After kissing in bed for a while, Jenna pulled herself away for a shower. She almost hated to wash the smell and feel of John away, but she knew all she had to do was wrap her arms around him again.
As she rinsed her hair, she closed her eyes and remembered John pleasuring her. No one had ever made her feel that good. She'd had two serious boyfriends before. Her second had been good in bed, but John far exceeded him. John looked at her like she was the most precious thing in the world, and that only heightened the experience.
The more she thought about John, the more she ached in her chest. She knew that feeling. She'd felt it before, but never this strong. She was in love. How she had fallen so fast, she didn't know. How she had fallen for John Winchester, whose exterior of detached professionalism easily put people off, surprised her. Yet, it didn't. She had seen through the hard outer shell, to the caring man who loved his wife and sons.
Jenna had a quick thought of jealousy toward Mary, but she pushed it aside. John would always love Mary. It was a tragic loss for him.
But John wanted Jenna, too. He cared for her. He told her he did, and she saw it in his eyes when he looked at her. Mary was a part of John, and always would be, but that didn't mean Jenna couldn't be, too.
She dried her hair and dressed in jeans and a tee, and found John at the table again with his papers, in his boxers and a shirt. He looked up when she exited the bathroom.
"I may have found a case," he said.
"Already?"
"I was looking at it while you were sleeping last night... before you woke up and found me. I just did a little more digging, and it could be my kind of thing."
He got up and grabbed some clothes from his duffle.
"Take a look and tell me what you think," he said.
He kissed her gently as he passed her to go into the bathroom.
Jenna sat at the table and looked through John's work. He still left her in awe. How did he put this stuff together? How did he make the connections? She decided twenty years of experience went a long way.
When John came back into the room he had his jeans on, but no shirt, and he was running a towel over his wet hair.
"Well?" he asked.
Jenna looked up to speak, but was silent as she stared at him. John smiled and cleared his throat.
"Sweetheart?"
"Yeah?"
"The case?"
"You don't really expect me to function when you come in here like that, do you?"
John laughed. Jenna let out a sigh, and reluctantly turned back to the papers.
"I think you're right. This looks like your kind of thing. I'm not even sure why you asked me. The work you've done is pretty solid."
"I wanted to see if you could follow my train of thought and my notes. You are still learning, you know."
"I know."
John threw the towel on the bathroom floor.
"Let's get packed and we can hit the road. We'll be driving well into tonight."
He grabbed a shirt and started to pull it on.
"Wait," Jenna said as she stood.
John stopped and lowered the shirt, still in his hand.
"What?"
Jenna pulled his face to hers and kissed him hard. John's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her tight against him. He moaned, and Jenna ran her fingers through the hair on his chest.
The kiss slowed and John pulled back, blinking.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that?"
Jenna shrugged. "You're sexy, and you were shirtless. Too tempting not to."
John stared at her with a smile on his face. She held his gaze for a few seconds before she had to look down, but he lifted her chin until she looked at him again. Then he kissed her. Quick, but soft.
"I should probably get rid of the temptation if we wanna get on the road," he said as he held up his shirt.
"That might be best."
With one last kiss, Jenna started packing. It wasn't long before they were back in John's truck, traveling down the highway.
Jenna started out in the passenger seat, but the longer they were on the road, the closer she got to John, until he had his arm around her. They stopped a couple of times to eat, and the day slowly passed into night. Jenna lay her head against John's shoulder and started to doze off.
John rubbed her arm.
"Sweetheart, why don't you lie down?"
"I don't want to lean against the door."
"No, I mean lie down. You can use my leg as a pillow. Curl your legs up on the seat, like you do in bed."
Jenna lay on her side, facing the back, and put her head on John's lap. She curled her legs up and pressed her feet into the corner of the seat back to keep herself steady.
John looked down and brushed her hair back from her face.
"Better?"
"Much. Just don't slam on the breaks, or I'll end up on the floor."
John laughed. "Nah. I won't let that happen."
Jenna took a deep breath, and sighed. She nuzzled the hem of John's shirt and let his scent fill her with warm thoughts. Being in his arms. Being beneath him. His eyes staring into her own.
John cupped the back of her head and rubbed back and forth with his thumb. They would be on the road for another two hours. With a straight road and no cars ahead, John found himself staring down at her more often than not.
As he glanced back at the road, his hand at the top of the steering wheel, his eyes caught his wedding ring. He stared at it a moment and let Mary fill his thoughts, then his thumb brushed through Jenna's hair again.
Could he do this? Could he love Jenna without losing Mary?
With that thought, John knew it wasn't a matter of could he. The fact was that he did. He hadn't allowed himself to consider that his feelings had gone that deeply, but they did. He loved Jenna. She brought out the same things in him that Mary had. He felt young again with her. He was playful. He was happy. He hadn't smiled so much in years, and it was because of Jenna.
He stared at his ring again. The idea of taking it off made his stomach turn. It would be like losing Mary all over again. But was it fair to Jenna?
It was so soon. He shook the thoughts from his head. Jenna may not even feel the same way. She said she just wanted to be with him. She cared about him, but maybe that was all it was. Friendship and comfort, with the benefit of physical release.
Whatever it was, he was enjoying it. He enjoyed being with Jenna. But it was too soon to say goodbye to Mary.
