Never Again!

[evolution]

"Sugar bear actually." he retorted nonchalantly, returning the wink that Jess had given him following her comment. He left it up to her imagination whether or not he was telling the truth or simply kidding around still for his face remained placid and nondescript. Leaning forward and placing his forearms on the table, he said in a tone as if he was telling her a secret, "And it's not stripping. Its burlesque. We hate being called strippers." Returning to a more upright sitting position, Rain couldn't help but chuckle at his own humor, flashing a smile in the process. As he listened to Jessica's colorful description of her brother, Shephard had almost lost it in a fit of laughter and retorted:

"I think that description should be written on his business card, because that's exactly how I would have described him." he replied with a chuckle. Her brother was all said things and Rain hardly knew the guy; the majority of his knowledge came from what other people told him and an entire motorcycle club can't be wrong. "And I promise, I won't hold him against you, if I did it would probably result in me punchin' a woman for the first time. Says a lot about him huh?" Rain took another sip of his water but even that could not hide his smile.

"You could say I've found the beauty of the Hills - sure." The way he looked at her, his reference to 'the beauty' obviously wasn't about the landscape or the charming little diners. It was at this point that their flirting was taking on new meaning. It seemed that it was transforming from playful small talk to showing genuine interest in the other. In addition, it appeared that Raylan wasn't the only one who masked double meaning in their words as Jessica hinted at something else entirely in her's. Her devilish smirk also helped to solidify what she really meant by a ride in the middle of the night. "Maybe." and a head nod was the outlaw's response, knowing that 'maybe' was getting closer to a definitely. If the pace in which these two were going continued, Rain had already made a mental note to get a cold shower at his earliest convenience. However, something she said earlier set in and it struck him just like icy water.

It only took Rain a second, but his face became disconcerted and he fell back on his thoughts for a moment. Looking at Jess, he asked: "Wait, earlier you said Seth Desmond. So if your last name is Nichols then either he's a brother from a different mother, or..." Rain's mind instantly went there; she was a married woman. Under normal circumstances Raylan could care less if a woman was married or not, he had taken home many of women that were simply tired of their significant others. However, you never messed with a biker's old lady. In hindsight it made a lot of sense and explained why such a beautiful woman was in a motorcycle club. "You're married aren't you? I knew there was a catch!" he exclaimed, his face unable to hide the expression of swallowing a bitter pill.

[deb]

The smile was tugging on her lips and she couldn't stop it either, before she knew it she had started laughing and had to give herself a moment for it to pass before being able to speak again. "Just so you know for now until the end of time I am going to refer to you as Sugar Bear," she said before she looked back at him and lifted an eyebrow. "Oh really and here I was getting ready to ask to go to the nearest ATM so I could get some dollar bills, way to dash a girls hopes and dreams." So she had to wonder was there any truth in what he was saying at all and now she was kind of determined to find out one way or another if there was any truth to it. "Supose I'll just have to mill over that one for a while and see what things pop into my head."

She thought about it for a few moments before she nodded her head and then laughed. "Oh yeah it says wonders for my big brother that you would resort to punching a woman," she joked. "You have to imagine being related to him though, see you can turn him off when he starts. I have to hang up on him and pretend not to know where my phone is when he get's on one of his rampages about my life." Chuckling she looked across the table before she lifted an eyebrow and then laughed. "Oh didn't you hear the department made him start putting that on his business cards, right at the bottom in big bold letters." She had been smiling when he fired his next question at her and for jsut the breifest of moments her face fell and her eyes darkened before she looked over again.

Damn it, she hadn't thought about the fact that her last name was Nichols and while she could have lied about it Jess really didn't see the point in dampering the mood with some long spill involving Mayan's, a dead husband, and that damn motorcycle. Of course she didn't like the idea of lying to Raylan period and she couldn't explain why but it just didn't seem right, muttering something she continued to think about a happy medium where they would both win as far as that question was concerned.

Finally she pushed herself up and leaned across the table before she looked at him. "Well you tell me, would a married woman do this," she asked as she reached out and pulled him forward so that she was looking him in the eye. "Just so you know if I was married I wouldn't be sitting here right now," she explained. No had Isaac still been alive he would have been sitting right there with them, smoking a cigarette and talking about motorcycles and women. He was a good man but he had a roaming eye that could pick up a pretty girl in the room from a mile away and two if it was a clear day, now this was why Seth had hated him. The older brother in him didn't like the roaming eye or the ability to bed down with women half his age while married to his sister, Jess on the other hand has suspected but she never had proof he did anything more than look.

That had been the past though and while she ahd loved him she was ready to move on with her life, try something new and exciting and different, and she was thinking maybe she had found it. Which was why as she leaned forward a little more, she could feel just a hint of his beard brushing against her skin as her lips barely touched his. Then came the ringing of a cell phone and the brunette silently cursed as she dropped back down into her seat and dug into her bag for her own phone. Looking at it for a few moments she furrowed her brow, it wasn't ringing, she hadn't missed a phone call. Though it had been enough to make her stop and ask herself exactly what she had been doing in the first place.

[evolution]

"The end of time huh? But that would involve you being around to call me Sugar Bear," It was subtle, but the question made his interest known; what was going to happen between them and would it be something that would extend past the time Raylan would have to spend here. "And if you still want to throw money at me, by all means." he said in addition. Rain smirked as he took another drink from his glass of water, occupying his mouth to create a pause in their conversation. He tried to refrain from laughing, be could not as she commented about himself resorting to punching a woman. "You're brother is a tool, and I'm sorry that you share the same blood with him. Hopefully you're not completely contaminated." So she didn't like her brother either - looks like the guy had nobody. Three ex-wives and a sister who hated you and hung out on the wrong side of the tracks. Rain thought for a moment that he felt sympathy for Seth, but realized it was sympathy for Jess - that guy was a tool and deserved everything he got.

As Rain asked Jess about the situation with her past as it pertained to her relationship status, Rain was completely taken off guard as Jess leaned over the table and pulled him in close. His lips caught the faintest touch of her lips, feeling them invite him in, to seal the deal. In his mind, he was satisfied - a married woman would most certainly not be doing what she's doing, especially one in an MC and so Raylan relayed his thoughts: "No I don't believe a married woman would be doing this," His lips curled up into a smirk and he studied her eyes, waiting for them to close so that he could follow suite, and just as their lips were about to connect - the obnoxious ringing and vibrating of a cellphone unceremoniously interrupted their innevitable embrace. Shephard could kept his eyes closed, more out of frustration because he knew right away it was his phone as he felt the vibration from his pants pocket. Jessica pulled away and rummaged through her bag to see if it was hers. Rain silently cursed himself as he reached down into his jeans and removed his cellphone. Upon the front screen read, 'Unknown ID' and Rain knew that he had to take it; it was probably Jax or Clay calling from a throw away prepay you simply didn't ignore the King or the Prince, especially for a woman. "Damn it. I gotta take this." Rain proceeded to slide out from the booth, phone clenched in his hand. As he proceeded outside, he tried to calm himself down because quite honestly, this phone call had just cock blocked him. What proceeded was the conversation:

Phone Conversation

As Rain entered into the diner once more, his eyes instantly went to Jess, who was still at the booth. It almost appeared as if he expected her not to be there - as if she would leave when he ran outside to take the call. As he returned to his seat across from the beautiful brunette, he saw that their food had arrived, but at that point Rain wasn't hungry. He just got off the phone with Clay, and what happened moments before was the only other things occupying his mind at the moment. "That was Clay. Can't ignore the boss." Rain explained with a chuckle, but something felt a little off now. They were just about to kiss moments before but now it felt - well awkward. Had that call came after their kiss then things may have been different, but the mood for Rain had changed. He imagined that Jess was probably feeling something similar.

[deb]

Damn cell phones, this was one of those moments that she hated their invention no matter how handy they happened to be. As she had sat there waiting for him to come back she had been going over things in her head and well maybe it was some sort of sign that she didn't need to go through with this at all. Shifting in the seat she had absent mindely started to tear the napkin in front of her into shreds, annoyed at the ringing phone, annoyed at herself for letting this kind of situation even become an annoyance, and just annoyed at her life in general at that moment and time. She was ready to go back to the garage, get rid of that damn Buick and then go home.

Maybe she would take that trip into Vegas and spend some time at the casino's, it wasn't like she really had a reason not too and it wasn't as if she had a reason, she was just looking for a reason to forget herself right then rather than face the fact of what she almost let happen. What had she been thinking, he was a biker, and chances were he could say what he wanted he more than likely had a girlfriend or something back in Charming. If he didn't then she had to think he was still hung up on his ex, or at least that was what she told herself to rationalize things out.

"Yeah you can't ignore it when the boss comes, he might you know cut your nuts off or something," she joked before she looked over. "I need to get back to the garage, if you want to stick around and eat or something I can catch a ride back with someone," she offered. Certain one of the girls in the diner would give her a ride back and she could escape the situation as a whole. What she needed right then was time to think and time to collect herself before she just burst out into tears and spilled the whole story or threw something as hard as she could to test what it hit. Gathering her belongings she didn't pay much attention ot her uneaten meal as she dropped a few bills down onto the table before she looked back at Raylan and lifted an eyebrow, he didn't have to leave if he didn't want too.

[evolution]

"Damn it Clay! Great timing!" Rain thought to himself, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth and biting down on it out of frustration. Sharply exhaling, Rain shook his head when Jess offered to allow him to stay and have his lunch, but at that place and time the only thing he was truly hungry for was to finish the kiss that almost was. Unfortunately the moment had passed for them both and Jess' desire to return to the garage was proof enough of that. "I'll take you back." Rain simply said, and as they both stood up from the booth, Rain scooped the money that she left on the table and taking one of her hands in his, he placed the money back in her palm, closing her fingers around it. "Listen, you showed me around, you brought me here. Club shit got in the way and killed the mood, as it usually does. I feel responsible, so this is on me, okay?" While he posed the question, it really wasn't up for discussion. Besides, if Tig or one of the guys got wind that he was letting a woman buy, well he didn't imagine he'd hear the end of it. Removing a fairly large wad of bills folded in half, he removed a fair amount of cash that covered the bill and tipped the waitress handsomely - he didn't really care either way. Running guns and other club business paid riches, so as it stood Raylan wasn't hurting for cash.

Escorting Jessica to the bike, they went through the routine of prepping and starting the motorcycle and getting situated upon it. The return trip didn't carry with it the same feeling as it had originally. Jess' grip around him wasn't as inviting and yet Rain felt like there was something else to be said. They had nearly kissed and that spoke to Shephards and he felt the need to pursue it further, or at least find out what that meant. Before he knew it, they were back at her garage bringing the bike to a stop where had placed it the first time he showed up. Waiting for his passenger to dismount from the back of his bike, Rain remained seated upon it, but removed his helmet and placed his sunglasses upon the top of his head. Looking at Jess, a million questions had began to invade his mind and he wasn't sure what to say first. Diverting his eyes in thought, he wanted to flirt, to continue what they had started, but the mood no longer felt right. Reaching up with his left hand, he rubbed the back of his neck with his palm before placing it on his thigh and looking at Jess once more. "Thanks for today. Thanks for everything. Really." His emphasis on 'everything' was a nod to the kiss that never happened, and to make his desire more transparent, Rain added, "And if you ever want to show me what non-married women do with bikers again, just let me know." Even without saying what he said, the humble smile that appeared on his face and indirect eye contact he had with her was evidence enough.

[deb]

I have no control over what she just did and in fact I am shocked and amazed at her actions, apparently she had developed a mind of her own. That said now onto the post...





She could have been witty, charming, hell she could have sat there and said any number of things as she stood watching him though she didn't. The car in the parking lot of the garage was reason for trouble to begin with. The Camaro was a harbinger of doom in her mind, with it's shiny black paint job, the chrome wheel covers, and the detail work, it looked like something the Grim Reaper himself might very well drive and at that moment and time well her brother's appearance in her little corner of paradise felt that way. Blocking him out however she though about it for a few moments, she had wanted too, he had seemed like he wanted too if the current conversation was any indication. Her only hope now that was that her sudden act of impulsion didn't turn into being something like kissing her grandmother, or worse.

Putting her hands on either one of his shoulders she continued to think about it as she bit down on her lower lip for a moment and then leaned forward, pressing her mouth down against Raylan's harder than it had been before. If the past had taught her anything it was that in a few moments someone's cell phone might ring or her brother might realize that someone had pulled up and decide to investigate what was going on. Letting one hand move from his shoulder until it was resting against the back of his neck she let her fingers curl around his hair as her tounge traced along his lower lip, with her eyes closed she really had no desires to move or pull away though she knew she had too before things went a hell of a lot farther than what she aimed for them too. Well that and she was still trying to figure out what was making her do the things that she was doing in the first place, he was the one thing that she had said never again and yet there she was.

Finally pulling her head back Jess smiled before she reached up and ran her fingers through her hair and then looked down. "Your very welcome, and the next time you decide to get on stage and dance Sugarbear be sure you remember to call me so i can come and watch." Gathering her bag from where she had set it earlier she picked up her helmet and then started for the door before she stopped and then turned around. "If you get bored while your up here you know where I'll be, I'm sure there are plenty of things that I can show you. For now though I should probably go take care of the pompous ass that just let's himself in and makes himself at him." Yeah she still had no idea why she had just done what she did but she didn't regret it, though she for the feeling she was going to regret opening that door in a few moments.

Taking a deep breath she pulled the door open before she stepped inside, hanging her purse and helmet up before she smirked a little to herself.

[evolution]

The weight of her slender hands resting upon his broad shoulders made his eyes close briefly, relishing the moment. As Jessica closed the gap between them, Raylan knew it could mean only one thing. Feeling her velvet lips press against his own lips in a fervent embrace, it practically took the breath from his lunges forcing him to inhale deeply through his nose. His shock lasted but a moment and upon recovery Rain reached up between their bodies and placed both his rugged hands gently upon her face, softly cupping the length of her jaw. Everything they hinted and teased at early had culminated in this single delicate moment of passion and Raylan was swept up in it. Being in such close proximity to the fiery mechanic, Rain caught a faint smell of perfume. It was sweet and light, and from that moment on Rain knew she would be associated with that smell. However, as quickly as it had begun, it had come to an end. As their lips parted Shephard felt the urge to follow after her but corralled himself in, despite everything he was thinking to the contrary.

"Your very welcome, and the next time you decide to get on stage and dance Sugarbear be sure you remember to call me so I can come and watch."

"You got it." he replied softly, a reserved smile appearing upon his facade. Watching as Jess gathered her belongings and made her way towards the garage, Rain listened as she explained that he knows where to find her, choosing to ignore the comments that were obviously direct towards her brother. While he liked the girl, he wasn't ready to be the hero and get involved in that deep-seeded family fracas. "I think you'll be seeing me sooner than you think Nickles." A smirk was painted on his face for multiple reasons. One being that he realized he really did like the girl and meant what he said and two, that he just gave her a nickname, much like he had for other people he was associated with. Then as Jessica disappeared within the garage, Rain sat upon his motorcycle, still lingering in the moment with a soft smirk on his face. He lowered his head and his smirk grew to a smile as he lowered his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose and returned his helmet to his head. Firing up his bike once again, Rain drove out to the edge of the road, but took a fleeting moment to look back at the garage one last time with a smile before giving himself a satisfied nod and taking off down the black top.