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Jo nodded. “Yes,” she growled. “It’s more than okay.”

Encouraged, Evelyn pulled down Jo’s jeans a little as she sank to her knees. She paused, looking up at Jo with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty. “I want to taste you,” she whispered, her voice husky.

Jo’s eyes were dark, her breath coming in short breaths, but she gently touched Evelyn’s hair. “Are you sure?” she asked. “You don’t have to do this.”

Evelyn could never have been surer. “Yes,” she said. “I want to. Can I?”

“Yes,” Jo said as she let her head fall back. “Please.”

Pressing forward, Evelyn’s mouth tasted Jo, her tongue exploring until she found the woman’s tight clit. Like Jo had done to her before, she teased and stroked, wanting to drive Jo to the edge. She felt the woman’s fingers tangling in her hair, holding on as if for dear life. Evelyn’s tongue moved faster, her mouth sucking and teasing Jo’s clit. She felt Jo’s body coiling tighter and tighter with each stroke, her moans growing louder,more desperate. “Jesus, Evelyn,” Jo moaned. “You’re making me crazy.”

Encouraged, Evelyn continued, driving her tongue deeper between the woman’s legs until she tasted all her wetness. She could not get enough, and when her lips returned to tease Jo’s clit Evelyn felt the woman’s body tense, her back shaking as the first waves of her orgasm crashed over her. Evelyn continued to suck, drawing out every last wave of pleasure until Jo’s body finally slowed and she reached to help Evelyn up. “You are incredible,” Jo said, her voice filled with wonder.

Evelyn smiled as a tingle ran through her. She had never felt so confident, so empowered. “Thank you,” she whispered as she snuggled against Jo’s shoulder.

She felt Jo chuckle. “I think I should be thanking you.”

After Evelyn disappeared into her bedroom to take off her dress, Jo crashed into the recliner to breathe. She couldn’t think at first. Not with the way her body hummed, not with the way her heart thudded a little too hard for something casual.That was not casual, she finally thought.It had never been casual. She ran a hand through her hair, damp with sweat and messy from Evelyn’s fingers as the reality of it all crashed over her. There was a spot in her heart where Evelyn lived, and Jo didn’t think she would ever be able to get rid of it.

A floorboard creaked, and Jo opened her eyes. Evelyn stood there in a light-blue robe. Tangled, flushed, soft-eyed, and smiling like she knew exactly what she had done. Jo’s heart thumped again. Evelyn walked over quietly and laid a hand lightly on Jo’s shoulder. “I could convince you to stay,” she said, voice low, eyes teasing. Jo grinned, ready to answer with something sexy or smart or both, but Evelyn shook her head before she could speak. “But you should go.”

Jo blinked. “Seriously?” she asked, and Evelyn nodded.

“Not because I want you to,” she said, stepping between Jo’s knees, and settling onto her lap. “Because you’ll sleep better at home. And because tomorrow is going to be huge.”

Exhaling, Jo knew she was right. The block party was waiting, and this perfect, blushing, brilliant woman sitting so perfectly on her lap was telling her to rest. It should’ve annoyed her. Instead, it made her fall harder. “Fine,” she said quietly. “But only because you told me to.”

Evelyn kissed her once, firm and warm. “I’m very persuasive,” she murmured, and Jo kissed her back. A moment before things grew too hot again, Evelyn peeled herself away and stood. Letting out a deep breath, Jo followed suit and turned for the door before she did something stupid like tell Evelyn everything she was thinking.I’m not ready for that,she thought.No matter how incredible she is.

“Goodnight,” she murmured instead. “See you tomorrow morning.”

With a smile, Evelyn nodded and opened the door. “Tomorrow morning,” she said as Jo passed her. “It will be great, Jo. I know it. And everything is going to be okay.”

Pausing before she started for the stairs, Jo let the words sink in. “Thank you,” she said. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I know,” Evelyn said with a teasing smile. “Just remember that.”

Stealing a quick final kiss, Jo felt a weight lifting off her shoulders. “I think I will.”

Twenty-Six

Evelyn stood in the middle of the blocked-off street outside Fuller’s Auto Repair, clipboard in hand, checking her list. It was not quite ten-thirty in the morning, and the block party was supposed to start at noon. “All right,” she muttered, scribbling something next to Power cords for band stage — Jo? and circling it twice. “Let’s try not to panic.”

“Talking to yourself is fine,” Jasmine called from nearby. “As long as you don’t answer.”

Evelyn spun to find her sister at the edge of the garage bay entrance, teetering on the second-to-top rung of a ladder, a spool of fairy lights looped over her shoulder and a stapler in her hand like a weapon.

“Very funny,” Evelyn replied. “Be careful and make sure those are high enough not to strangle somebody.” She turned to check Sophie’s lighting project. She was positioning another string of industrial-quality lights on a rented gaffer’s pole. “Sophie, put that three inches higher.”

Sophie groaned. “Three inches? Really?”

“I’m eyeballing symmetry,” Evelyn said with a nod. “And if you want your photo ops for the Pose with a Mechanic selfiestation to look good instead of something from a backyard prom, then yes, three inches.”

“I told you,” Jasmine called from the garage. “Put her in charge of anything and she’ll have us re-landscaping the block before lunch.”

“But can we all agree everything is looking perfect?” Sophie said, hands on hips, as she stood back and examined the work happening around her. “It’s giving the street a festive queer-market vibe.”

“As long as it is also giving a well-wired and OSHA-compliant vibe, I agree,” Evelyn muttered, checking another task on her clipboard as done while she walked to another station across the street.