After the weather had ruined everything and his home was being rebuilt, it seemed that things between him and Jessie were also being rebuilt. As the days passed and he watched the finishing touches bring his home into a finish, it also felt like the reminders and destruction between he and Jessie were disappearing as well. Some days passed where he didn't even think about the sense of betrayal and hurt he felt before. The days just passed and when the sun rose, the memory got further away.

Jessie was usually busy working on car for Jacob but the last of them had been fixed and he hadn't any to send to the shop. There were smaller things he could do for his boss there at the auto shop, oil changes and the like, but none of the bigger jobs which the labor gave more money and the prestige of working with a great car. Jacob could see that Jessie was starting to get anxious about work. He had invited him over that evening for a date and to talk. Mostly to talk, this time.

Dinner wasn't too elaborate tonight. He'd done some chicken over noodles, a vaguely Mediterranean style meal. Two glasses of white wine, still cool enough to make the glasses sweat. When Jessie arrived and the butler led him in, he smiled at the sight of him and nodded to one of the empty seats at the small dining table in the kitchen nook. It was a comfortable, informal sort of seating that welcomed at more four people. Jacob was always sharp, always clean and immaculate. His black hair was slicked back and shone like it was still wet. His face was smooth from a fresh shave and his long, dark green button up shirt was open at the neck. Each step was counted by the hard heel of his dress shoes. One hand signaled to one of the empty seats for Jessie to take it.He took his place at the table and leaned in to kiss Jessie on the cheek, "I'm glad you made it. I have an idea."

He settled back in his seat and smiled, "I was hoping to get your help, more than I have in the past, with moving some merchandise. Not permanently, of course, just until you take on a bigger client at the shop who will keep you more busy. I thought it would be something maybe a little fun for you to do that pays the bills and... keeps you closer to me? I have several items which need to be moved and a truck labeled like a moving van. You could just pose as someone helping these people move their belongings and drop it off there with little to no risk to you. At least, on paper you'll be completely unconnected."


For Jessie, the slate was being wiped clean. In the days and weeks following the storm and nearly losing Jacob, Jessie had learned to slowly and calmly fight off the demons of his past by looking towards the future. Jacob played a large role in that though he may have been completely unaware. Jessie didn't have to look back any more; not when his future was looking so much brighter each day. He was happy, he was in love. And even though it was rough at first; he was terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing and Jacob would leave. Jessie found that he relaxed more and more around Jacob and that they settled into a very comfortable routine.

Granted, Jessie would like to have things move more quickly than they did, he was happy that things moved at all. While the butler still hated him, Jessie was firm in the belief that Jacob loved him. And that was all that mattered to Jessie. He would like to have let himself in, but that wasn't the level of comfort between he and Jacob, not yet anyway.

As usual, the table was set elegantly, even for the relaxed and informal setting that Jacob strove for. The chicken smelled divine, and as Jessie offered his cheek for the kiss, his stomach rumbled. He always skipped lunch when he and Jacob had a date. The chilled glass of wine was picked up, his fingers causing the sweat to bead and roll down the glass. "I love your ideas, give it," Jessie grinned and sat forwards, listening in rapt silence.

With all of the selling points that Jacob put into the little presentation, it was the "...keeps you closer to me?" that sold Jessie; hook, line and sinker. Jessie nodded eagerly, willing to accept any mission that Jacob offered. "I'll be happy to help, Jacob," Jessie touched his wine glass to Jacob's to seal the deal. "Though you don't have to pay me. I'm glad to do anything for you. I love you and if it means we can spend more time together, of course I'm in. When do I start?"

(( rp exchange between Jessie Angelico and Jacob Hutchenson))

Roan looked like he'd been doing this sort of work a long time. The pads of his hands were thick and he seemed to have a thick smell of cheap cigarettes. For what he made doing this Roan could have wore nicer clothes and had a better place. But those weren't his goals. Roan wanted to be retired by forty and just coast off the years of work he'd done under Jacob's command. So pennies were saved, no squandered, and it worked out for the better. His wife never wondered what sort of job he worked because they didn't live that lavishly. Roan thought he had it all figured out, he was going to tell her that he got disability from the government and that would explain how he could retire.

After the second stop he spit out the window and rolled it back up, "You sure you don't got something wrong with you?"

They had done two small time deliveries, all ready. It wasn't very physically demanding. The items were just large, not heavy, but awkward to carry and needed extra care. Some of them were boxed differently to mask what they were and if the item looked like a heavy refrigerator then it required some acting on he and Jessie's part.

"Okay, today is the last big delivery. When I say big," Roan adjusted his seat and looked at Jessie more carefully, "I mean big. I don't just go throwing words around. That's not me." He yanked at the gear shift and put the truck in drive. It jerked when it started and then they continued on their way. It took about half an hour.

Upon arriving to the house, two things were clear. First, that they always delivered to wealthy, well-established people. That was expected since what they were delivering carried with it a respectable price. Secondly, that this house was *big* like Roan had said. There were stables for horses, several many servants. A guest house which was a house. Roan mentioned something about the guy owning several publishing houses and having gotten his hands, luckily, on Kodak when they were a small company decades ago. Some of the wealth then was luck. Some was earned. The father of this man was well to do so there had even been some inheritance but, as Roan would say, nothing more than a drop in the bucket compared to what the man had now.

He stood in the doorway with his hands in the pockets of his suit. He had grey in his hair and skin that had started to go leathery with age. His lips were in a thin line that turned into a smile when he saw the truck. His teeth looked bleached white, perfect. When Roan rode the brake until the truck stopped and jammed the handle into park, the older man approached them. His smile was still there, thirsty for the news from them. He stopped outside the truck, looking up at Roan and shielding his eyes from the sun. He spoke through his smile, "Everything went as planned, I hope?"

"Yea, almost. There was one appliance that we were out of but other than that, we have your whole order."

The man's smiled dimmed only a fraction, "I see. I suppose you can't get everything you want every time."

It seemed as though they were going to engage in their usual chit chat. However, the man in the suit stopped when he saw Jessie was in the truck. His eyes were full of inquiry and concern when they jumped to Roan, "Who's this man, then?"

Jessie didn't speak much, if at all, when they were riding in the truck. Roan was a wealth of information and Jessie soaked it all in like a sponge. Not to mention, Roan seemed to have enough of the gift of gab to occupy them both for hours. Also, Jessie didn't want to give away his relationship with Jacob and just how much he really did know about the "appliances" that they delivered. As far as he was concerned, he was hired muscle, help to move the more awkward pieces from the supplier to the truck, then the truck to the buyer.

It did impress Jessie how much money changed hands. Easily, he could have lived an entire year off of one day's deliveries. But he made no comments to Roan about this observation. Jessie felt like it wasn't his business to put in his two cents, so to speak.

The more they delivered, the more relaxed Jessie became. He and Roan were starting to click and work as an efficient team. Roan did all of the talking and handling of the money while Jessie stood by in his steel toed boots, jeans and hands crammed into the pocket of his hoodie. And though a bit crude, Roan was beginning to grow on Jessie. He found himself smiling more and more as the days progressed. And Jessie's quiet nature and easy going smile suited Roan just fine. The last assistant chattered like a nervous monkey for hours on end. So Jessie's company was a relief.

Once to their final delivery, and biggest one if you listened to Roan, Jessie waited in the cab of the truck for Roan to conduct the money changing hands end of the deal. Depending on the client, this could take anywhere from five minutes to an hour. The more Roan knew the client, the longer it took. And from the look of the smiles on both Roan's and the client's face, Jessie prepared himself to sit for a while. A book was brought out from under the seat and he began to read.

Jessie didn't get two pages into the book before he felt the weight of eyes upon him. Looking to his right, the man with the overly white teeth set into the near leather like face and Roan were both looking right at him. Roan was nodding his head and gesturing towards the back of the truck, then to Jessie. The client simply nodded, his too-white smile growing larger, despite the fact that his order wasn't complete. Jessie felt butterflies in his stomach and put his book back under the seat. Then he opened the door, swung his feet out then slid his way to the ground. Roan reached an arm out and pat Jessie on the shoulder when Jessie was close enough.

"I'm Jessie," he replied to the question in the man's eyes. He held his hand out, expecting a firm handshake. "New kid on the block," he chuckled and looked at Roan as he shook the client's hand. "Is something wrong?"