Page 29 of The Relationship Mechanic

“This place is bougie as hell.” Vini coughed lightly to cover up her laugh. She had to admit that Dani wasn’t wrong, though.

They had spent a couple hours relaxing, or in Vini and Jessica’s and probably Grace and Ava’s case, breaking in the bed, before they met up downstairs and headed to the restaurant. The Creamery sounded like a posh ice cream shop, so Vini was surprised when they walked in and were escorted to a private booth. Low light seemed to be the theme, though the candles on the table gave the evening a pleasantly warm glow.

“I know, right?” Jessica replied as they got seated. She was on the other side of Dani which was too far in Vini’s opinion. But Dani and Ava had gotten in flanking Vini. She hadn’t said anything, thinking it would probably seem weird if she was concerned about sitting next to Jessica but not Grace. The taste of Jessica on her tongue and the memory of Jessica’s fingers buried deep between her thighs would have to tide her over until they could once again retreat to the safety of their room.

“It seems super stuck-up, but the food is amazing, and they don’t scam you on the portions. It’s the right mix of grown and sexy, and the drinks are to die for.” Vini tried to focus more on Jessica’s words and less on the plunging neckline of dress she was wearing.

They had all dressed to impress that evening. Vini had been happy to see that her leather pants still fit, and when she had held up two different blouses, Jessica had immediately told her to go with the emerald green one to pull the whole look together. When they had met the others, she and Grace had chuckled at how similar their styles were. The biggest differences were color, with Grace’s blouse and the heels she sported being navy blue. Vini had never been one for uncomfortable footwear and had settled on her nice loafers to pull the outfit together. All in all, she thought she looked pretty good. The look Jessica had given her before they left the room seemed to confirm it, and for a moment Vini wondered if they would even make it to dinner. It had been tempting even with the knowledge that their absence would have caused questions that might have shone a light on their relationship.

Not that they had one. They were having sex. Sure, she and Jessica also talked, so sex wasn’t the only thing they did, but calling it arelationshipimplied longevity, and Jessica was only around for so much longer. If Vini occasionally wondered if Jessica was out meeting other people when she wasn’t with her at the shop, that was no one’s business but her own. It also wasn’t anyone’s business how the thought of that had Vini’s chest tightening.

“A toast.” Dani’s voice pulled Vini out of her musings, and she looked around the table. Glasses were raised so she did the same with her own. Dani looked over at her. “To our dearest Lavenia. Happiest of birthdays.”

“My government name? Really?” Vini rolled her eyes when Dani snickered, but she clinked glasses anyway and smiled. “Thanks y’all.”

Grace smiled and nodded at her. “Happy birthday, Vini. Thanks for letting us celebrate it with you.”

Vini shook her head. “This was all you guys. I would have been just as happy having a small dinner at home, but I’m grateful.” She looked over at Jessica. “And thank you, Jessica, for putting this all together.”

Jessica didn’t say anything, but she raised her glass with a small smile. Vini had to fight to shift her gaze away before she got light-headed. She leaned her glass over the table, and they clinked glasses right before the waiter arrived with their appetizers.

Vini had trusted that Jessica knew how to pick a place with good food, and now it was confirmed and then some. Cooking wasn’t Vini’s main talent. She could throw a meal together if needed, but she was never going to be a master of the culinary arts nor did she want to. But the food they had started off great and finished out amazing. They had settled on a couple appetizers including the deviled eggs with hot honey bacon, calamari that she was surprised to find she enjoyed and artichokes that made her rethink saying she didn’t like artichokes. By the time the entrées came, they had split a second and third bottle of wine, and Vini was feeling relaxed as she enjoyed her steak and listened raptly to Jessica’s story.

“So I go into the shop and the lady at the counter is talking so much shit about me. I think she assumed I didn’t speak any Korean.”

“Does that happen often?” Ava asked. Vini had been pleased to see the two of them in the same space without an ounce of tension in the air. “You said you still had family in Korea, right?”

Jessica nodded. “I do. Most of my mom’s side of the family is there, and we visit a couple times a year when my parents have time.” Her smile went soft, and Vini almost melted into her plate. “And not really. I mean, it’s like here. Sometimes you have people who will talk so much shit about you, thinking you can’t speak English. All you can do is laugh at them.”

“Did you tell her you understood her?” Dani asked. Grace let out a huff of laughter before chiming in.

“Oh, I’m sure she did.” She looked up at Jessica with a wide grin. “You did, didn’t you?”

Jessica’s smile went wicked, and she tossed her thick curly hair back over her shoulder. “You bet your sweet ass I did. I wandered over to the counter, and when she asked me if I needed help, I answered back in Korean. You should have seen her face.”

Vini chuckled. She could imagine the scenario clearly, and she was glad Jessica stood up for herself. Vini hadn’t been out of the country yet, but she was hoping to go somewhere soon. She needed to hire a new person before she could up and leave for longer than a couple days, but she was looking forward to eventually getting the shop to that point.

“For the most part, people in Korea correctly assume I’m half Black and half Korean and will switch to speaking Korean to me,” Jessica finished before taking a sip of her wine. “My mom was adamant about me and my brother Jason learning Korean. I hated having to spend my Saturday mornings in language classes when I was younger, but I’m glad now that she made us do it.”

“I didn’t know you had a brother,” Dani said leaning her chin on her hand as she looked at Jessica. “Are you two twins? Is he hot?”

Jessica fake-gagged, and Vini giggled. “He’s older than me,” Jessica replied. “We look enough alike that I know we’re related, but I definitely got all the sexy in the family. He’s a goblin.”

Everyone laughed, and Vini doubted that. She couldn’t imagine anyone related to Jessica being anything other than wildly attractive. Vini had known Jessica had a brother, but she hadn’t seen pictures of him so she couldn’t be sure. She wondered if he knew about her. It made her stomach flip uncomfortably at the thought of him not having any idea she existed. But that wasn’t the type of question you asked someone you were only sleeping with, right? She wasn’t sure, but it didn’t feel like she was allowed to give a damn if Jessica’s family didn’t know Vini existed. She and Jessica weren’t in a relationship. Hell, they weren’t even dating. Not really.

“He’s actually meeting me in Atlanta in a couple weeks so we can fly out together to see our parents. They decided to hang out in Italy for the spring before Mom has a few auditions back on the West Coast.”

“Italy,” Ava said her voice full of barely hidden envy. Vini knew Ava had spent a few months in Europe when she was in undergrad, and clearly she wanted to make a return trip. “I visited Sicily once and always said I would go back one day.”

“You should,” Jessica insisted. “I can give you a few places to think about when you plan your next trip. They are super nice and not too pricy, since I prefer to spend my money on food and train trips to as many places as I can while I’m there.”

Ava smiled widely, and Vini knew her night had been made. “That would be great.”

They finished dinner and ordered one of each dessert to try. When the last bite of warm bread pudding was finally consumed, Vini dropped her spoon and leaned back against her seat. She was stuffed. The pants that had been such a good idea before the feast they had just devoured were now digging into her hips. Still, she couldn’t deny that every bite was worth the slight discomfort.

“I can’t eat another bite,” Grace said tossing down her spoon and leaning back in a similar pose. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Ava stared unashamedly, her eyes trained on Grace’s neck as if it were the next thing she planned on devouring, and that was more than Vini needed to see. Clearly it was time to wrap things up.

“I don’t know about y’all, but if I am going to have the energy for our plans tomorrow plus going dancing, I need to turn in now.” The others agreed with Vini, and Jessica signaled for the check. When the waiter brought it over and placed it on the table, Jessica snatched it up before anyone else could. Vini frowned.

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