Chapter 3

The Way He Made Her Fall

"Oh great, it's starting!" Simon whispered. Clary blinked back into reality. The thing hadn't even started yet? Clary exhaled roughly and nuzzled farther down into her seat. She kicked her legs up to place her feet atop the chairback in front of her. She tried to let the film capture her...

The special effects in these movies were usually entertaining. The setting was tropical. That's always nice... The lead character was tanned and his biceps rippling. Who wouldn't be attracted to that? Although, his chesnut hair was throwing her off. She was more a fan of the blond type—

Clary instantly slammed her feet to the ground as if that would expel the images of the man plaguing her mind. She noticed a couple heads turn to stare, searching for the noisy culprit. Her eyebrows raised in challenge at the dark, shadowed faces but, she wasn't sure if they even noticed. Clary leaned back and closed her eyes in surrender.

It was the summer after her freshman year and Clary, with her friends, were on their way to do some river tubing for the 4th of July. Clary knew Jace would be there with his friends as well and she smiled quietly to herself. She sat in the backseat, next to Maia, while her and Isabelle gabbed on about an upcoming concert. Alec's annoyance with his sister was clear as he stared sternly at the road.

Clary popped back in her headphone earbud and turned up the music. Her fingers drummed on the armrest as she stared blankly out the window, the passing trees blurred together into a wavy blanket of green.

She had not seen Jace all summer and the butterflies missed his smile. Halloween was the last time they had hooked up. Much like their make-out at the movies a couple years ago, it was never brought up again. However, they still chatted in class along with their friends and he would wink at her in the halls if they happened to catch each other's eye. Which they most always did, because even through the sea of passing students, Jace stuck right out to her.

He would also smack her ass everyonce in a while if he saw her at a basketball game or something... Honestly, she tried not to flatter herself though. He did that stuff to most of the other girls he knew. But either way, she couldn't deny she was smitten by his shameless flirting... She really needed an actual guy in her life.

Clary felt the car slowly come to a stop. Through the window, she spotted several other teenagers packing coolers and lounging on picnic tables. Alec and her friends hopped out of the sedan and Clary slowly followed, climbing out of the back seat. The day was perfect. It was sunny and hot and she knew her skin would match her hair if she didn't get some sunscreen on as soon as possible.

The girls grabbed their bags and towels from the trunk, leaving Alec to fumble with the innertubes strapped on top. As they reached the picnic table, Alec through the cluster of innertubes down and marched away grumpily. She watched him walk up to a group of guys who offered him a beer.

Isabelle sighed. "I do love being Daddy's little girl. He makes him take me everywhere." She spoke with a devilish grin. It was clear Alec had not wanted to bring all of them to the river with him.

From their picnic table, Clary could see down the short hill to the stream-side. Boys and girls were wading in the shallow water along the bank. Just floating around the tree side on his black innertube was her golden boy. He laid there lazily with his head tipped back and chugging a beer. He opened his eyes to instantly meet hers as if he sensed her stare.

Clary quickly looked down to hide her blush and slipped off her shorts, her bikini still hidden under her long tank top.. Suddenly, Jonathan Morgenstern stepped in front of them with authority. Clary couldn't help but throw a hand over her mouth to mask her grin. The boy was wearing only his tight swim team Speedo along with a pair of dork shades and whistle around his neck.

"Ladies." He ushered them forward with a leisurely finger.

Isabelle smirked and Clary followed behind her along with Maia. The girls crossed their arms to match his humorous intimidation.

He began. "I'm not sure if you ladies are aware but this a senior gathering. No underclassmen allowed." He spoke down to them as if he were an officer busting a bunch of kids. Just then Maia's boyfriend Kyle came from behind and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist. He kissed her cheek and rolled his eyes at Jonathan before pulling her down to his tube by the water.

Jonathan nodded. "Well, alright then. She is excused." He stated in a deep voice. "But you two. I'm going need to see some ID." His stood tall, his feet separated and his hands on his hips.

Isabelle didn't even blink. She pulled her sundress over her head and raised her eyebrows in innocence. Jonathan's stern face slackened a bit as he stared at her rack, which was nearly popping out of her hot pink bikini top. Clary dropped her head to her hand, shaking it slightly with a giggle.

Jonathan sniffed and regained composure. "And you?" He spoke to Clary.

She looked up, dubious, and snorted. She stepped forward and snapped the waistband of his tight Speedo. "I'll show you mine when you take out that padded cup." She retorted. She sauntered back over to her bag, indifferent, as the surrounding kids laughed at her insult.

Jonathan puffed up his chest. "Very amusing Miss Fray, but you both will still need to be considered." He said before shouting down to the teens at the water behind him. "Any objections?!"

Of those paying attention to the exchange, it was only several senior girls who raised their hands.

"None? Good!" He shouted, obviously ignoring the objections of the girls. "Go ahead and throw your bags in Evan's truck, ladies. He is going to meet us at the end of the river." He stepped forward, closing the gap between him and Isabelle. He lowered his shades just a bit. "So, wanna ride my tube?" He muttered suggestively.

Isabelle rolled her eyes and shoved him away, picking up her own innertube. "If you're lucky." She said. Jonathan grinned and followed behind her like a puppy.

Clary watched, admiring their exchange as she lathered up with sunscreen. She saw that groups of others were already starting to head down stream. She quickly leaned over and coated her legs, but when she reached for the bottle again she found empty air. She glanced over to see a tanned hand casually placing it back on the table. He clicked the cap closed against the worn wood. She straightened and looked farther over her shoulder, her red tendrils falling to tickle the mid of her back. Her heart fluttered to see Jace Wayland smirking back at her. His blond waves were slightly damp from the water.

She jumped as he pressed a cool hand of lotion against her lower back. His other hand moved to swoop her hair aside and she blinked turning back around. She grasped her curls, pulling them forward to give him better access. His hands ran all along her back, massaging the lotion into her skin. She knew they were calloused from football but they moved gently against her.

Alec suddenly stormed up, staring at both of them for a beat before swooping down to grab the last innertube. "I'm taking this." He simply stated, before walking off.

"Hey, wait!" Clary griped. She stepped away from Jace and threw her stuff in the truck. She was about to go after Alec when another older boy with black hair and dark eyes came up to her. She recognized him as James Carstairs from her History of the Arts class.

He smiled kindly at her. "You are welcome to share a ride with me Clary." He offered.

She blushed and smiled thankfully. As she moved to follow him to the river, another black innertube shot out in front of her. She quickly looked over to Jace and realized she had momentarily forgotten he was still there.

"Don't worry, Jem. She's got one." He spoke confidently to James but offered the tube to Clary who hesitantly took it.

"Alright, well, I'll see you out there then. You can float next to me." Jem said.

Clary smiled but, Jace replied for her. "I think she's old enough to get around by herself." He teased.

Clary could see James blush slightly but he rolled his eyes and laughed, backing away. "Whatever, Jace." He mumbled.

Clary whipped around to give Jace an earful for being a douche. However, she came up short, caught off guard by the proximity of his bare chest. She saw that the tribal tattoo on his arm now extended, covering his shoulder and pec. It decoratively knotted right over his heart.

She looked up into his eyes that were smoldering down on her. He lifted a hand, brushing his thumb against her cheek bone. "You know, you get more freckles in the sun." He said in a light breathy laugh.

Clary slowly smiled and ignored his silly comment. She lightly pushed him away, giving her mind space to recover. "Thanks for the tube. What are you going to use now?" She asked curiously. Perhaps the obvious answer was that they could share.

He started walking backward from her toward the river. Clary gazed past him to see another red-head standing on the bank, a tube in hand. She looked at Jace expectantly as he back down to the river, to her. Clary shouldn't have been surprised to see Seelie Fairfolk waiting for him. She was tall and thin with hair dyed bright red. Apparently, she had "The Look" and did some occasional modeling.

"I'll figure something out." Jace said with a smirk. With that, he turned around and jogged down to Seelie.

Clary tried to ignore the drop in her stomach as she watched Seelie fall into Jace's lap on their shared innertube. Seelie gave her a faint wave as Clary climbed in her own tube. She faked a smile back and gave her a two -finger salute. Then, she yanked down her sunglasses. "What the fuck just happened..." She grumbled to herself.

Eventually, she caught up with Maia and Isabelle and they drifted along the stream together. After a long while, the stream slowed and opened up into a large wading pool between the trees and cliff side. Clary noticed it was a campsite. More kids were already there, surrounded by coolers and music. Some were enjoying burgers and others were playing frisbee or swinging from the rope. Clary and her friends abandoned their tubes on the bank and joined another group of people, standing in the water with beers.

As they were hanging out, Clary felt someone rest a forearm atop her head. She turned slightly to see Jace who grinned at her. She smiled despite herself, his joy seemed to be infectious for her. He casually clinked his beer bottle to hers before turning to talk with a friend next to him.

Clary bit her lip and watched her free hand dance over the surface of the water. He was always so cool and carefree. She could feel her skin warm every time he was near. Part of her relished every bit of attention he gave her. Yet, part of her was bitter that she wasn't the only one who received his attention.

Clary looked up to see Jordan standing behind Maia. He was looking past her with a smirk before giving a thumbs-up. She furrowed her brow and looked behind her in time to see a boy's head of dark hair dunking under the murky water. The next thing she knew, cool hands curled around her thighs. She yelped loudly in surprise just as she felt his smooth hair slipping between her legs. Before Clary could fall back into the water, she was hoisted up onto the mystery boy's shoulders. She looked down to see James Carstairs beneath her and she laughed, grabbing onto his raised hands for balance. She looked over to see Jordan had done the same to Maia.

"Chicken Fight!" Jordan yelled.

Jem released her hands and secured them around her knees, bringing her forward. Maia and Clary latched onto each other, fighting to knock the other one over.

More pairs of teens soon joined in on the epic battle. But in the end, it came down to Clary and Jem against one other pair. Clary towered over the curvy blonde and shoved her into the water. She raised her arms high in triumph. By the picnic benches she saw people clapping. All except Jace... He sat on a cooler, hunched over, his fingers rolling a toothpick between the teeth of his mischievous grin. Then Jem through her back off his shoulders and she splashed into the water.

Hours later it grew dark and everyone gathered around campfires, drinking and laughing. Clary had put on a zip-up hoodie and jean shorts over her bikini. Her hair was braided back, almost dry now, wisps of hair escaping. Stealing a moment to herself, her eyes searched around the fire circle and she realized a face was missing. She leaned over to tell Isabelle she would be back before quietly slipping away from the commotion. She wandered back by the parked cars, slightly curious if she would find him with another girl. It was almost too dark to see and she was about to head back when she heard a clink. It was much like the sound of a glass beer bottle hitting against rocky gravel. She peered out into the makeshift gravel road. To her surprise, she noticed him reclined in a lawn chair, away from the trees. His head was tipped back, looking up to the sky.

Cautiously, she made her way over, her foot kicking an empty beer bottle as she rounded his chair. He wasn't asleep like she thought he might be. Instead, he was mildly watching the stars. His gold eyes flicked to her and they seemed to glow in the dim light as he smiled.

"Hi," Clary said with a smile of her own.

"Hi," He replied. His head came up and he readjusted in his chair. Another beer bottle sat in the cup holder of his chair. He grabbed it, making to pop the top, when Clary took it from his grip and set in on the ground instead. Jace raised an eyebrow in question, his face taken aback, but he did not object.

"Come here," He said. His hand took hers, gently pulling her to him.

Clary sat down across his lap. One of his arms supported her back and with his other hand he laced his fingers through hers. Clary could feel her heart skip with excitement.

"So, what brings you out here all by your lonesome? Too much fun for one day? Needed a break?" She teased.

"Ah, yes, I needed a break," He sighed. "From the sight of you."

"Ooh, Ouch!" Clary whined, unsure of how to take that.

Jace chuckled. "This bikini was beginning to be too much for me." He added.

"I'm still not sure if we're talking good or bad here..." Clary drawled with a laugh.

"Too good." He replied. His hand let go of hers to pinch the zipper of her hoodie. In agonizingly slow pace, he pulled it down until her jacket fell open. Jace stared up at her, both of them smirking.

"You like watching me, don't you?" Clary whispered and bit her lip.

Jace's gaze dropped to her lips. "Yes, but I have no objections to being more involved." He hummed.

"So? Who's stopping you?" She challenged.

Still, staring at her lips, he grew a small smile. His eyes traveled down her chest. The tips of his fingers tickled her skin as they ran along the edge of her triangle-top. Then, he pushed away the cup of her bathing suit all together, till her breast was exposed. His head dipped and captured her perky nipple in his mouth. Clary gasped in pleasure as he sucked and massaged with his tongue.

Jace was bad for her. Clary knew this. She was rather sure Jace knew this too. Perhaps that was why he liked to admire her from a distance. Either that or he was simply indifferent...But for her, every moment with him turned into a high she didn't want to let go. And so, what? She was young. Now was her time to have her kicks and make memories. There was a good chance that Jace's next tattoo would be the word 'HEARTBREAKER.' And that was fine. Heartbreak was inevitable in life. So, why not with him?

Jace pushed the other cup of her bikini away to give that breast equal attention. His tongue rolled over her nipple sending tingles through her chest. Clary twisted her fingers into his hair as Jace roughly dragged his mouth from her breast all the way up neck, where he sucked with hickey bruising force. She pulled his face to hers, their lips finally meeting, and she kissed him with equal hunger.

When she felt his hand at the waist band of her shorts, she stopped him and pulled away, fixing her bikini top. Jace looked dazed and confused but this was her turn. She got to her knees in front of him and watched the gears click in his mind. Jace slouched back and Clary picked-up the drawstring of his swimsuit bottoms, but then paused looking up at him.

Jace raised his eyebrows. "If you are waiting for permission, the answer is 'please continue,'" He said with a nod and gesture of his hand. His statement was humorous in relation to the situation.

Clary hid back a smile. "I've actually never done this before..." She explained.

"Are you looking for pointers?" He offered, nonchalant.

"I... don't know," She said, pulling down his swimsuit. Her eyes widen a bit when his erection sprang free, showing that he was ready. Clary took his shaft in her hand and stroked it, feeling very aware of his eyes on her. She leaned forward.

"That's pretty brave of you to admit." Jace voiced. Clary stilled. She chanced a look up at him while trying to pretend his dick wasn't sitting in front of her face.

"That you've never done this before." He added.

She furrowed her brow and cocked her head. "Why would I lie?" She asked curiously.

Jace shook his head. "I don't know. But, some people would."

Without breaking eye contact, she closed the rest of the distance between her mouth and his member. She took just the top in her mouth first, sucking it like she would the tip of a popsicle. She liked the way his lips fell slightly open. She took him farther in her mouth sucking again. And with every dip she took more of him. He was firm but smooth and felt warm in her mouth. She picked up her pace her hand moving along with her as she coated his shaft wetter and wetter. Jace's eyes had closed and his hands were gripping tight on the arm rests. His breathing was getting louder and she wondered if he was close. Then, his member tightened in her hand and she could feel his hot salt at the back of her throat. She sucked a few more times and swallowed his cum.

Releasing him, she sat back, pleased with herself. She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket, as Jace pulled his shorts back on.

He exhaled and nodded. "Yeah, I don't think you need pointers. You're good." He said, giving her a lazy thumbs-up.

Clary grinned down and blushed. She grabbed the beer bottle next to her and stood up. "Hey, thanks." She replied. She twisted to cap off and lifted her head back, taking a drink.

What happened now? Did they keep kissing? Did they have sex? Out here in the middle of the street with their friends just on the other side of the trees? Or did they part ways... Back to their platonic relationship of what ifs and maybes? What if that's not what she wanted? What if she asked for more and he said no?

Jace was bad for her. Clary knew this. But even if heartbreak was inevitable, maybe she could put it off for a little bit longer.

Clary lowered the bottle from her lips. She saw Jace open his mouth to say something but he didn't get the chance.

"See you around, Jace." Clary cut in. Then she strolled away without another word.

Guys! I'm really pleased with this chapter. I hope I'm getting those feels across. Its giving me the feels! When you think back about that special person in your life, you remember times or moments or simple looks that sometimes seem insignificant but carry strong emotions tied with it.

Anyways, I like the way this story is lined up. Each with the present time that leads to a flashback and each chapter keeps you guessing like 'okay when is the last time they saw each other?'

Who thinks this story is gonna have a happy ending?! Who thinks it will end in heartbreak?

P.S. sorry for not updating sooner... like 2 years sooner...