain in the ceiling, thinking about what had just transpired in the last couple of hours. He thought about the heists, Jackie and the fact that this was all he had. Letty was leaving soon and eventually he would be his own worst enemy. She was the one that rounded him off, she was the one that kept him grounded and even though he had fallen for Jackie, she didn't know it all.

Not like Letty, his Letty. He didn't need to explain himself or his actions, she just understood. She understood all the nightmares and the anger- she understood him. That's what kept their relationship together, the fact that they understood each other. The fact that even if no words were said, they understood each other with just one look.

Jackie drew in a deep breath and climbed out of the bed, making her way towards him. She walked over quietly, like as if breaking the silence that enveloped the room would break his concentration. V glanced over to her as she slid up to him. He moved his arm, allowing her to sit down on his lap.

Jackie brought her knees up and placed her head on them, staring at Vince. He sighed softly and turned towards her, locking in her stare. "I'm sorry. I just have a lot of things in my head right now," he whispered. Like the fact that I'm lying to you. Like the fact that I'm losing sleep over the heists. She offered him a small smile and continued to drink him in.

"I wish I had my guitar. Something to relax me," he whispered, reaching out and pushing back some of the hair that had fallen onto her face. "But you have me, Vince. You have me," she replied, leaning over and placing her head on his chest. She inhaled deeply and committed his scent to memory. Coronas, car grease, sweat and whatever bar of soap he grabbed in the shower earlier today.

V placed his head on top of hers, smiling softly as he ran his fingers through her silky, soft hair.

What have I gotten myself into?