Clary was still waiting for the penny to drop. It was strange this feeling, like her life hung in the balance. Waiting. Waiting and waiting some more.
The waiting had taught her something. She now knew how Jace must have felt while she was in Paris. Clary had been so busy soaking in Paris, going to class, meeting new people, learning (or rather failing to learn) French and generally taking in the sights and sounds of Paris to ever feel like she had been waiting. The same could not be said for Jace who had been back home counting the days until she came back. The weeks Clary had spent waiting for Jace's answer so far had felt like forever, but she knew it was nothing compared to the ten months he'd waited for her. It made her feel even more guilty for being such a horrible long distance girlfriend. Jace deserved better, must better but even though she knew that she couldn't help wanting him anyway. By some miracle he still seemed to care for her. Clary just had to keep hope alive that he wanted her more than he wanted children. She knew it was a selfish wish, but she couldn't help it.
At least now she got to see Jace more than before. Even just having him back in her life in any capacity had so greatly added to Clary's happiness that she hardly knew what she'd do if he left her again. Being friends was so much better than nothing. Even if she couldn't hold him or kiss him anymore, she could at least make him laugh and see him smile.
And despite everything Clary had to admit Annika was fun to hang out with as well. The more time she spent with Jace and Annika the less jealous she became. The two of them acted more like bros than lovers. Annika was more butch than Alec. Clary was pretty sure Annika knew how to put up drywall and use power tools.
"Dad always said no daughter of his would be caught helpless without a man," Annika said by way of explanation when Clary asked where she learned how to fix a sink.
"Definitely a good thing," Jace said. "As the only 'man' here had no clue how to do that and has been putting off calling the landlord about it for a week."
"Doesn't surprise me," Annika sighed as she stood back up from where she'd been with her head under the bathroom sink. "As you've also been putting off moving to a less expensive apartment for like ever!"
"Not that long, just since Jon moved out," Jace argued. "It was affordable with a roommate."
"But you don't have a roommate anymore," Annika reminded him. "And you're low on single friends who need a place to crash. I ain't moving in."
"They are all rather coupled up aren't they," Jace sighed. "So annoying."
Clary couldn't help but laugh at the look on Jace's face.
"Then there is Clary," Annika continued. "Ex girlfriend for a roommate? Bad plan, so put out an ad and get a stranger roommate or MOVE already!"
"Geez tell us how you really feel," Jace grumbled.
"I think she just did," Clary giggled. Watching Annika verbally abuse Jace was rather fun to watch, especially when Annika was right and Jace knew it.
Jace's eyes darted back and forth between them before he said, "I feel somehow outnumbered."
"And don't forget you still owe me a blind date," Annika added.
Jace held up his hands to start counting on his fingers. "Let's see. Simon's engaged, Jordan's got Maia, Jon is smitten for Paige, Will is definitely taken though I can't say I totally understand exactly what his deal is and then there is my best friend who is not only happily married but also batting for the other team," Jace reminded her. "Do you think Alec would go on a blind date with you?" Jace was laughing before he finished the sentence.
"Surely you have at least one single straight guy friend!" Annika exclaimed.
"Didn't we just establish I have no single friends?" Jace reminded her.
"I take your point," Annika grumbled. "Still seems unfair."
"Meh that's life," Jace replied, unsympathetically.
"There is always the 'ask some random guy at the gym' option?" Clary suggested.
"Urg!" Annika groaned. "That's how I got mister sensitive over here." She gestured to Jace. "Who knew such a jacked guy would be so touchy feely. I mean sure you're hot, don't get me wrong but you shape your nails more than I do!"
"He stole my nail file once," Clary giggled. She totally knew what Annika meant.
"Oh and you can't fix a sink," Annika stated as if this settled the matter. "I should put out an ad. Wanted: boyfriend who can fix a sink and won't steal my nail file."
"Oh hush," Jace said. "I'm awesome."
"Not at Mario kart," Annika chuckled. It was at this point Jace gave up.
"I'm hungry," he said. "Who wants pizza? I'm leaving."
Clary laughed but agreed she could eat. Annika said she wanted pineapple on hers and seconds later Jace ran out the front door like a wolf was on his heels.
"I wouldn't do it if it wasn't so much fun," Annika sighed as the door closed behind Jace. "He just reacts so well."
"Yeah," Clary said absently. She couldn't help but stare at the door Jace had just walked out of. She'd caught herself doing this earlier too, but thankfully Jace hadn't been looking. Clary felt pathetic with all this staring but she couldn't help it. The man was beautiful, inside and out.
"Way to gock," Annika chuckled. Clary snapped out of her trance and turned her eyes away.
"Sorry," she mumbled. Clary was determined to pretend it was nothing and had just thought of a topic to switch to when Annika's voice made her jump.
"The way you too look at each other!" Annika exclaimed loudly, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Sorry," Clary groaned. "I know it's lame. It's just that it's almost involuntary. When it seems like he isn't looking I just… stare."
"I've never met two such stupid people in my life," Annika chuckled a little louder. "He looks at you when you aren't looking too! His eyes get all soft and he spaces out, just like you."
Clary just blinked at her. That couldn't be right. Jace was still figuring things out. If he still loved her the way he had then surely he would have figured it out by now?
"You don't know what I'd give to have someone look at me the way Jace looks at you," Annika added.
"Even as I hear the words I find them hard to believe," Clary admitted.
"Believe it!" Annika said firmly. "Even if I'd been the teeny tiniest bit interested in Jace romantically I knew from the moment I met him that I didn't have a hope in hell at winning his heart because it has and will always be yours."
Clary couldn't help feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. She was probably smiling from ear to ear even if a part of her still wanted to be cautious. The higher her hopes got the farther it was to fall.
"See there's a smile," Annika said with a grin. "I know the idiot is taking a long time to think about it, but he'll get there."
"Alec tells me you've taken to punching him by way of greeting whenever he says he hasn't decided yet," Clary giggled. Alec had told her this just recently and she had to admit the idea was amusing. Annika seemed like a really great friend.
"Yeah, it's fun," Annika laughed.
"While I appreciate the gesture, I owe him this time," Clary explained. "He can take as long as he needs. It's my turn to be patient."
"That's all well and good for you," Annika replied. "But what about me? Will they, won't they! I'm sick of it. Just kiss and make up already so that the rest of us can get on with our lives!"
"Thanks," Clary smiled at her. "I have to be honest, when I first heard about you I- well I sorta spent an entire afternoon crying, but now I'm really glad Jace met you. I think you've been good for him."
"He's been good for me too," Annika replied. "We had a lot of healing to do. Bit of an 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' kinda situation."
"Whatever works," Clary smiled.
"I wonder how long Jace will be with that pizza," Annika said thoughtfully.
"Not that long," Clary chuckled. "Why?"
"I think pre-dinner snacks are in order," Annika grinned, before heading to the kitchen to raid Jace's cupboard.
By the time they heard the door open, Annika had found and eaten Jace's secret beef jerky stash.
"It's his fault if you think about it," Annika commented as she chewed. "For hiding it so poorly."
"He lives alone," Clary laughed.
It was then that they heard the door. Clary called out in his direction so Jace would know where they were. When he walked around the corner the first thing he noticed was the empty beef jerky wrapper.
"You little thief," Jace commented loudly. "Just for that you are paying for the pizza."
"Totally worth it," Annika said, as she dug into her pockets and pulled out some cash.
Once he'd put down the pizza and pocketed the money Jace looked suspiciously from one person to the next as if he'd only just realized he'd left his ex-girlfriend and his ex-lover alone in an apartment together.
"You two better not have been talking about me while I was gone," Jace stated.
"Of course we were talking about you, idiot," Annika pitched in. "What else do we have in common?"
"Why do I hang out with you again?" Jace whined.
"Because you like it when I eat all your food and beat you at video games?" Annika offered.
"That's definitely not it," Jace scoffed.
"You enjoy getting mercilessly teased then," Annika grinned.
"Nope," Jace said. "You're just useful to have around when my sink breaks."
Clary couldn't help but laugh at that. Despite their bickering, she knew they both valued their friendship more than video games or sink repairs.
The three of them settled down to watch a marvel movie after that. Despite pigging out on beef jerky, Annika ate more pizza than either of them. By the time the movie ended she decided to call it a night since she had to get up early the next morning for work.
Clary didn't think she'd get lucky enough to be invited to stay over with Jace twice. She expected him to start hinting for her to go home, but instead he suggested another movie. Clary agreed and the two of them binged the marvel cinematic universe until well past midnight.
Clary woke up, disoriented. She didn't remember falling asleep. Sure, it had been pretty comfy on the couch beside Jace, but when had she fallen asleep? Blinking, she looked around. It was dark but the faint hint of morning could be seen out the window. By early morning light she could just see the outline of furniture and when she moved closer Jace's face. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open. She could hear his even breathing as the only sound in the room. He wasn't full on snoring but there was a noise to his breathing that sounded a bit like snoring, just quieter. It reminded her of how he'd gone to that sleep clinic all those years ago so he'd stop waking up Alec in the dorms.
Still thinking about the past, Clary remembered the first night she'd spent in Jace's company. That time she'd been the one sleeping. He'd made her feel so safe and calm then too. Clary moved slightly to get a better view of his sleeping face. Even in pitch black he was beautiful. She fought the urge to reach out and stroke his face in case it woke him up. Instead Clary moved slowly away, and looked for her cell phone. After some fumbling around in the dark she found it on the kitchen table where she'd left it after the pizza.
There were a few texts there from Magnus checking up on her and wondering if she'd be home. The last one, sent just before midnight, said he was going to assume she was crashing at a friend's place unless told otherwise because the idea of her dying in a ditch upset him. Clary couldn't help but smile at the message. Magnus was so sweet staying up worrying about her even if he should have just gone to bed. A better friend than Clary would have checked her phone before passing out so as not to make Magnus worry. Clary however had been too caught up in the moment to bother wondering where she'd left her cell phone last night.
Clary had to be at work for eight thirty today but as it was barely six she had some time to kill. Moving quietly, Clary went to the kitchen where she made herself a light breakfast and a hot drink. Rather than turn on a light that could wake the sleeping Jace in the living room, Clary used the flashlight on her phone to put butter on her toast and fill the kettle. Thankfully Jace had one of those kettles that clicks when it's done instead of whistles.
Her toast eaten, Clary took her steaming mug and went to sit in the living room. Sitting in a chair across from him Clary sat down and watched him sleep while she drank her tea. She couldn't quite decide if the mug of tea made the whole thing more or less creepy, but even so she couldn't resist just sitting there watching him. If he asked why though she was going to tell him she'd been scrolling through her phone instead of simply staring at him.
The sun was well on his way to rising now, lighting up the living room more every minute Clary sat. It was quite something to watch the sun slowly lit up Jace's face, like watching a sunrise but better. The sun had almost filled the entire room with shining light and Clary felt sure Jace was going to wake up soon. She wasn't sure how he could sleep with so much light in his eyes, but then again he'd always been a deep sleeper.
Bringing her mug to her lips, Clary took another sip of her tea and realized it was empty. She could make more but the time was approaching eight and she'd have to leave for work soon anyway.
She couldn't remember if Jace had to work today or not. Should she wake him before she left in case he did? Annika might have had the right idea, heading home at a reasonable hour on a work day.
A soft muffled groan caught Clary's attention. If she hadn't already been looking at him the sound would have turned her gaze to the now stirring figure on the sofa.
"Bright," Jace grumbled.
"Good morning," Clary giggled at him.
"Wait what?" Jace said, sitting up a bit too quickly. He was still blurry eyes as he seemed to take in where he'd been laying. "Did I fall asleep on the couch?"
"Sure did," Clary answered. "So did I. I just woke up first."
"And make tea," Jace added, gesturing to the mug in her hand.
"You haven't changed where you keep the tea or sugar since I lived here," Clary replied.
"What can I say, I'm a creature of habit," Jace said with a shrug. "What time is it?"
"Almost eight," Clary said. "I have to leave for work soon."
"Oh shit me too," Jace groaned. "I gotta shower." He stood up and moved towards the hallway leading to the bathroom, then he stopped and turned. "But um… yeah so… thanks for staying," he said somewhat awkwardly. "It was nice hanging out last night."
"Really nice," Clary agreed, smiling at him. She thought of saying something sappy like how anytime he wanted her near all he had to do was ask, but the mood didn't feel right. Jace was half asleep and she was gonna be late for work if she stayed any longer.
"Anytime you wanna binge watch movies again count me in," Clary said instead, trying to be more casual.
"Noted," Jace said. "Okay gotta shower now."
"I'm gonna head out then," Clary said. "I'll see you later?"
"Yeah," Jace smiled back. "Later."
Anyone got any guesses where I'm going with this? ^_^ Tehehe. Not long now!
Sneak Peek Chapter 200
"Ooh this one has a pool," Alec said.
"We so don't need a pool," Magnus countered. "Here, how about this one?"
Alec turned to look at the laptop screen and scoffed. "That's just a condo."
"Yes but it's under 400 thousand," Magnus argued.
"What is the point of going from an apartment to a condo?" Alec disagreed. "It's basically the same thing."
"The point darling is equity instead of rent," Magnus reminded him.
"I want a lawn," Alec remarked.
"Does that mean you intend to mow it?" Magnus replied.
"I can pay someone else to mow it," Alec grinned.
"It's a wonder your parents didn't cut you off sooner," Magnus sighed. "You spend money like most people drink water." Magnus paused to do a couple searches before speaking again. "There aren't any lawns for less than 600 thousand." Magnus did another search. "Scratch that. The condos are still showing up in the 700 to 800 range. Damn!"