CHAPTER 21

THE TALK OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD – after 6x01

Saturday night, after Jason and Mandy finally could stand up again, they finished taking a shower, and Jason had to help Mandy stand up and scrub her; she was still a bit weak from her poor nutrition from days before, apparently, and their marathon didn't help her in that department, because now her legs were trembling and her stomach was burning from the oil. Jason was worrying again and felt guilty, as usual, but she reassured that it was all very much worth it. So later on they had dinner, and Jason reminded Mandy to take the nausea pill and her medicine pill, which was two times a day instead of just once, as she thought. He then made the executive decision to stay at her place until Monday, because, as he kept pointing out, he wasn't working and he needed to protect her from the danger of gastritis.

They went to bed right after dinner, and they were spent. In the middle of the night Mandy woke up to pee and felt her stomach in pain, she threw up a little but felt better immediately after. Unfortunately, she did it in her ensuite, so Jason heard her and was waiting for her behind the door as soon as she opened it, knowing very well that she'd never tell him anything if he hadn't heard her. Those fucking trained ears, Mandy thought. Thankfully she had brushed her teeth and used mouth wash after vomiting, so she could hit on him to pretend that nothing happened. "Hmm are you ready for some more, Master Chief?" she threw herself at him, hugging him and kissing him eagerly, with her breath all freshened up, and rubbing her body against his. Jason was obviously getting excited, but his arousal had no saying this time. At least he thought so. "Mandy, I heard you throw up. And brush your teeth. Stop it. Tomorrow you'll just rest ok? Mandy, I said stop it. Hmm… ok, tomorrow morning then. At least. Jesus, stop rubbing it. God. Alright, but don't wake up too early then. Enough, let's get you back to bed". And Mandy finally parted from Jason and got back to bed. She got the result that she wanted, after all.

…

Sunday morning Mandy woke up after Jason, at 1000 hours, feeling great again. She heard the TV downstairs so she went straight to the bathroom for her morning ritual, but also she wanted to spruce up. You know, to compensate the fact that he drove all this way to her place, and on Friday he held her hair while she was almost throwing up, and saved her life, according to him. And went with her to the street fair, let her sleep on his lap, kept her very satisfied, and bathed her. And also, he didn't fuck her ass, even though she said he could. Mandy suspected it might've been a bit, or a lot, painful for her, specially because of his size, and probably he thought the same. But long story short, he deserved her a bit more spruced up. She always used larger and more discreet clothes when working with Bravo, because she wanted to fit in, but since she left the CIA she was starting to dress in a slightly more feminine way, but still discreet. She almost never wore dresses or short clothes, but she noticed Jason seemed to like her legs. So…

It was 1030 hours and Mandy still hadn't shown up, Jason was kinda worried now, afraid that maybe she felt sick again. He woke up two hours before that, and had already eaten breakfast, made tea, coffee, watched sports, and he was just bored out of his mind, but he wanted to let Mandy rest, so he started to do some push-ups in the backyard. His shoulder was better, so he could do a few. It was a sunny and hot day, and he wanted to get some sun on his skin.

He was panting from the exercise when Mandy showed up. Then he was breathless.

She was wearing denim shorts that didn't even reach the middle of her thighs, and white short sleeve delicate blouse with buttons at the front. Her hair was slightly wavy and shiny, and her face looked fresh and blushed, with pinkish lips. She looked like a sexy peasant, but with her legs all out.

"Hi sailor" she greeted him, as he silently stared at her, shirtless, from the middle of the lawn.

"Hi" Jason said, but when he went to kiss her, she avoided his lips and kissed his cheek, delicately. She decided early on to see for how long she could tease him. She wasn't all good, she noticed. But then again, neither was he.

"Sorry, you're all sweaty, Jace" she said, smiling, when she didn't let him kiss her on the lips.

"Yeah. Sure. U-hum" Jason was looking at her up and down. "So, did you sleep okay? Feeling better?"

"U-hum. Feeling great. Much better". Mandy noticed then her neighbors checking them out from their backyard, obviously gossiping about them. The couple that lived next door and some another female neighbor next door to them. She didn't like them much. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Ballor, Mrs. Turner" she waved, and Jason turned around to see. "How long were they standing there?" he asked.

"Probably the whole time you were exercising, from the look of the ladies", Mandy smirked, making Jason blush under his sweaty face. "I saw you made tea for me, thank you." she kissed him on his cheek again. "I'll go have some tea and some toast, I have to take my medicine".

Jason immediately got inside with her, offering to help her 'prepare a toast', as difficult as it was. He was incredible thoughtful and smiley as hell, trying to touch her all the time, and she kept avoiding his touch, because he was too sweaty. He decided to immediately shower, even though Mandy said it wasn't necessary yet, it didn't bother her as long as he didn't touch her, but he didn't even hear the end of it.

Mandy's plan seemed to be working very well. She was teasing him to built up some tension because soon she would let him ravage her however he wanted, and he'd love it.

She was at the kitchen, eating her toast, when she heard a buzzing sound and noticed Jason forgot his phone on the island, right beside her. She thought maybe we was called for some training, she didn't remember if the training began this week or the next, since he was on leave. So she glanced at the screen and saw a name that instantly gave her nausea, and a text showed up under it.

'Natalie

Hey Jace... Got the number you asked. Please send Clay my best wishes, I miss the guys so much! Hope we can see and catch up. I'm only staying until next Sunday ok, let me know which day's best for you. Bye. xx '

Argh. Mandy's plan was immediately changing.

…

Honestly, Mandy was not a jealous woman; she actually rooted for Jason to be with Alana, because he loved her and Mandy really wanted him to be happy. Of course that if they divorced it's because they weren't happy as a couple, but still. She liked Alana, a lot actually, she was very similar to Mandy in many ways, and to be honest Mandy wasn't this into Jason back then, she didn't even flirt with him because he was married.

But Natalie. This woman. She couldn't believe that Jason was talking to that woman.

He was always hooking up with someone after his separation from Alana, and Mandy didn't mind much, she was having her own affairs too, but she disliked Natalie even before knowing her. I mean, she was his PT for fuck sake. And Jason continued being her patient after they hooked up. To Mandy, there was nothing worse than someone unprofessional like that, specially when you work in the Military. Mandy was even afraid of flirting with Jason because she worked with him, and now this woman shows up and pretends to be all professional while fucking her patient? And worse, Mandy found out she was best friends with Jason's therapist, and she overhead Jason telling Ray that the therapist kept pressing him to be serious with Natalie. What kind of therapist pressures someone with PTS and mental issues to start a serious relationship with a person he barely knew as a way of treatment? Isn't the rule that you treat your mind first and then commit to someone? Mandy knew who. A friend of Natalie's. Someone with the same lack of professionalism as her. And this woman was texting her boyfriend, in a very intimate way.

She was furious beyond words, and when her own phone buzzed she grabbed it aggressively from the table as if it was Jason's dick. It was her other neighbor texting, Camille, one of the only ones she liked on that street. She was saying that there was a buzz that a very hot man was exercising shirtless in Mandy's backyard, making some ladies feel the heat, and she was eager to know if it was Mandy's hookup, new gardener, cousin, or what. Mandy looked up, blanking, feeling like one of those mexican telenovelas villain, sketching a new plan. Thank God for Camille and her hot brother, she thought. And he was french, would you look at that. It'd be perfect.

…

Jason showered and was getting dressed in record time when Mandy stepped into the bedroom, exhaling sensuality while leaning on the door frame. He immediately walked towards her, but she put her hands on his chest, avoiding his kiss.

"Jace, my neighbor Camille texted me like a minute ago. She is inviting me for a barbecue at her place for weeks and I always ditched her. But now I'm here and she overheard that I have a hot man", Mandy smirked at Jason, rubbing his chest, and he grinned at her, melting, "and she really wants to meet you. Her husband Peter is a great guy, I think you'll love him" she added, and until now all she said was true. But then she lied "and Camille's little brother is in town, I think you'll really like him too". She made puppy eyes. "Would it be ok if we went?"

Jason was actually excited that Mandy was so eager to show him off to her friends, and he liked that he was now known as the 'hot man'. His ego inflated. "Sure Mandy, but you can't eat nothing with too much fat, remember?"

"Great! And I'll be good, I told Camille and she said they could put on the grill some chicken and vegetables without sauce and something like that".

So Jason changed his clothes, putting a pair of jeans and a navy polo shirt, which looked amazing on him, unfortunately for Mandy. She changed too, inside of the ensuite because she didn't want Jason to see her naked at that moment, and came out with a short dark green dress, flowy, with buttons on the front and delicate sleeve, and flat sandals. The dress was adjusted to her small waist. Jason didn't understand why Mandy got into the ensuite to change clothes, but she came out looking like an amazon ready for battle. She still avoided kissing him on the lips, 'because she just put some lipgloss', even though he didn't mind that, but accepted it.

They left her house and walked to Camille and Peter's house, while noticing a lot of neighbors watching them. Camille had a beautiful house, a little bigger than Mandy's; they had a daughter, Justine, who was four years old and really liked Mandy, and a german shepherd. As soon as they came in, Camille and Peter were hugging Jason, they were all smiles at him, as Mandy knew they'd be. They were great people and very affectionate. Jason really liked them, and noticed Camille was french, moving to the States during college, so she didn't have much of an accent. She was around forty years old, and Peter was like in his fifties, he was a lawyer that nowadays loved to golf and hunt. So he loved guns and as soon as Jason said he was in the Navy, they both started to talk about it almost immediately, specially when Peter said he bought a crossbow in the same street fair, and they both wanted to test their weapons in a range.

What Jason didn't like, much, was that as soon as Mandy got into the house, Camille's 'little' brother, who was not little at all, hugged Mandy in a too affectionate way, holding her waist and even raising her from the floor a bit. Jason immediately disliked the guy.

"Charles", Mandy said, laughing, as the blonde haired and tall french, who was around 35 years old, put her down, "I haven't seen you for so long". Jason was next to her, observing it silently, trying to not look grumpy. Waiting for her to introduce him to the french.

"Mandy, I missed you so much! I though I'd see you more these past weeks, but Camille said you were out of town. What a shame", he said in his french accent, and Jason's face translated 'blergh'.

"Yes, such a pity. Charles, this is Jason. Jason, this is Charles, Camille's brother. He comes to the States once or twice a year to visit her" Jason shook his hand hard, but smiling at him, trying not to dislike him so much. But he noticed how, once more, she didn't introduce him as her boyfriend.

Peter intervened "Jason, you must know that, even though he's french, he's a detective, so he also likes guns like us. Jason is in the Navy", he directed that last information to Charles.

"Ah, but then he is an expert in guns! I just have two. Don't see much of a combat there. More like brains at my job. I'd like more action" Charles said, and he was actually being extremely friendly to Jason, who tried to keep an open mind.

So they all went to the backyard and enjoyed the sunny day. Jason was having a great time with Peter and even with Charles, as the three of them played a bit of mini golf on the backyard and then started to grill the meats and vegetables while having beers and whiskey.

Camille and Mandy were preparing the appetizers in the kitchen, watching the guys from the window, and Mandy was starting to see her revenge plan crumble in front of her eyes. She thought Jason would feel pressured and awkward to meet her neighbors, or jealous of Charles, but she didn't see any of that. Camille noticed her pensive face.

"He is a really great guy" she said to Mandy, smiling, and adding "and he's absolutely hot". They laughed. "I'm really glad you finally found a guy that gets you excited. But why are you in here all blue? I'd be right there on his lap if I were you"

Mandy swallowed and started to feel her eyes teary "Oh I don't know Camille. We were doing great these weeks and this morning I just saw his ex sent him a text. A bit too friendly for my taste".

Camille was shocked "Oh my God, and what did you tell him? Why did you bring him here then? If he's cheating on you"

"Oh, I don't know if he is. I didn't tell him anything, but I took a picture of the text with my phone, here", Mandy showed her the picture. Camille giggled. "Sweetheart, I don't see much here. She seems to be hitting on him, for sure, and these 'xx' are unnecessary, but you should definitely talk to him before rushing to conclusions. I, myself, got more direct messages than this from guys from work, with whom I never made out or anything".

Mandy exhaled. "You're right. And you do know more than me about relationships, for sure. It's just… I really dislike this woman. He must know how I'd hate for him to be talking to her".

"Well, maybe. Are you sure he knows that? Because I never heard you saying anything bad about anyone. And this woman must be horrible then" Camille laughed. "Oh come one, Mandy. Isn't this the guy that said you were his reward or something? How romantic he is. Peter never said anything like that to me, ever. He said he loves me, without giving it too much thought, but that's it. Anyways, for me, the actions count more than words. Now let's go take the salad and your rice to the table outside".

Mandy agreed, and she was more relaxed than before. Camille was right. She could talk to Jason about Natalie later, now she should just enjoy lunch with him and her friends.

...

Jason was helping the guys clean the grill while the girls were cleaning the plates in the kitchen. Their dog Beau became friends with Jason, who kept giving him pieces of meat, and now was teaching him some commands, and he was loving it. Justine was a shy girl that was always running at the garden, but now she was standing next to Beau and Jason, watching attentively as the dog obeyed the commands.

Mandy came close to Jason, saying in a low voice so the others wouldn't hear "Hi. Are you training your next Bravo K9?"

Jason laughed, "You know what, I wish, I'd like more dogs in the team. They are faster, smarter, and smell better". He was a bit thrown off earlier by Mandy, she was avoiding him in the morning and before lunch, but now she was a lot more relaxed and welcoming, but he didn't touch her in case she wasn't comfortable to do so in front of her friends.

Mandy noticed he was feeling awkward, and she felt like an idiot for treating him bad without even making sure he deserved it. So she was trying to make him feel better. As soon as Justine went back inside, she put her arms around his neck. "You are quite charming, mister. Everyone here loved you", she said, smiling and kissing his lips. She pressed her body against him, and he liked it a lot. "Is that so? Well I actually really liked them too. And I didn't even have to pretend to" he said in a husky voice, holding her waist.

Justine showed up beside Mandy and asked her to braid her hair, so Mandy sat with her on a bench next to Jason and began to braid her blonde locks. Jason watched them, as he petted Beau's head, and thought how lovely Mandy looked taking care of a child.