Chapter 12

"Hey, chica!" J shouts, beckoning Jane and Nik even closer to the truck. "What brings you out here so late? Don't you work tomorrow?" Jane rests her elbows against the metal serving station, leaning forward a bit towards her friend.

"Actually, I worked today. We get tomorrow off, and I actually took vacation off this next week to get some rest. After preparing for months and losing a lot of sleep over a huge presentation, I can finally relax and try to regain some of my youth." J smiles warmly at the shorter female.

He passes a tray of fresh tortilla chips and salsa towards Jane. She takes one chip, dips it into the salsa, and stuffs it into her mouth. A crisp crunching sound and a little dance of joy show just how amazing J's cooking is.

"Sweet! I'm glad. I remember hearing how stressed you were about that. Did it go well?" Jane nods her response to J, still munching away on the chips. "Awesome. So what'll you have?" J leans closer to pose a question that only Jane can hear, "And who is this handsome hunk of man that you brought here with you?" Jane blushes at this comment and shoos J away, trying to avoid the question. J gives her a look to let her know that she won't escape this conversation for long.

"Hmm. Can I get two of your fish tacos please? Nik what about you? Does anything look good to you?"

"I honestly have no idea. I don't eat Mexican a lot. I will just order whatever you have." J turns his back on the couple to prepare their food. Jane steps back from the counter when she finishes her chips. Stepping away from the warm taco truck reminds Jane that it is fall and she is freezing. Nik steps in to aid her, taking his place at her side again, wrapping his arm around her, and giving her a squeeze to provide some of that much-needed warmth.

"I didn't realize that you had taken off for the next week or so. I also didn't take into consideration how stressful that project may have been for you. It seems like I know a lot less about you than I thought I did. Honestly, your presentation was incredible so I would have had no idea that it was giving you so much trouble."

"No worries! I'm glad you think it went well. My team worked so hard on it. Without them, that presentation would have probably been a disaster and our research would be nowhere near as developed as it is currently." Jane rambles on about her lovely coworkers of whom she is extremely appreciative. Nik expected this much from her, she always takes every opportunity to lift up others.

"So what do you plan on doing with your week off?"

"I'm not sure. I hadn't gotten that far yet. I'm just happy to have a break. Maybe I will get some shopping done or work on some of my hobbies. I will probably stick to my apartment and get a ton of sleep."

"That sounds like such a boring vacation. Come on. You can do better than that. You work so hard and you are going to reward yourself by staying home?"

"Well, what else should I do mister know-it-all? It's not like I have money saved up to go on a trip and I also definitely need to take some time to clean up my living situation. My apartment is a trash hole right now. I have to do dishes, laundry, so on and so forth. That doesn't really leave much room for an extravagant tour of the Bahamas now does it?"

"I guess not." As soon as Nik starts to think about all the information Jane just threw at him, he gets interrupted by two baskets of fish tacos. He loses his train of thought as he focuses on the soft corn tortillas, crispy battered fish, bed of arugula, chipotle aioli, etc., all neatly placed in a red and white checker wrapper in a red plastic basket. Damn these look good.

They look for a spot to sit and enjoy their meal. Unfortunately, there aren't many tables or benches for them to sit on. They decide to just eat and walk around. The park is empty at this time of night, save for the few drunken messes asleep in the area and some squirrels. Wind rustles the leaves of the nearby trees and ruffles the grass around them as they walk along. The park is just far enough from the city, that the light pollution doesn't hide the stars above. It looks like a scene from some romance movie, a couple sharing dinner as they walk beneath the dark but shimmering sky, reflections of the lights in the lake at the center of the park.

"So, back to your vacation. I still think you should do something fun instead of staying at home." Nik takes a bite of his taco, formulating a plan for Jane to save her from a shitty staycation. He swallows, "What if I invite you over to my place. I live over in L.A. It's warmer, you wouldn't have to spend money on accommodations or food. I have a pool that never gets used and the area surrounding my house is decent enough, it's not the Caribbean or anything, but there are beaches and places to swim and tan nearby."

"That sounds great and all, but my apartment still needs to get cleaned."

"You would be saving money by hanging out with me. You could spend that money on a housekeeper when you get back? Just a thought." Jane nudges Nik with her shoulder slightly knocking him off balance, but not enough for him to fall or drop his remaining food.

"So let me get this straight. You want a random girl that you met a day ago to come spend a week at your fancy mansion across the country for free? You don't find anything sketchy about that?"

"What? It's not like you are going to rob me and I could take you. I'm taller and stronger anyway." Nik flexes his free arm, showing off his muscles.

"Whatever. I will think about it. You are way too trusting of strangers don't you think?"

"What's so strange about you? So far I haven't found anything too weird aside from a couple of things."

"What do you mean?" Jane lightly punches Nik's arm, pretending like he insulted her.

"Well, you know, the way you dance when you taste food you really like, how you are always kind and uplifting, and your cute little snores when you sleep. I feel like those aren't common traits in women. Most women I've been with try to be as perfect as possible. They don't show you those kinds of things. That's not to say that other women are inherently bad, you're just a bit different. In a good way."Jane's cheeks flush bright red.

She speeds up to walk a bit in front of Nik so he can't see her reaction. It's like he has no idea how attractive he is and how hearing those kinds of words could throw someone off. Nik admires Jane from behind. Jane lightly taps her rosy cheeks with the palms of her frozen hands to bring her back to reality. He probably wasn't intending to flirt or anything like that, he is just being nice right?

"Okay okay okay. You don't have to keep buttering me up like this. If you want me to come with you that badly, I will stay with you for a week. Don't get any funny ideas though. I'm going to be on vacation. That doesn't mean I'm like your personal chef for a week or whatever. If anything, you should be the one taking care of me." Jane turns around, walking backward now, and sticks her tongue out at Nik. Nik chuckles. He throws their garbage away and lightly jogs to catch up to Jane's quickened pace.

"Got it. You are on vacation. I definitely won't dress you up as my sexy maid or anything like that." Nik jokes, receiving another playful punch on the arm.

"Good. I won't willingly participate in any of your crazy shenanigans." Jane snuggles back up against Nik, stealing his body heat.

Nik walks her back towards the main road, waving down a taxi for them to take. They head back to his place to gather Jane's things before they head for her place. Nik watches her as she enters a small brick building in one of the sketchier parts of town. 'It can't be safe for her to live out here. Sure, she is an adult and everything, but she is still just a tiny little thing.' Nik tries to contain his worry. It isn't his place to think about her or her problems. They are just friends, fuck buddies, nothing more, nothing less.

Jane unlocks her door, kicking off her shoes and tossing her bags to the side. She shuts and locks the door behind her. It has been way too long since she has been in the comfort of her own home. She grabs a bottle of water from the fridge and plops down at the dining room table. How the heck is she going to last a week at Nik's house without making a total fool of herself?