A/N: Nice reception to the last chapter. Now that we've gotten first impressions and pleasantries out of the way, let's get things moving!

THUD!

"GODDAMMIT!"

Jade unwittingly rolled off of her sofa, which is a particularly rude way to awaken.

Fortunately, she did not land on her hand which was feeling a little better. In fact, she hadn't felt it since the start of the evening. Jade had a few drinks but doubted enough to numb the physical pain.

Her hand wasn't broken, and luckier still it wasn't her dominant hand. So, even if it needed more time, she could still work. Jade imagined the silly image of her marching across the set, clipboard firmly tucked under her left arm while her right did all of the work. She'd look like some broken windup toy soldier.

Jade pulled herself up and rubbed her head.

A knock on the door caught her by surprise and she rose to answer it. Jade was fortunately decent. She hadn't changed outside of what she wore from the night before as she was very tired.

"Hello?" she asked, opening the door a crack and leaving the chain engaged.

"Hi," smiled a woman she hadn't met before. "I'm your neighbor from downstairs; you must be new!"

Jade was still trying to function so she wasn't vibing with this conversation so far.

"You're Jade West, right?" the platinum blonde asked.

"Um, yeah that's me."

"I just wanted to let you know that you have some really large deliveries downstairs in front of the building. You should really do something about those."

Jade's eyes felt they were going to jump out of her head.

"Wait, WHAT?"

Tori did her morning stretches and drank her usual breakfast: a chocolate protein shake. She was least hungry in the morning but knew skipping that first meal after waking up was always a bad idea. So, for years she's been drinking her breakfast, which was packed with protein (obviously) as well as iron, vitamin D, and a whole slew of good stuff. Tori had been taking multivitamins since she was little, graduating from the tiny Flintstones chewable to the adult horse pills. But when blood work showed her iron was a bit low, Tori adapted by buying the shakes that had a high iron percentage. So, now she had a nourishing meal that was quick and clocked in at 280 calories. And it gave her what she needed in terms of vitamins and minerals. It was a win-win.

Her thoughts drifted back to the night before, happening upon Jade at Hijinx. What a serendipitous thing! They were working on the same movie, so pumping into one another was bound to happen. But finding her at the scene of the accident and then later on at the bar? If they didn't happen all in the same day, the stuntwoman could just shake it off.

Tori never believed in things like destiny or fate. They were all bullshit to her.

She would see self-proclaimed "psychics" in shopping malls or on the street that promise they have the gift. And rather than use that gift to become rich and famous, they will use it to see if your husband is cheating on you. What a crock of shit! Tori once met Penn Jillette during a San Francisco magic show where she was one of the few stunt performers tasked with helping Penn and Teller pull of their more dangerous tricks.

They ended up having a really interesting conversation that went on for fifteen minutes. Tori said as someone working in movies, which are like big magic tricks in a way, was always fascinated watching him compared to other magicians. He would pull back the curtain and show you how the old illusion was pulled off and then catch you off guard with a trick that would blow your mind. She impressed Penn with her knowledge of Hollywood royalty like Harold Lloyd. His famous scene from Safety Last! where he hung from a giant clock is one of the most enduring images in the history of cinema. What was cool was one, Lloyd had a prosthetic hand in that scene as he was missing a finger and two, while he did hang from the clock for real, his peril was greatly exaggerated. The set piece was constructed on the roof of a tall building, the camera angle giving the illusion that he was hanging ten stories above the city. In reality, he was about fifteen feet off the ground. Lloyd could still hurt himself but wouldn't be killed if things went awry.

Penn started explaining to Tori about this time when he shadowed a psychic who admitted to him that he was a total fraud. He taught him about cold readings, which was leading questions that would apply to most people and that tricked strangers into giving up personal information. Penn said the best hackers didn't use computers, they used people. It wasn't as difficult as one might imagine hornswoggling another human being. Penn tried it out for a day and was able to give cold readings to folks, convincing them they were real visions of the future.

What made him stop was when people asked about deceased relatives and if they were watching over them. Penn could use his training to extrapolate details to make them think that their loved ones were out there because who else would know that? He was a showman but even Jillette had his limits and found the whole thing to be unethical. Giving a grieving person false hope for profit is just cruel and it made him sick to his stomach. Tori never forgot the remorseful look on his face when he recounted that story.

Still, Tori was curious if running into Jade last night really was a fluke.

Her phone buzzed and she checked the caller.

"What number is this?"

It was an out-of-state area code, so her natural instinct was it was a robot call. Some telemarketer trying to sell something.

Tori was in a funny mood, so she answered it ready to lay into the hapless salesman on the other end.

"Listen, buddy!"

"Tori?"

"Oh, shit. Jade?"

The stuntwoman stood up, nearly knocking over the picture frame of her mother.

"Sorry about that," Tori sighed. "I didn't get your number, so I didn't recognize..."

"Oh, it's okay" Jade chuckled. "Are you...um...doing anything right now?"

"Uh..." Tori trailed off, unable to think of something clever or evasive to say.

(What the fuck? Why is this girl making it hard for me to make an excuse?)

"No!" she blurted out.

Tori facepalmed herself. She didn't want to sound eager and stupid. Of course she wouldn't mind seeing her again but the Latina did not want to get her hopes up.

"W-W-Why do you ask?"

Jade paced around on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry to bug you like this but...my furniture arrived early and nobody bothered to call me. They just left in the street outside of my building. I called the company but nobody's answering. It's big and heavy and I can't move this by myself!"

She tried to control her breathing but she was sure she came off upset over the phone.

"I don't know any of my neighbors. There was this one lady but she had to take off."

Jade swore at herself for not remembering to make a copy of the contact sheet from the production office. She imagined have some of the guys from the set lend a hand if possible. They seemed nice and she would buy them lunch or something for their trouble.

Frustrated by her situation, she stuck her hands in her pants pockets and found the card with Tori's number on it.

Yesterday had been a couple of awkward (though pleasant) encounters with the stunt performer. And it would seem the only person in LA that she knew who gave her the digits was Tori Vega. It wasn't like she didn't have the physical prowess to handle moving things but Jade didn't want to assume Tori would drop everything for her.

"You need a hand moving everything in?" Tori asked over the phone.

Jade felt her heart pounding, as she realized she was gnawing on the little bit of skin between her thumb and forefinger since she last spoke.

"Mmm-hm."

(And I fucking swore I wouldn't have anybody over until my place was ready! But I can't leave this shit out here. It could be hours or even days before the furniture company sends somebody to fix this.)

"It's no problem."

Jade winced from biting down too hard on her own hand.

"Really?" she asked. "You don't mind? I...uh...well...I...don't want to put you out."

"No, no, it's fine. Just text me your address again and give me an hour."

The raven-haired girl smiled with a sigh.

"Okay, thanks so much!"

She hung up and did the quick math in her head while looking at the little clock. Jade figured she had enough time to shower and change. It was one thing to invite Tori over and see her apartment in progress, but it was another to just be in the same shit she wore last night.

Tori reviewed the bus schedules through her rider app, but they didn't align the way she wanted being that it was Saturday. Had it been a weekday, sure. Tori bit the bullet and called an Uber. The driver would be along in twenty minutes, so she quickly got ready.

She got down to meet with the car just in the nick of time.

Her mind wandered on the way to Jade's, thinking how seemingly random this was.

First she was dismissive of the girl. Once she looked past the clipboard and her place in the hierarchy of the film set, Jade was rather charming. Tori noticed how she interacted with Cat and some of the other crew members. She was patient and kind, while also driven. Not the easiest combination to find in someone. Jade was dedicated to her job from what Tori saw.

She had an ear for gossip. Tori heard of the DP's crew getting frustrated when he was especially emotional, and his thick Romanian accent made him hard to understand. She heard of that grip, Beck-something and that makeup girl Wendy flirting:

"You're cute. You should be in front of the camera."

"Only if my scenes are with you."

Tori knew it would be only a matter of time before those two banged.

But when it came to Jade, she didn't hear a word against her.

And on a personal note, Tori would be lying if she said Jade wasn't a looker. The girl who blew in from Jersey was a breath of fresh air compared to the cavalcade of fake people in this town.

The height difference was a factor. She had about eight inches over Jade. Tori didn't know why but she relished being the bigger person in that scenario. She felt an intense rush when she lifted and carried Jade out of danger. Those brief moments holding her, she felt so natural in Tori's arms. While she worked out with plenty of fine-looking female athletes and stunt performers, Tori was never that attracted to women like herself.

Tori gravitated toward a more girly girl. The ones with full lips and curvaceous forms were the woman's jam. But those relationships typically went nowhere. They would act interested at first but when things got hot and clothes began coming off, the spark would fizzle out. Tori put it together that while some girls enjoyed the taller, more assertive woman, they were turned off by her muscles. The ladies of the bay area were all about fitness and being toned, but there was a limit. Most of the time, they craved someone who was thin.

One girl broke it off with Tori, telling her "I'm sorry. But...you just look too much like a man."

When she left, the Latina curled up on the floor and cried. If you thought someone was as strong as Tori didn't have feelings, think again.

That was the last straw for her. After that, she didn't try for another relationship. Bea at the bar tried to set her up, but Tori was reluctant from having too many bad experiences. Whenever giving herself pleasure wasn't cutting it and she craved human contact, Tori strictly stuck with hookers.

For the right price, even the sex workers who didn't necessarily service women will say yes. There would be some fooling around, but Tori's favorite part was holding them afterwards. Some of the girls would be put off by that in the beginning but their hearts went out to the johns (and janes) who were just lonely. Some nights, there wasn't even any sex. Tori would pay a girl just to be her little spoon for one evening.

(That's not pathetic and depressing!)

Jade was waiting by her hefty packages when a black sedan pulled up.

One of the back doors opened to reveal Tori, wearing a dark grey tank top and blue denim shorts. And to top it all off, a pair of tan work boots.

Tori was certainly dressed for a little manual labor, but that wasn't where Jade's head was at. Because of Shelby being rather puny by comparison, Tori had to wear layers to hide her physique to make the switch between star and stand-in harder to spot. But since she was helping a friend move on a hot day, the Latina was dressed accordingly.

Now her muscles were on full display, years of weight training just paying dividends.

It was like an eclipse; Jade was worried about being caught staring for too long. She turned away, mentally processing the full image of Tori when she stood out of the vehicle. Times like these she was grateful of her photographic memory as she had a clear image of Tori's biceps in her own head. They laid dormant until Tori lifted up her arms to brush back her hair. Just the movement, without even flexing, her biceps jumped out. Jade pondered if her hands together could wrap around one of those guns, but she doubted it.

(Oh, FUCK! She's hot.)

"So..." Tori then cleared her throat. "This is it, huh?"

Jade blinked back to reality and nodded yes.

"How's your hand?" Tori asked.

The paler one didn't answer right away and her ability to speak was further hindered by Tori stepping even closer to her.

"Let me see..."

Tori inspected Jade's bandage and carefully checked underneath.

"Sorry, I know I'm not a medic but I've gotten patched up and patched up a few myself on the job."

Jade just stood there passively while the taller one focused on her hand. With Tori's eyes downcast, Jade's eyes roamed around taking in more of the goddess before her. In Greek mythology, the great mortal lover to the powerful Aphrodite and Persephone was the man Adonis. He was held as the supreme example of that culture's standard of beauty. Jade was sure if there was a female equivalent to Adonis, it would be Tori Vega.

Her touch was so gentle and (dare she say it) loving. But her rippling arms and toned neck visible from the the tank teased something more. Jade had very little experience with having physical contact with another woman following her own self-discovery. She figured a soft touch was consistent partner to partner. But the potential strength...

Jade had a taste of that first hand when she was carried from the broken glass and other debris with the ease of an average person carrying a dozen roses. Looking back on that moment, helpless while looking up at Tori, she couldn't help but feel safe. After the calamity moments ago, her presence was the reassurance she needed.

Tori said something but it didn't register.

"Huh?"

"I asked if it hurts."

Jade shook her head.

"No, I can move it okay. Just sore like the guy said. Much better now."

Tori rubbed her chin while she studied the weights marked on each of the boxes.

"I mean...this should be fine. It's just I'll need a partner because they will be really awkward and there will be tight places to go."

(All I heard was awkward and something about tight places.)

(Jesus, what's wrong with me?)

(It means your hungry for some cheesecake, if you know what I mean.)

Jade huffed, trying to keep her fleeting (horny) thoughts at bay and tried to stay on the task at hand.

"So, where are you?" asked Tori.

Jade turned toward the building and pointed to one of the top windows looking out to the parking lot.

"Second floor," she replied.

"Let's start with the biggest one first," Tori suggested. "I'll grab here."

She positioned herself by the side of the long box that read: HEAVY END and Jade went to the other side with a nod.

"You want me to go first, right?" Jade asked.

Tori nodded.

"It won't be easy going backwards up the steps, but it's safer if I'm on the bottom. Don't need this crashing down on you. I have a better chance of stopping it."

(Okay, I'm top and Tori's bottom. DAMN IT! here we go again.)

(Get your mind out of the gutter, girl!)

Jade ran over to prop open the main door and went to her spot.

"Are we ready?" Tori asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"On three."

"Got it," Jade nodded, being as serious as possible.

"One...two...three!"

With a grunt, Tori elevated her side of the box while Jade followed suit. Despite Tori taking the brunt of the delivery's weight, it was quite heavy on her end to her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah..." Jade groaned. "Let's move...s-s-sslowly."

"If you need a break, speak up. Got it?"

Jade nodded in confirmation.

The pair proceeded to move the box inside the building, minding the single concrete slab as the only step through the front door. Now there was the trial of getting it up the single flight of stairs. This was one occasion is paid for Jade to be the vertically-challenged one. As you wanted the one going upstairs first to be shorter than the one coming up the rear.

"Ready?"

"Nope," sighed Jade. "Let's do it."

(Not a fucking word, brain!)

Little by little, step by literal step, the team finally made it to the second floor. Even Tori had to gently lower the load and take a breather.

"Wooo!" remarked Tori. "Hard part's over."

"Yup."

Now that the largest and heaviest delivery was safe and sound in Jade's apartment, her and Tori managed the rest of the boxes with increasing ease. It was good to get the real bitch out of the way.

She noticed Jade did have a couch and what looked like a complete kitchen.

"I gotta ask," Tori said, setting down the last box. "What is all this stuff?"

"The really big one is the dining table. These are the chairs. This is the mattress believe it or not!"

Jade then pointed to the really wide and flat box.

"That must be the frame."

Tori smirked.

"Oh, so you must have been couching it for a while."

Jade smiled back.

"It's a very nice couch."

"I hope you don't mind I try it out," Tori sighed.

The dark-haired one chuckled.

"Go ahead, take a break. You definitely earned it."

"I did not need to be told that," she jokingly told Jade.

Tori parked her butt on the sofa and immediately melted to the back.

"Okay...this is fucking beautiful!"

Without giving it another thought, Tori shifted herself and was laying down. Her shins rested on the one arm but she didn't care. Comfy is comfy.

Tori woke up.

She was a little disoriented at first, taking in her surroundings.

"Oh yeah."

A mild commotion could be heard coming from the direction of the bedroom and Tori followed it.

Entering through the door, she spotted Jade who was building her queen-sized bed. She was turned her Phillips head screwdriver when she noticed Tori.

"Oh, hi!"

"Sorry," Tori said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I didn't mean to doze off like that."

"It's fine," Jade told her. "Let me just finish here and..."

"Are you hungry?"

Jade was put off momentarily by the question.

"What? Oh...uh...I could eat. Sure."

"Mind if I use the bathroom?" Tori asked.

"Not at all. Won't be much longer now."

Tori saw the frame was coming along and the mattress was leaning against the white wall. She felt a bit bad that she didn't help Jade with that, making her drag it to the room by herself. The mattress was packed incredibly tight in an unassumingly small box. But when Jade carefully opened it, the silver mattress unfurled and in mere minutes inflated to its actual size.

The tan woman retreated into the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror over the sink.

(Helped her move and now going out to eat? You didn't even hesitate to surrender your whole Saturday to this girl you JUST started talking to!)

Jade and her DID seem to hit it off, at least they enjoyed each other's company. Seeing as she was sitting by herself since arriving, was their mutual presence just a mean to stave off loneliness, nothing more?

She thought of that image of Jade constructing the bed and Tori's mind began to wander again.

(What IF we didn't go our separate ways last night? What if something happened?)

Tori shook it off, thinking it would be like the others. Exciting at first but end in disaster. Like a hurricane.

(Okay, she's nice and really pretty. Okay, she's queer and the door is supposedly open for a relationship.)

(But that doesn't mean she is into you!)

She opened the bathroom door just a crack to peek through. Jade had finished the frame and was in the midst of tipping over the hefty mattress. The girl then pushed the thing a few more inches to its proper position and clapped her hands together when she was done, looking very pleased.

"Yes!" she said to herself. "Nailed it."

(Oh, no. I think I'm falling for this dork. I'm in trouble.)

Later, the two were at a Mexican restaurant eight minutes away from Jade's building.

They were enjoying some fine tacos where the attractive ingredients were presented individually with flour tortillas on the side. Tori mentioned that she was never a fan of the hard shell variety and rather preferred how establishments like this did tacos. Jade said there was a truck that did authentic street tacos where they served the three soft tacos with a spicy sauce. It was one of the few things she allowed herself that wasn't Ramen noodles.

While they were simpatico with most of the fixings, the ladies were a bit divided on the protein. Jade opted for the shrimp while Tori preferred the pork. They ended up getting both and urged the other to try their pick. Jade said the pork was delicious and Tori didn't think the shrimp was half bad. That was high praise from her as she wasn't the biggest fan of seafood.

"I couldn't help but notice you took an Uber here," Jade mentioned. "Didn't feel like driving?"

"No, not really" Tori replied. "I meant...well...I don't drive."

Jade turned to the side and then back at Tori, not quite understanding.

"But I've seen you drive."

Tori crossed her arms.

"Yeah, on the job. I mean I know how. I do have a license; just...no car."

She felt ridiculous telling Jade that but she looked more concerned than critical.

"I'm sorry," Jade said with a frown. "I didn't mean to think I was..."

"No," Tori held up her hand. "It's not your fault. It's...unusual not having your own wheels in a city like this."

Jade licked her lips.

"I guess the public transportation system is good enough, right?"

"I wouldn't say that," Tori smirked. "But I get by."

Tori cleared her throat.

"See, the thing is with my line of work I'm considered a high risk to most insurance companies so they don't want to cover me. But I need coverage to drive legally, so I didn't even bother getting a car."

"Oh, I see."

"What do those dickheads think? That because I do a stunt in a movie, that's how I drive? There are morons who race and take chances all the time but because they have safe, boring day jobs, they get coverage! You would think an insurance agent would say I get all of my aggression out at work and take it nice and easy on my free time."

Jade shook her head.

"That's pretty nuts. Well, at least if we hang out again and we had work the next day, we could just go together."

"What like carpool?" inquired Tori. "I mean...this town could use more of that. So, what you're gonna drive and pick me up?"

The lighter one got more blush in her cheeks.

"Or, you know...if we hang out and things get...the safest thing would be to have you crash at my place."

Tori made the mistake of sipping her beverage during that last statement and nearly drowned from her startled swallow.

"Are you alright?" asked Jade.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Jade smiled.

"Good."

The check came but Jade was faster than Tori.

"Put it away," she ordered. "Your money's no good here."

"You don't have to," Tori told her.

"It's the least I could do for you coming to help me on your day off. It just went by so quickly, I really wished I had your help when I first arrived."

Tori flicked back her lovely brown hair.

"Too bad we didn't know each other then."

Jade leaned her head on her hand, blinking slowly at the woman across from her.

"Yeah, too bad."

A/N: That story Penn Jillette regaled about masquerading as a psychic after learning about cold readings was based on a real thing that happened. Penn said he felt terrible afterward and vowed never to do that again.

And yeah, that's how mattresses are delivered these days. I did the same with mine and it was like magic.

I think Jade could get used to this buff babe coming to her rescue.