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[AngelofDeath]

Dani had to bite back a laugh as Jake didn't bother to correct Kathy about getting his name wrong. Kathy was doing her usual thing of eyeballing and flaunt her fake goods, and of course ignoring the fact Dani was even there. The two women had taken an instant dislike to each other

"Its so nice that you bought this place. We were really in need of a new body around here. " Kathy laid her hand on his arm. "And a well built body at that. Well I need to run, but if you need anything, and I do mean anything, just come across the street and ask." One more head to toe look over and Kathy turned and left. The heels exaggerating the sway to her hips.

"Puttana," Dani said under her breath. Looking up at Jake she grinned, "Kathy is married by the way if her tits blocked your view of the rock on her fingers. Her husband is not surprisingly a plastic surgeon. I'm actually surprised she didn't just shove them in your face more."

 

[musicankane]

Jake looked at Dani as he sat down back into his seat, "Those were tits? I thought she was smuggling airbags." He said with a laugh. "I do not want that woman around me. She smells like latex, it's like a walking condom." He said watching her walk into her own house.

He shifted toward her and smirked, "Now you on the other hand, you are built wonderfully. I hope there is nothing fake about you." He told her giving her a knowing wink.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Unfortunately for you, Kathy is a determined woman and rarely takes 'no' for an answer." She sipped here beer with a laugh. When Jake mentioned anything fake about her Dani shrugged, "Not that I've noticed." Dani had done a lot to distance herself from her father's family, going so far as to use her mother's maiden name. After another beer Dani got up with a stretch and a yawn.

"I need to be getting to bed. I have to open the cafe tomorrow. Thanks for the beer Jake." She leaned down and kissed his cheek before heading off the porch. Rather than walking around she just hopped over the short fence separating their two yards. Dani gave him another wave before going inside and then pouring herself into bed.

 

[musicankane]

Jake smiled at her kiss and watched her hop nibbly over the fence. Once she was gone Jake enjoyed his beer before heading inside to make dinner. He nuked a mac and cheese and ate in front of the tv, watching a show called Eureka before going to bed himself.

He awoke early the next morning before the sun came up. He wanted a real breakfast before going to work, so he dressed quickly and went to the only cafe he had seen in town. He figured it had be Dani's and sure enough he saw her preping things in the window. The sign on the door said closed for another thirty minutes, but Jake had a hunch that she would make a special opening for him.

Gently he rapped on the window to get her attention. Meanwhile he did a quick case of the joint out of habit. The register was up front on a counter near the door. It was a simple machine and could be snatched quickly if a person wanted to take the place. Behins the register was a counter top where people could sit. Then the dining area was to the left of the door with the kitchen on the far end of the bartop. Nice little place for a small business. He would make a couple of changes to make it safer but otherwise not bad. Besides crime didnt seem to be much of an issue in this town anyway.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani looked up at the knock to find Jake on the other side of the window. She shook her head, this guy really needed a wife, or at least invite his mother to live with him. Wiping her hands off she went and unlocked the door and let him in. "Why am I not surprised you are here? Lucky for you there is actually some things ready. Feel free to decide what you want from the window."

In the kitchen after pouring some juice and coffee, Dani stopped to check her hair and wiped stray traces of flour off her face and clothes. Jake was already at the counter sitting down and taking things in as she brought over the drinks. "Make up your mind or you want something hot?"

 

[musicankane]

He looked over the goods and smiled to himself. She acted like she didnt really care he had came by but she reappeared from the back with her hair nicely fluffed and the floor off her face. He simply shrugged and gestured to the case, "You know they all look good, why dont you just give me your favorite."

He settled back on the stool and grabbed a set up of silverware. He gave her a wink and said, "Plus a glass of orange juice, you cant have breastfast without orange juice after all. It would be like watching football without beer. Against Gods design." He told her light heartedly.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Football is for the easily amused. You should try something more stimulating like soccer. Or at least Australian rules football." She slid the orange juice over to him and then grabbed a plate. Walking the display, Dani grabbed one of her raspberry muffins that was still warm and a strawberry danish. She set them down and then brought over a selection of homemade jams.

"So are you headed to work or you just felt like a home cooked breakfast?" She picked up her own cup and sipped her espresso.

 

[musicankane]

Jake gave her a smile and pulled out a piece of the danish and took a bite. It was incredible, sweet, light, fluffy, and warm all together like a pastry explosion. He chewed and moaned and dipped another piece in the jam. "Is there anything you cant make? God this is awesome." He told her with a smile. "You could go national or something."

He winked, "I heard this was the best breakfast around and i need a good breakfast before pinning up drywall or whatever." He glanced at his watch and stood, "On that note let me wrap this up and ill scarf it in the car." He took out a twenty and set it on the counter.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani got his change and a to-go bag. "Have a nice day Jake," that man really needed someone to take care of him. By the time she cleaned up it was time to open. And just her luck it was a busy day all day. During the lunch rush she made a run to the bank. By the time she got back the line was twice as long. "Shit." Tyler and the rest were doing their best, but it was going to take all of them to get things done. Throwing her apron back on she took over the register and started ringing up orders as fast as she could.

There were days, days like this that made her want to just to hire a full time manager, but Dani loved being involved too much to really give it up.

 

[musicankane]

Jake smiled and took his breakfast bag off the counter. "Take care Dani," he said as he started for the door. "Oh you should relocate this though." He rapped on the cash register. "Too easy to steal sitting here." He told her, then walked out the door. He powered down the pastry in the truck on the way to the site, by god it was amazingly good.

Work was smooth except for a wiring job that could not sort itself out before lunch. Someone had run the wrong wire through an entire wall and Jake spent lunch working the wire out and running the correct one through. Though it was annoying, Jake was glad it wasn't like his last job. Running a wire was less on his mind than killing someone. He'd fix people's wiring fuck ups all day if he never had to pick up a gun again.

After work he grabbed drive-through food and headed home. One his porch was a basket of breads and cheeses which made him roll his eyes. There was no note as to who is was from, but he figured it had to be one of the married woman around the cul-de-sac. Dani wouldn't give him store bought breads. From what he knew about her, she would have baked bread from scratch. He took the basket though and his fast food and went side to watch TV while he ate before he took his shower.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani could barely keep her eyes open once she got home. She left some more fruit danishes for Jake with a note on how to reheat them if he wanted to. Dani had knocked on his door, but when he didn't answer right away she assumed he was in the shower. She yawned the entire time in her own shower and was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

In the morning there was a huge bouquet of flowers at her front door. Dani didn't bother looking at the card because she knew who they were from. With a frustrated sigh she picked the flowers up and then dropped them into her garbage can. At the same time, Dani looked around, other than her neighbors no one unusual was around. Well other than Jake. It wasn't bad, but she didn't know yet. "Morning neighbor," she called out as he came outside.

 

[musicankane]

The next morning Jake came out and nearly stepped on the danishes. They were ice cold and probably had been out all night. He smiled as he picked them up and read the reheating instructions. He took a moment to go back inside and reheat a danish and put the rest into his refrigerator. As he came back out with a mouth full of danish he saw Dani waving at him.

He grinned wide and openly, "Hey Dani! Thanks for breakfast!" He waved and held up the danish. He came down and joined, her on the sidewalk. "You throwing away flowers now?" He asked, gesturing to the flowers in her trash bin.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"You're welcome," Dani turned and looked at the flowers and then put the lid back on the can. "Someone can't take a hint." She sighed softly, "Some guys just can't stand when a woman walks away." Rolling her eyes she gave him a proper smile. "So have you gotten your invite to this weekend's pool party yet?" Dani hope he took the hint because the last thing she wanted to do was discuss her last boyfriend. God Carlo was such an ass. He was also about as smart as brick moving at high speed through a window.

If only for the fact she didn't want to start another fight she'd have called her father and asked him why he had given her new address out.

 

[musicankane]

Jake took one more look at the flowers in the trash bin. It smelt dirty, and had that all too familiar situation he had seen before. Boyfriend and girl you didn't want the guy anymore, he couldn't take the hint. He knew that it was only a matter of time before things got violent. Jake knew violence, and he had learned how to see it coming so he could either prepare or get out of the way.

She didn't seem all that worried about it though and changed the subject quickly to pool parties. That was another red flag that she was hidding something but didn't want to get Jake involved. At least that was a good thing, Jake didn't need to get involved, it was too risky. Low profile, he told himself over and over again, low profile.

"Pool party?" He shook his head, "No I don't think I'll go to that. Last I checked, I wasn't a thirteen year old." He smirked, "though I still stare at girls like a young buck who is just starting to notice breasts." He gave her a wink, and turned to get into his car for work.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Have a nice day, Jake." She waved him off and then headed back inside. She cleaned and paid bills. Come the afternoon she was in the cafe, boxing up the orders that had come in the evening before. One of them was for Jake's construction crew. Considering she wasn't looking for a relationship, Dani did like seeing Jake enjoy her food. So she loaded the boxes into her car and drove over.

The minute she was out of the car the hoots and catcalls stared. Shaking her head she started pulling out boxes of pastries and donuts and staking them on the roof of her car. "You know," Dan called out to the work crew, "You might want to be more appreciative of the woman who brought the goodies."

A few of them howled at her choice of words.

 

[musicankane]

Jake was up shingling a roof when Dani pulled up. Of course he hadn't known she was coming, and didn't even know she had arrived until the cat calls began. He slowly and carefully stood on the roof and watched her hand the food to the foreman. She joked and chatted with him for a minute then turned to get back into her car.

Just before she got into the car she stopped and looked back toward Jake. He raised his hand to wave at her with a nice smile. He stood there watched her get into her car and pull away before he went back to work.

Chase McCoy was working beside him and saw the whole thing. "You know her Jake?" He asked.

Jake grabbed a tile and fixed it to the roof. "Kinda, I mean she lives next door to me. She's nice and those donuts are amazing. She came over and brought me some as like a 'welcome to the neighborhood' gift."

"Yeah I bet that's why she came over." Chase rolled his eyes.

"Whatever man." Jake said hammering the nail into roof.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani headed back to the cafe. As it was Friday, they closed to shop early. Wasn't really good for business, but Dani wasn't a slave driver and they would make up for it Saturday and Sunday. Instead of heading straight home though Dani swung by the mall and found herself a new bikini. Any other time she might have passed up on the party with the excuse of work, but Jake was going to need some friendly support. Didn't mean she couldn't look good while she was doing it though.

When she got him this time there was a giant stuffed bear and a bottle of wine, waiting for her. "Goddammit Carlo I am going to feed your teeth to you." The wine she kept, but there bear went into the trunk of her car. She'd donate it to the Children's Hospital later.

 

[musicankane]

After work Jake drove to the field office of the FBI. It was the end of his first week as a new man and he had to check in to make sure he was in the clear. Also to make sure his defection was for real. Whatever made the Feds happy, god there was a time when thinking about the Feds would make him sick. Taht was before he became a piece of shit stoolie.

Agent Bradford greeted him and took him into a little office to sit down for a chat. "What Mister Elliot how are things?"

Jake shrugged, "It's good. I didn't think I would be cut out for the construction business, but it is surprisingly relaxing. Compared to my last job." He said.

Bradford nodded, "Glad to see the transitition has bode well for you. Your information has proven to be very useful and the FBI owes you a debt. We've already been able to put ten people behind bars."

Jake paled a little, "Great I guess they know I betrayed them now."

Bradford smiled, "Relax Mister Elliot, they are locked up and you have vanished. There is no longer any record of Lou Novella. Again we thank you and have made arrangements to get you a better truck."

"What's wrong with the Ford?"

"Nothing is wrong with it, but it is a little old don't you think? I've set you up with a brand new blue Chevy Silverado pickup. Perfect for a construction man such as yourself, plus it's got the modern day comforts of a new sedan." Bradford slide a folder with the truck's paperwork, and the key taped to the outside.

Jake dug into his pocket and gave Bradford the key to the old truck. "Thanks I guess. Still feels like dirty money to me."

Bradford chuckled, "That's funny coming from you. Trust me this is the cleanest money you've ever made in your whole life."

Jake stood and moved to the door, "I don't know about that. I had a lemonade stand when I was eight. I made a nice clean five bucks."

The FBI agent smirked, "Have a good day Mister Elliot."

* * * *

So Jake rolled up to his house with a brand new truck. Bradford had been right about one thing. The motherfucker was comfy as shit. Nice stereo, working A/C, soft seats. Not bad. If it wasn't tainted in his betrayal he would have been in love.

Oh well the stooley can't complain too much.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani had a few windows cracked and the air was filled with the sounds of Jazz. Mostly Etta James and Dizzy Gillespie. At the rate Carlo was going she was going to have to call her father and give him a piece of her mind. While her father might have liked the young man, Dani had figured out he wasn't the one for her. Unfortunately not quickly enough.

What really made it worse was Carlo's inability to understand why the hell she had broken things off. Dani did not share and certainly not with any skank that would spread her thighs for any guy with a hint of influence.The first had she been willing to forgive? The second, third and fourth had just been too much. Dani had her pride.

Headlights told her Jake was home. Now there was a real man. He was nice, appreciative and even observant. She wasn't about to go rushing into things though. That was how she'd ended up with Carlo. Plus she didn't want Jake to get the impression she was like the rest of the women throwing themselves at him.

 

[musicankane]

Jake pulled into his drive way and shut off the car. He could see lights on at Dani's place and he smirked at just the thought of her. He climbed out the car and instantly smiled wider, the sounds of jazz spilt from her house. He loved jazz, he was Italian and jazz was the shit to him. Though being Italian probably didnt mean anything though.

Part of his new persona made him listen to country music. He hated country music. Oh well, he wasnt going to go bother Dani at the moment. He needed a shower and he was starving. Turned and caught Dani in the window out if the corner of his eye. He turned back toward her and waved, he seemed to be waving a lot at her.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani waved to Jake as he headed inside. Yeah he was a nice guy. She laid on the couch a little longer listening to the music before heading to bed. The next morning she was out in the late morning washing her car. It needed to be done and better she get it done now. Dani had a dark red shirt and a pair of shorts over her bikini. Once she was done she was just going to head over to Rebecca's. This time she had Lynyrd Skynyrd's That Smell, playing as she cleaned up her dirty Baja.

People were already heading to the end of the cul de sac. The party had become sort of a neighborhood tradition and everyone showed up. Even the people Rebecca was a walking bitch to. The point was everyone coming together and having fun. And of course the usual, gossip gossip gossip.

Her escorting Jake was going to go over like a lead balloon.

 

[musicankane]

Jake slept in, as it was Saturday and he was a red blooded American now and goddamn he was going to sleep in on hos day off. The noise of people gathering actually ended up waking him up enough that rolling over wouldnt help. It was eleven and he had slept a good chunk of the day away so he couldnt be too upset about it.

He got up and showered briefly before dressing in a tanktop and a pair of blue jeans. He looked very very Hank Hill but it worked because he filled out that tank top like nobodies business. He walked onto his front yard watching people move toward a house at the end of the cul de sac. Dani was washing the soap off her car when Jake walked over to ask her what was going on.

He noticed the bikini though and it made him forget how to speak words for a minute. He shook his head and coughed, taking a sip of coffee from his Garfield mug. "Did i miss something?" He asked her

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani laughed softly, Rebecca had probably stuck Jake's invite into a gift. Knowing him it had gone right into the garbage. "Pool party, remember?" She finished wiping down her car and then pulled her shirt back on. "I figured you'd like an escort. Wouldn't want you to get eaten alive, not to mention you can meet the rest of the neighborhood all at once." She turned looking towards where everyone was going. "And besides, like you would really pass up the idea of ogling a bunch of women in bathing suits."

 

[musicankane]

Jake raised an eyebrow. A pool party? He was so not interested in that. He didnt want to be a part of these lonely housewives. Already he had gotten creepy vibes off of them and he was asking for trouble if he went. Jake was starting to get blue balls, he missed his old flame Shyla. He sighed and gave Dani a glance, "I dont think that is a good idea. Those woman look like the want to eat me, which normally Id be open to but...i dont want to make a stir amongst people round here. I like this house and i would like to be able to stick around."

He gave her a smirk, "Then again you could make a claim on me and they might back off. How good of an actress are ya?"

 

[musicankane]

Jake raised an eyebrow. A pool party? He was so not interested in that. He didnt want to be a part of these lonely housewives. Already he had gotten creepy vibes off of them and he was asking for trouble if he went. Jake was starting to get blue balls, he missed his old flame Shyla. He sighed and gave Dani a glance, "I dont think that is a good idea. Those woman look like the want to eat me, which normally Id be open to but...i dont want to make a stir amongst people round here. I like this house and i would like to be able to stick around."

He gave her a smirk, "Then again you could make a claim on me and they might back off. How good of an actress are ya?"