Sipping on his beer, Jimmy leant against the counter in Ceceilia's kitchen, his thighs pressing against the wood as he looked to Cecelia. She was stood next to him, stirring the tomato sauce as the pasta boiled in a pan next to it. Jimmy had to admit it smelt amazing. It had been a while since he had been given a home cooked meal. He often went to Chuck's, but ever since him and Rebecca had been arguing, Jimmy had given his brother space.

"I can't believe him," Jimmy said, still seething about Martin and the way he had treated Cecelia. "So he cheats on you and then gets her knocked up after a year? He's got some nerve."

"I know," Cecelia muttered her agreement with him. "But that is Martin, isn't it? He's that kind of man. I should have known before I married him."

"No," Jimmy said, sipping on his beer once more. "You weren't to know, Cecelia. People change."

"And sometimes not for the better," Cecelia commented and picked up the grated carrot, pouring it into the sauce and stirring it once more. "Can you pass me my wine?"

Jimmy reached behind him for her glass, picking it up and passing it over to her. She sipped on it and held it in her fingertips, her eyes set on the pan as she felt Jimmy move a hand down her back, his palm resting on it as she leant back slightly, her head going to rest on his shoulder.

"You're going to be fine without him," Jimmy promised her in a whisper. "You're going to be better than fine, Cecelia. You don't need him."

"I know," Cecelia responded. "I just always assumed that I was going to be the one having his child. I hadn't thought of it before, but it was in the back of my mind, you know? Like, you think eventually that you might be ready for children."

"I know," Jimmy said. "I always assumed I might have children by now."

Cecelia turned to look at him as he went back to sipping his beer, a shrug leaving his shoulders. "I get it," he promised her. "When I found out that my wife had cheated on me with Chet, I was devastated."

Cecelia knew that Jimmy had been married before. He had told her that. He had even told her what happened when he found Chet parked in a car park one day. She was amazed that he hadn't ended up in jail. However, she suspected that was the benefit of having Chuck for a brother.

"Sorry," Cecelia said in a soft tone. "I don't mean to go on about Martin. I know you were hurt too."

Jimmy shrugged. "It was a long time ago," he told her with a wave of his hand. "A lot has changed since then."

"Yeah," Cecelia said, a teasing tone to her voice as she spoke. "Slippin' Jimmy is no longer a thing."

"Hey, I tell you these things in confidence that you won't mock me," Jimmy pointed out as Cecelia went back to sipping on her wine. She stirred the pasta for a moment before she saw the pasta sauce begin to boil and spit.

"Well, you shouldn't tell me these things when you're drunk," Cecelia said. "And can you stir the sauce while I do the pasta?"

Jimmy moved then, taking one final swig of his beer before placing it down and reaching for the wooden spoon in the sauce. He stirred it slowly as Cecelia picked up a bit of pasta on the spoon, moving it towards her mouth as she took a bite, making sure that it was cooked. She placed a hand over her mouth, gasping at the heat of the pasta.

"A few more minutes," she commented. "I hate al dente pasta."

"Hey, you're the boss," Jimmy said to her, his hands held up in defeat as he glanced over to her, his lips quirked upwards at the sight of her. He never tired of looking at her. There was something about Cecelia that he couldn't put his finger on. "I'm just grateful that I'm getting a home cooked meal."

"Well, we can't live on take out all the time," she said. "I've already put on three pounds in the past two weeks."

"I can't tell," Jimmy said to her.

"Of course you can't." Cecelia responded. "I barely give you a chance to see me naked."

"I don't think that's accurate," Jimmy responded as Cecelia continued to prod at the pasta and he nudged his shoulder against hers. "I distinctly remember you coming to my office the other night and stripping as soon as you were in the door."

"Yeah, well," Cecelia said, trying to act nonchalant. "Anyway, the pasta should be done. I'll drain it if you want to take the sauce off the heat and take out the garlic bread from the oven?"

"Yes, boss," Jimmy mumbled, doing exactly as Cecelia had asked of him.

He went about turning the oven and the hob off. He grabbed the garlic bread with the oven mitts, sliding it onto the plate she had placed on the side. She finished draining the pasta and then dished it into two bowls before pouring the sauce over it, steam coming from the top.

"Smells delicious," Jimmy informed her.

"I only hope it tastes it," Cecelia responded as she carried the two bowls into the living room. She set them down on the coffee table before sitting down on the edge of her sofa, grabbing the cutlery she had laid out before picking her bowl up.

Jimmy followed suit, settling into the plush leather sofa and leaning back, tucking into his food as Cecelia did the same.

"Your wife was an idiot," Cecelia finally spoke, her voice low and the words rushed as she said them. Looking over to her, Jimmy saw her curl herself into a ball on the other end of the sofa, her bowl resting just on her kneecaps as she ate.

"Sorry," Cecelia said in a whisper. "I know that you probably don't want to think about her, let alone talk about her."

Jimmy shook his head. "It's fine," he mumbled.

"No, it's not," Cecelia said. "It's not fine because she was an absolute idiot to cheat on you with an idiot. Why would she do that? You…you're kind…charming…you always put me before yourself…"

"No," Jimmy said with a shake of his head, placing his bowl on the coffee table. "Cecelia, I wasn't…I was a different person back then. I did things that I wasn't proud of. I did things that I would never do now. You…you know the better version of me. Well, I like to think that I'm the better version of me. I don't honestly know."

Cecelia placed her bowl down then, sliding to rest on her knees as she placed her hands in her lap. "But I still can't imagine you ever treating someone the way Martin treated me."

"Yeah, well maybe not," Jimmy shrugged. "But I was an idiot sometimes. I mean, you know how I ended up here. You know what I did to Chet…yes…I hated the guy and I wanted to make him pay, but I shouldn't have done that."

"Perhaps not," Cecelia agreed with him. "But why do you do this to yourself? Constantly feel the need to belittle yourself?"

Jimmy chuckled darkly and peered down to his lap once more, his shoulders shrugging. "Because that's the truth," he informed her. "The truth is that I'm not all I'm cracked up to be. I'm…I'm a screw up and my ex-wife was right."

"No, she wasn't," Cecelia responded. "You've changed things around."

"Maybe I've changed them slightly," he agreed, "but there's still more that I could be doing. I need to find a real place to live. I need to find more clients."

"And you will," Cecelia said, moving to rest a hand on his arm. "I know that you will."

Jimmy offered her a wavering smile before he felt her move closer to him and kiss him softly. Jimmy savoured the feeling for a few brief moments before he reached for her, hauling her closer to him until he finally had her straddling his lap. He pulled back after a second and reached for the zip of her dress, tugging it down.

"Good job we didn't eat the garlic bread," Jimmy mumbled as he pulled her dress down to her waist. "Or this could be quite the smelly make out."

Cecelia laughed at what he said, completely forgetting about dinner.

…

Sitting on the floor, Cecelia panted for breath as she tugged Jimmy's shirt onto her body and he pulled his boxers back onto his legs. She fastened up the buttons and leant against the sofa, her legs stretched in front of her as she bent her upper body towards her legs, stretching her muscles.

"I think that we might need to warm the dinner up," she mumbled as Jimmy bent down to kiss her neck.

"I don't think I've worked up enough of an appetite," Jimmy informed her and she let a laugh escape her lips once more.

"Well, you're going to have to wait for a while because I cannot go again," she declared, patting him on the chest before letting her head rest back on the sofa and Jimmy watched her make the movement. He took another moment to let his eyes roam over her, wondering if he would ever tire of watching her.

"Your stamina not what it used to be, huh?" he taunted her.

"Oh, really?" she wondered from him. "Weren't you the one complaining of cramp twenty minutes ago?"

"Hey, I went for a run this morning," he said. "I think it's the effects of that.

Jimmy watched as she laughed loudly once more and he let his lips rise into a small smile.

"Jimmy, you did not go for a run," she said. "You barely managed to get up in time to meet me at the supermarket."

"That's because I was having a nap after my run," Jimmy said.

"Of course," she said, sarcasm echoing in her tone as Jimmy moved.

He let his arm move closer towards her, going around her shoulders and bringing her to nestle tightly against his side. She let her arm go to wrap around his waist, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she let a sigh of contentment wash over her as Jimmy's hand curled around her upper arm.

"You're still not a bad person, Jimmy," Cecelia whispered to him. "You've been a good friend to me since I met you."

"Yeah, well someone had to take you in and show you the ways of Albuquerque," Jimmy told her. "Besides, I don't think friends sleep with friends. Unless there's a term for that."

"Friends with benefits," Cecelia answered him.

"Sounds crass."

"It does," she agreed with him. "But we're more than that, Jimmy. Honestly, we might not put a label on it, but I like you, okay? What we're doing is not just casual sex."

"I guess," Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know, Ce. I just…I don't want you to feel pressured…but today at the supermarket we did sort of act a bit like a couple."

"So?"

"So…" Jimmy drawled and trailed off. "It's doesn't matter."

It was then when Cecelia furrowed her brows. Moving to pull back from Jimmy, she sat up straight and looked him in the eye. "Do you want a relationship?" she asked from him. "I mean, I thought that you were fine with this?"

"I am," Jimmy said to her. "I am happy with this. I'm happy when I'm with you, Cecelia. I just…I want to know what the limits are. Like today, we went to the supermarket together…we were seen together…can we do that? Can we go out together?"

Cecelia bit down on her lip. "I guess I hadn't thought about it," she admitted to him. "It's not like I care what people think. I don't know anybody around here, not really, and I'm not embarrassed to be seen with you. That's not what you think, is it?"

"It crossed my mind," Jimmy admitted to her and she rolled her eyes. "What? You're an attractive woman, Cecelia."

"And you're not bad looking yourself," she responded. "Listen to me, Jimmy, I am not embarrassed to be with you. On the contrary, I like being with you. I just don't think I'm ready for…for opening up…for acting like a loved up couple in public. I'm just not ready for that. I'm sorry."

"So we just…what?" Jimmy wondered. "We just continue like this?"

"For the time being," she said. "I'm not saying that we'll be able to move on and be….well…look, I'm sorry, Jimmy, it's just that I don't know if I can promise you anything."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Jimmy whispered. "Just don't…don't play me, Cecelia. I've been played by too many people before. I don't know if I could handle it if you did it."

Cecelia moved to kiss him then, the motion hasty yet tender. "I would never hurt you," she promised him in a whisper. "I couldn't do that to you."

Jimmy nodded and continued to kiss her, the motion soft for Jimmy as he cupped her cheek and wondered exactly what they would do in the future.

...

A/N: Do let me know what you think!