Hey guys, thanks for all the positive feedback! I really needed someone to tell me I didn't suck. I have literally no idea where this story is going, and I've never written anything from the male perspective before...so...its an adventure for me as well! I already have most of chapter 3 written also so I may end up posting a lot for the next few days...
anyways,
thanks!
The crackle of energy, sparks and fire. Jace wasn't sure who pulled away first. He barely registered how uneven his breathing was. Clary's cheeks were tinged pink, her breathing soft but short. Jace leaned his forehead against hers for a moment before softly touching his lips to hers again. This kiss was different, less intense, less needy. He pulled away, trying to pull himself back together, and for a second felt his self control slip away as a soft whimper left Clary's lips. He pulled away completely and let go of Clary's face. He was unaware he had even moved his hand to touch her, it just seemed to happen, seemed to be natural. Jace could feel the corner of his mouth turn up, a smirk, something he had locked away years before.
"Well...that was...intense." He said, stepping backwards and looking at the wall behind Clary. He knew if he looked at her, he would be kissing her again. He could feel the change in the room, almost instantaneously. What had been an almost awkward calm was now interrupted as Clary drew in a breath. He thought she would respond, maybe she would tell him she felt it too. Maybe she would scream at him, tell him not to touch her, shove him away and walk out the door. Honestly Jace wouldn't blame her if she did. It was unfair of him to kiss her, when he knew she was vulnerable. He raked his hand through his hair and then dared to look over at her. Her eyes were closed still, and he had to urge to shake her, anything to make her look at him again. With a sharp intake of air he realized she was crying. Not the occasional tear, but a stream of tears falling in rivers down her freckled cheeks. The urge to reach out and pull her into his chest was almost more than he could take. He couldn't wrap his head around why this girl had such an effect on him. Yes she was 'pretty' in the words of his ineloquent sister. She was small, but generally that wasn't even his type. Jace liked tall girls, thin, blonde, busty. Girls who wore short skirts and didn't use their mouth to kiss him, at least not on his mouth. Maybe it was all the years of listening to his adoptive mother cry over her husband's infidelity. Maryse was a strong woman, capable of many things. She was a lawyer, a damn good one at that. Strong and tall and feared in the court room and in her own home. Yet somehow every time Robert, her husband of over thirty years, came home smelling like another cheap date, she seemed to shrink. She never cried in front of the children, not even eight years ago, when Robert had walked out with a gold-digging blonde, who was not even as old as his son. Jace could see the day clearly, when a frantic call from his older brother had him racing back to his childhood home. When he arrived it was just in time to see Maryse standing at the front door. Robert's suitcase was in his trunk, the blonde girl, in the passenger seat of his 'mid life crisis' car. Maryse's face was stoic though, as he slammed the trunk and then drove out of the driveway. Alec was holding Isabelle, standing behind their mother. Isabelle had always been a daddy's girl. Robert had dotted on her ever whim as a child. She grew up with his love and affection. Jace and Alec had known for years about his indiscretion. Jace was ten when he moved in with the Lightwoods, and within a few months he understood that the couple was unhappy. They had been sheltered from the brunt of the drama though, as children should be. Jace shook the thought of Maryse's face, the empty look in her eyes, out of his head. He looked down at the small red-head in front of him. The tears seemed to be endless, not that he really blamed her.
"Clary..." her name rolled of his lips like a prayer. Her eyes shot open and she looked at him, horror once again gracing her angelic features.
"Oh god, Jace. I'm so sorry." She said quickly. Jace could feel his forehead wrinkle. Why was she apologizing. "I'm such a mess. I should go." She said quietly, grabbing her bag that she had dropped. "Thank you for last night, really. I can't imagine what would have happened had you not been the stand up guy you seem to be." She shuddered and turned to walk out the door and Jace stood paralyzed. Did he let her walk away, he didn't even have her number. How would he know if she was okay? Where would she go? She must live with her fiancé, so now what would she do?
"Clary... wait!" Jace called out. His voice sounded almost desperate and he wished he could fix it. Wished he could come off less needy, more detached. Clary turned around, uncertainty playing on all of her features. "I... can I at least have your number? I just... want to know you are okay." He said, trying much harder than he should have to, to sound nonchalant. Clary smiled at him sadly, and shrugged.
"Really Jace, you don't have to. Trust me, I understand well enough." She sounded sad, resigned. Jace was confused. He took a step towards her as she made her way towards the door. She was walking away, slipping away, and part of him knew he couldn't let that happen. He caught up to her in 4 steps, his height suddenly an advantage.
"Clary, what are you talking about?" He said grabbing her wrist lightly. He recoiled in on himself as he realized he had just grabbed her. What if he had hurt her? He pulled his hand back. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He said, his voice burning his apology into her. He could remember his birth father grabbing his mother by the arm every time she tried to walk away. Could remember the bruises that littered her arms, and then, the final ones that had bloomed on her neck. The last bruises. She looked down at her wrist and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Jace...It's... it's fine. You didn't ... you didn't hurt me." She said her voice soft, a soothing lull he didn't understand. His arm dropped back down to his side and he looked at the ground. "Jace," she reached down and grabbed his hand, and he tried to ignore the aftershocks of electricity he felt at her willing touch. Her hands were soft, almost as soft as her eyes. "Seriously Jace. It's okay. I promise. Here, give me your phone." Her words were slow and as they registered he breathed in a sigh of relief and looked back up at her, pulling his phone from his pocket. She took it from him and tapped on the screen for a moment before handing it back to him. He looked down at it momentarily and smiled as he saw the new contact listed. Her name and phone number were in his phone. "Jace, I have to go. I need... I guess I need to pack." He could hear the break in her voice. He nodded and stepped away from her once again, already missing the warmth of her touch. "Text me?" She said, her voice a burning question.
"Yeah red, I'll text you." He said, his voice finally back to its normal tenor. She smiled and turned, walking out the front door of his bar.
Jace wasn't sure what the rule was for this. How long did he have to wait to text her exactly? He shook his head and looked back down at his phone before shoving it in his pocket. He walked back over to the laptop he had been working on, the alcohol order wouldn't put itself in. He was pulled out of his thoughts some time later by a chirp at the door, someone had let themself in with the code. The only options were his brother or sister, and judging from the click of heels, it was probably the latter.
"Jace." She said shortly, before sitting down beside him. He turned to look at her and smiled, it was good she couldn't always escape the hangover.
"You look rough Iz." He said with a laugh. His sister was usually the most put together girl, in any room. She was still gorgeous of course, but her makeup was less sultry today. She looked younger, more innocent.
"Yeah yeah, don't remind me." She said shaking her head and wincing. "So..." she said turning to her brother with a wicked grin. "What about the girl?" She asked. Iz was never one to beat around the bush, "How was last night?" She asked wiggling her eyebrows. Jace shook his head in disgust.
"Isabelle Lightwood. She was drunk. I carried her upstairs, put her into my bed, and slept on my couch." He said through his teeth. His sister should know better by now. Her shoulder slumped and she nodded her head.
"I figured as much... just... she was so cute." She said with a sad voice. He knew his sister meant well, in her own odd way.
"Cute doesn't even scratch the surface Iz, it really doesn't." He said quietly, his eyes trained back on the alcohol order he still hadn't been able to focus enough to send. He could feel his sister practically vibrating with excitement beside him. He sighed to himself, he shouldn't have said anything.
"Oh yeah...what would then? Scratch the surface I mean?" She asked her voice light and teasing. He turned to say something sarcastic and biting to her, and then he caught her eyes. He could see the hope that was starting to form and he admitted defeat.
"Alright Iz... I'll tell you..." he sighed again, "I'll tell you everything." He was defeated. Only Isabelle could make today about herself. And then he started. He started with telling her about the night before. About drunk Clary kissing him. He led into the note he left her, and how he had come down this morning not knowing if she would even want to meet him. He brought up their conversation. He told her about how she had a bruise on her hip from the bastard who had grabbed her. He slowed his words as he told her about he kiss. He waited for the teasing to begin, for his sister to mock how serious he was being. It was silly after all, for a thirty year old man to be so caught up in a kiss. Jace was surprised when Izzy didn't say anything, her eyes on him as he finished the story. He looked down at the phone in his hand and then he looked back up at his sister.
"Oh..." she said a small smile playing at her lips. "I see." She continued, the smile growing by the second, until he thought it would take over her entire face. "You like her." She said her voice certain. Jace rolled his eyes.
"Isabelle, I met her last night, we talked for less than 30 minutes today, I highly doubt that is enough time to like someone." He continued while pressing send on the order that should have been sent hours before. Iz looked over at him with contempt clear in her eyes.
"Text her." She said, her voice short. Jace shook his head.
"Not yet, she only just left." He replied.
"Jace, its been a solid 8 hours since she left." Jace looked up at her, disturbed. There was no way he had gotten so lost in his thoughts that he had missed an entire day. He looked at his phone again and saw the time, the club would be opening in only an hour. He grabbed his phone and clicked on her contact information again. He looked back at his sister who shrugged her shoulders and stood up. "I have to go check in with tonight's band. Just text her." She said before bouncing away. Jace inhaled deeply before typing out a short message.
"Hey, it's Jace. Just wanted to make sure you were okay." He pressed send and then ran his hand through his hair again. He was sure he wouldn't hear back from her, at least not for a while. His whole body felt his phone suddenly vibrate from beside him.
"Everything sucks." Was all the response said. His breathing caught in his throat. Was she okay? What was wrong?
"Anything I can do?" He responded, his focus fully on the device in front of him.
"Can you pick me up?" The message came in and I was already heading over to where Izzy stood with the rest of my staff. "I mean, I understand if you can't." The message followed the previous one. "I shouldn't have asked you that." Followed that one. Jace rolled his eyes.
"Give me an address and 15 minutes." He responded. Izzy looked up from her shift meeting with the staff.
"Hey Iz, I gotta run out for a little while, can you hold down the fort?" He asked quickly. Isabelle looked at him strangely.
"Jace, you have not missed a weekend at the bar since we opened. Not even when you had pneumonia." Her voice was confused. Jace ran his hand over his face and then looked up at his sister, his eyes pleading with her. His phone buzzed again and her name popped up on the screen. Izzy let out a screech much like what he assumed a pterodactyl would sound like in heat. "Go, go, go." She said before grabbing Jace by the shoulders and shoving him towards the door. Jace gave her a droll look before grabbing his keys off the bar and walking out towards his car.