Jara, always Jara.
Enjoy!
Jerome Clarke ran a hand through his hair in frustration. His wife stood before him, hands on her hips as she glared a hole right through him.
"Are you cheating on me?" she demanded.
"No," he groaned. "And the fact that you suspect me of cheating on you makes me think that you're being paranoid because you're cheating on me."
"Would you care if I was?" she snapped.
"No, I wouldn't, and would you like to know why?"
"Tell me," she ordered, her dark eyebrows arching in question.
"I—" he stopped suddenly when the front door of the house opened.
"Dad, mum," their thirteen year old daughter Angela called through the house.
"Hey, sweetie, how was school?" Joy asked, shooting Jerome one last glare as she strutted out of the master bedroom.
Jerome stared at the wall in front of him coldly, though he wasn't actually looking at it. He remained still for a moment before breathing out a slow breath, fixing his tie, and leaving the room. When he made it to the bottom of the staircase, he found Joy putting dinner on the dining room table with Angela sitting across from her little brother, Devin.
"Hey, dad," the eleven year old smiled, fiddling with his fork.
"Hey, son, how's it going?" he ruffled the boy's shaggy, blonde hair and sat in his chair.
"Good, I got an A on my maths test." Devin grinned, digging into his supper once Joy had sat across from Jerome.
They met each other's eyes for a brief moment. Blue on brown. Jerome used to love the color brown, but when he thought about it, he never liked the color of Joy's eyes; muddy and dull.
"Angie, how was your drama rehearsal?" Jerome asked, looking down at his plate.
"Great," she smiled nervously, and Jerome attempted to catch her blue eyed gaze.
"They practiced the kissing scene today." Devin said in disgust, faking throwing up.
"Kissing scene," Jerome said, "Who said anything about a kissing scene?"
"Daddy, we're doing Aladdin," she said as if that announcement explained everything.
"Oh well, that makes everything better, doesn't it," he grumbled.
"Jerome, let it go." Joy spoke up. "She's thirteen. She can kiss a boy if she wants to."
"Not if she's my daughter." He retorted.
"She's my daughter too." She reminded.
"As if I didn't know that…darling." He smiled falsely, attempting to silently convince their children that the argument wasn't real, when it was a real problem.
Jerome watched silently as a drop of moisture ran down the side of his beer bottle. And then his eyes flitted up to the next one, but he stopped it with his fingers as he gripped the bottle and lifted it to his lips, taking a long drink.
Is this what his life had come to? Fighting with his wife, begging for a divorce, pretending to be happy for their children, and drinking every night while his family thought he had to work? He sighed heavily, dragging a hand over his face.
He looked around the bar. He spotted the same people he saw every night. Nothing was different. Nothing caught his attention. But still...
His breath caught in his throat. His heart skipped several beats. His hands began to shake.
And then, their eyes met. Blue on brown. Suddenly, Jerome remembered why he always loved the color brown. Joy's eyes were muddy and dull, but Mara's…oh, Mara Jaffray…her eyes were a beautiful chocolate with swirls of caramel.
She froze in the doorway of the bar when she saw him. She was only snapped out of her shock when her shoulder was bumped as a man pushed past her. She moved away from the doorway, into an empty corner.
And not a single moment did Jerome's eyes leave her.
Her eyes drifted away from him. They roamed over the bar in search of Patricia Miller, but when she didn't see her friend, she was suddenly thankful. She tightened her grip on the strap of her purse and turn toward the door, but she ran into someone's chest.
Jerome's hands grabbed Mara's shoulders to keep her steady when she ran into him and she looked up at him, embarrassment coloring her tan cheeks.
Jerome was absolutely mesmerized. He didn't think about his wife. He didn't think about his children. He didn't think about his life. He knew it was mean, but this was Mara Jaffray. Who would think about anything else when she was standing in front of you looking just as beautiful and innocent as ever?
"Jerome," she murmured. She made no move to step out of his hold, and for that he was thankful.
He couldn't even imagine what it would feel like if he let her go again. He had made such a mistake in high school and that had cost him so much. Granted, he'd been blessed with a couple of pretty amazing kids, but his marriage was falling apart and he couldn't remember the last time he had smiled—really smiled.
"Jaffray," he breathed with a small smile.
"Hi," she giggled.
"Hi," he repeated.
"Jerome, are you okay?" she asked.
"Never been better." He replied.
"What…what are you doing here?"
Jerome blinked and began to lead her to the bar. "Buying you a drink."
Mara blushed, sitting beside him at the bar, and the bartender stepped over, asking for their orders.
Jerome's eyes flitted to Mara in silent amusement. "She will have a non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri."
"A regular strawberry daiquiri would be great, thank you." She corrected him. "And he will have an Angry Orchard crisp apple cider."
As the bartender fetched their drinks, Jerome raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You've grown up, Fun Size."
Mara rolled her eyes. "And you haven't changed at all, Hairspray."
Jerome chuckled, thanking the bartender when the drinks were set in front of them. He took a sip of his cider and looked over at Mara again. "Yeah, I guess I just haven't had a reason to change." He paused. "You're still so beautiful."
Mara met his eyes shyly and sipped from her refreshing drink. "You're still a charmer."
Jerome smiled softly. "How's life?"
"Good," she nodded. "I just moved down here because I got a job at the hospital."
"A doctor," he licked his thin lips. "I always knew. I…I never lost any faith in what you could be—in who you could be."
"I know."
Jerome took a deep breath. "So are you married?"
Jerome was in heaven. Pure heaven. And he was only half way there. He let Mara pull away from him as she unlocked her apartment door. He pushed her hair away from her neck and dipped his head, kissing her soft skin, his hands exploring her sides. When the door was open, he spun her around to press her chest to his before she even had a chance to do it herself. Their lips met again.
When they were in the apartment, Jerome kicked the door shut and he lost his blazer while Mara's jacket was quickly removed. Sinking his long fingers into her raven hair, he broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. "Oh, god, I've missed you." Then, he was being pushed backward, and when the back of his legs hit a bed, he turned the tables, pushing Mara down beneath him. The kiss broke again.
They stared at each other for a moment. Mara bit her lip and ran her fingers through his blonde bangs while Jerome's hands slipped under her blouse.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered.
"I…" Insecurely, she looked away from him, suddenly overthinking what was happening.
Jerome gripped her chin and brought her lips back to his. The passion in this kiss change entirely from the one before: the last had been fast and burning with lust, but this was slow, gentle, loving, perfect—Jerome and Mara.
Jerome had considered his family—once—and the only thing he thought had been, Joy's cheating, so why can't I?
Review?
"Look at your demise and understand this, life is just life and death will bring us all together someday. You will strip away vestures of a culture filled with hate and art, then restyle your durable skeleton form, which has been disintegrated and transforming before your very eyes. The scars will be burned away, the scars left by the cruelty of life's surgeon and it will recreate you through an unblushing savagery of your own talent. William, you will reveal a capacity to shock, to startle lifeless ones from their profound slumber, rousing them from their lethargy with a refreshed awakening." -Illuminator, William Control
Wow, that was a lot, but...I love that speech, which was Andy Biersack from Black Veil Brides. :') He's got such a great voice for making speeches and stuff.
-Rachel
