Clary POV

The photoshoot went well. Wearing a black sheath dress that was tailored for me, I felt a lot more confident standing in front of the camera- and I think it showed. Since the overall vibe that my company has is playful and fun, they wanted a photo which showed the same thing. My hair was curled into perfect ringlets, and they rubbed oil onto my skin. I smelled a bit like strawberries by the end of all of it. After smiling and posing in front of the camera, I noticed that Jace was watching me, and very obviously, too. As I made the realization, I felt a blush creep up into my cheeks and had an epiphany: did he like me? It would definitely explain his mood when we had gone to Pandemonium, and maybe that was why Sebastian was overly possessive that day. The real question now was, did I like him?

The pesky thought kept popping into my mind, even though I kept reminding myself that I was in a committed relationship with Sebastian. Admittedly, it had only been a couple months, but I felt disloyal for even having the idea.

A bright flash jolted me out of my thoughts. The camera captured my face in a slightly dreamy and happy moment, resulting in the camera-man to say that it was "exquisite!" and to tell me I was free to go to my interview. We had made good time. It was only 11 o'clock. The interview would take an hour, max, and then I figured I could get a much needed break at home. Maybe do a little swimming. Oooh swimming. I imagined Jace's toned body as he did laps across the pool…

Focus, Clary.

I gave the photographer a bright smile while he continued to exclaim that I could have been a model myself, leaving me blushing, and gathered up my things, pulling Jace along with me to the next room, which had been told was where I would be interviewed. I had to leave Jace outside, because he was honestly really distracting, with his molten golden eyes that managed to warm me up, and walked in myself.

The interview had gone excellently. And, the best thing was that it was only 11:45. I would have the entire day to go home and relax. Jace was more relaxed, too. I think my stress was rubbing off on him, so to make up for that, I tried to get to know more about him. It turned out that he had gone to an Ivy League, and had graduated at the top of his class, all the while doing an internship for a clothing company called Aniston's. The name sounded familiar and I made a note to look it up.

We arrived back home in no time, with me pretending like the speed limit didn't exist and taking my car to the fastest it could possibly have gone. Jace didn't seemed to be prepared for it, looking shocked, but he relaxed after he realized I wouldn't crash. We talked more, and honestly, it felt good. I hadn't had a decent intellectual conversation with a close friend in forever. While Sebastian was sweet and definitely a good person who I could rely on, Jace was someone who I could imagine talking to every single day the rest of my life. It was an odd thought, but it made me feel...safe. Jace made me feel safe.

Parking the car back in the garage, I grabbed Jace's hand pulled him along with me, taking note of the reassuring feeling I felt when I weaved my fingers through his, his hands warming mine.

We had reached the destination. It was the spa room, a favorite of mine. The air smelled pure, sweet, and clean, instantly relaxing the muscles. The soft wood flooring and the Japanese style in the room made it feel calming.

"What is this place?" Jace asked, eyes wide.

I smirked. Deep down, I knew I had ulterior motives for bringing him here. The first was to see if I actually felt attraction towards Jace, and the second was to get a back massage-my shoulder was killing me.

Jace POV

I loved the feeling of Clary's small, cool fingers in my hand, wrapped around my fingers. It was taking all of my self control not to push her up against the wall and kiss her, the way I wished I could have done this morning, when I felt her small, beautiful, strong body pressed up against mine.

Her eyes had a beautiful gleam in them that I couldn't help but admire. I hesitated before tucking in a stray curl from her ponytail behind her ear, leading her to look back at me and reward me with a shy smile. Clary tugged me further along the hallway, and the warmth in the air made my muscles relax.

She turned towards me, and I had a moment. The cheesy rom-com style moments, where time slows down and you can see nothing else but her, with sparkling emerald eyes and fiery red hair to match her beautiful, smart, vibrant personality. If I had been denying it to myself in the past-I was utterly in love with her.

She lead me to a massage chair, which after giving me a sly grin, she urged me to get on. Swinging my legs up onto it, I lay on my frontside.

"Bit of an odd thing to say, but it might just help if you take your shirt off, Jace."

Ah. She was actually going to give me a massage. I twisted around, and pulled my shirt off, winking at her and sticking my tongue out with more bravado than I actually had.

Clary POV

I hadn't meant to ask him to take his shirt off. It just kind of happened.

Was it possible to just turn into a puddle on the spot?

10, 339 views? I internally wept tears of joy at that. Also, huge thanks to all of my reviewers!

So, I originally had this story posted in the "M" rating, because of the cursing, but I don't think the language is very strong, so I bumped it down to "T". However, this story might go back up to "M" due to events that occur in later chapters. *wink wink*

If you feel like Clary is pretty much cheating on Sebastian, she is technically cheating on him emotionally, but she's just testing out what she feels for Jace.

Aaaand more fun in the next chapter, where we learn more about Jace and that he's hiding something pretty big from Clary. (cue dramatic music)

Till then,

~Will