Mirror in the Forest: Book One (30 page)

Jessica was exhausted, but happy. The party had gone very well, except the occasional mess she had to clean up. Everyone had been mostly respectful the whole night. They had to chase a few couples out, but otherwise no issues that Jessica could see, and nothing broken except a couple of glasses.

It was now five o’clock in the morning, and Jessica, Alex, and Tessa were finishing cleaning up the house.

Jessica leaned against the table and wiped her brow with a rag in her hand. Tessa was napping on the couch, and Alex sat there with his head in his hands on the table.

“You better not barf there,” Jessica warned Alex.

Alex looked up and gave her the middle finger. “I won’t, your highness. Isn’t there something you need to do?”

Jessica took a deep breath and started to tremble a little. “I have a few more things I need to do,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.  

“Bullshit,” Alex muttered and put his head back in his arms.

“I do,” Jessica tried to reason, but not convincingly.

“Like Alex said, ‘Bullshit,” Tessa suddenly said from the couch smirking.

“I…..”

“He's waiting for you, moron,” Alex said.

Tessa got up from the couch, and came over to her friend. “We can finish up here, just go.”

“Says you,” Alex said groaning.

Jessica hesitated. “I can’t. I want this place to be spotless.”

Tessa threw her arms up in frustration and Alex raised his head again and shook it.

“It’s fucking fine! You’re going to miss getting laid on your eighteenth birthday?” Alex asked, incredulous.

Jessica looked from Alex to Tessa and back again. She still hesitated, because her nerves of what was going to happen were frazzled already.

“If you don’t leave now, then I am taking you over there myself, and dropping you off,” Alex threatened.

Tessa made Jessica look her square in the eyes. “I know where the spare keys are. I will lock up.”

Jessica took a deep breath, and said, “I should go, huh?”

Alex ran a hand through his hair and banged his head on the table, but regretted it. “Ouch. Godammit, go!”

Jessica made her decision as her two friends continued to stare her down. She finally rushed up the stairs, and began to freshen up. Her hands shook as she washed her face and did her hair.

She gazed into the bathroom mirror, and was satisfied with how she looked, even though she was tired.

She grabbed her purse, and her keys. Taking another deep breath, she walked back downstairs and hugged her two friends thanking them for finishing up for her.

Jessica’s heart pounded against her rib cage when she pulled up in front of Mark McKenzie’s house.

Jessica spotted his
Camaro
in the driveway, and an outside light still on.

She looked around and was surprised by how big the house was.

It was two different brown colors, and just one story. The roof was a dark brown and the house was a light brown that looked like a brick home painted over. The shutters were also a dark brown, and a big window accented the front, but was covered by a white curtain.

There was a carport where the Camaro was parked, and Jessica could see another car sitting behind it, but could not make out the model from her viewpoint.

The yard was bigger than her parents’ house, and Jessica thought it looked well maintained.

A small landscape decorated the front of the house, but everything looked dead right now from the winter. There were other houses dotting the street here and there.

She gripped the steering wheel for a minute, trying to decide if she had enough courage to do this or not.

She looked up to see the door open, and Mark stood there in the same clothes he had on when he came to her party.

Jessica felt herself relax a little as he waved to her from the door.

Jessica smiled and waved back. Trying to calm her inner thoughts, she grabbed her purse and exited the car.

Mark opened the screen door as she walked up and she could see he was holding a cup of coffee.

He smiled brightly and said, “Hey, thanks for coming.”

“Thank you for having me.” Jessica swallowed hard, but tried to hide it.

She smiled as she spotted the sunrise off in the distance, and thought this was the longest she had ever been awake.

“Come on in,” he said, stepping aside to let Jessica in.

Jessica knew she walked by him too fast and entered his home, but she was so nervous she could barely breathe now, feeling a lump form in her throat.

Jessica looked around while Mark closed the screen and front door. It was simple, and sparsely decorated. She had to smile, because she had heard about bachelor pads and this was definitely it.

The top half of the walls were an off white, with brown paneling covering the bottom half of them. The couch was also an off white, and looked a little worn. There were a few lamps around, and a couple of scratched coffee tables.

A recliner sat in front of a big TV, and stereo system on one side of the room.

Jessica did notice a few pictures scattered around the place, and saw a woman who looked around fifty to be prominent in some pictures, while a younger man was in others.

Jessica peered at the pictures, noticing the bright blue eyes, and long smooth dark brown hair from the woman, while the young man was blonde with blue eyes. That had to be Mark’s mother and father. His mother had been absolutely stunning. A model, Jessica thought. Now, she knew where Mark’s got his good looks.

Jessica spied the kitchen off in another doorway, with a simple dining table located inside the kitchen. There was another doorway that looked like it led down a long hallway, and she began to blush as she thought of the bedrooms.

“Not as pretty as your parents place, but it’s home,” Mark said quietly.

Jessica gave him a funny look. “No, this place is huge, and it looks fine to me.”

Mark chuckled as he shut the door, and said, “It’s a little big.”

Jessica didn’t want to ask, but she had to know. “Was this….”

Mark smiled and said, “My mother’s? Nah. I sold her house a few months ago. It was too hard to stay there. I still have her car here.”

Jessica gave him a sympathetic look and said, “I’m sorry.”

Mark shrugged and Jessica had to swallow as his muscles almost bulged through the shirt he was wearing.

“No, it’s fine. Please make yourself at home. Did you want some coffee?”

Jessica felt relief wash over her, and said, “Yes, that would be great.”

“I do have cream and sugar,” Mark said, walking to the kitchen as Jessica took off her jacket, and scarf and put them on the chair. She set her purse down, and sat down on the couch. She tried to keep her hands from shaking, and crossed them.

“Heavy on the cream, and one sugar please,” she called out.

“You got it,” he answered.

She sat there and tried to keep from running out of the door and driving back home. She hurriedly wiped her damp palms on her jeans before Mark came back from the kitchen with her coffee.

She didn’t think she could ever be this nervous. She knew she was worse than that first night with Danny, but thankfully, she didn’t feel the need to vomit everywhere.

Mark walked back out of the kitchen, smiling as he handed Jessica the coffee. “I think you need this.”

“I do, thank you,” she said and almost jumped from her seat as her fingers brushed his.

She noticed Mark’s eyes flicker, but he didn’t show any other emotion.

He sat down on the couch beside her, and Jessica held onto the coffee cup for dear life as he turned and faced her. She still looked straight ahead, and sipped the coffee gingerly.

She finally turned her eyes to him and noticed his amused expression.

“What?”

“I didn’t get any calls, so I guess the party went good,” he commented.

Jessica laughed lightly, and felt a little more relaxed. “It did, and I have to say it was a success.”

“Good.”

“I wish you could have stayed longer,” she mentioned sincerely.

Mark sat back and stretched a little putting his cup on the side table. “Me too, but duty called.”

“Thank you for stopping by and thank you for the book, it’s one of my favorites,” Jessica said smiling.

“You’re welcome. I thought that book fits you perfectly,” he answered sincerely.

“Really? How?” Jessica was taken aback by his comment.

Mark turned and looked at her dead in the eye. “You’ve come a long way Miss Winters from when I first met you. You wouldn’t even look me in the eyes the first day we met.”

Jessica shrugged a little and looked down at her coffee for a moment in thought. “I had some help, but I am not nearly as accomplished as getting Sheriff at such a young age.”

She noticed she had slipped on the help part, and then noticed that Mark caught the remark, but seemed to ignore it. Jessica was grateful that he didn’t say anything else about her “help.”

“Thank you. I wanted to make my Mom proud,” he said, glancing over at his mother’s picture.

Jessica turned and smiled to him. “I’m sure she is.”

Mark looked back to her a little sadly, and said, “I know, but I have my moments.”

Jessica did something she never would have thought she would do in a million years. She reached out and put her hand on Mark’s cheek, which felt rough against her palm. "You are a great Sheriff.” Mark’s look changed drastically at that moment, and Jessica could not read his expression. She sucked in a breath when she finally realized the look he was giving her, and they continued to stare at each other.

“I’ve never met a girl like you, Miss Winters,” he said, softly as her hand continued to linger on his cheek.

“Really? How so?”

“You are just different,” he commented.

“In a good way, I hope,” she said softly.

Mark suddenly reached and over and took Jessica’s coffee cup from her hand. She leaned back as he placed on the table beside her.

He was practically on top of her now, and she could feel his body heat against despite her winter clothing.

He leaned back over and cupped her face, but didn’t get all the way off of her. She swallowed hard, and knew what was coming, and hoped she could handle it.

“In a very good way,” he whispered, making Jessica respond with heat suddenly rushing to the area between her legs.

She could smell his manly scent. Gun Oil? Maybe? She wasn’t quite sure, because he was practically on top of her, and was trying to keep cool. Finally, their lips touched lightly, and Jessica held them shut at first, but Mark began to gently prod them open with his.

Mark began to relax on top of her, but Jessica didn’t mind. He wasn’t that heavy and his body against hers made her respond in ways that she never even imagined with Danny.

He arms moved along her head cupping her face, and then down her sweater as their tongues met.

She closed her eyes, and moaned a little as he freed a hand, and began to gently touch her breast through the sweater.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and wondered if there was something she do with them to please him.

Suddenly, feeling embarrassed about her inexperience, Jessica stopped kissing Mark, and rolled out from underneath him onto the floor.

She sat up on her knees for a moment, and looked to see Mark’s shocked and confused look.

“I’m sorry, Mark, “ she said regretfully.

Mark got off the couch and kneeled in front of her, but Jessica could not look him in the eye.

“For what?” He asked, softly.

Jessica looked around everywhere but him, Jessica answered, “I don’t…..I mean….I’ve never……”

He took his hand, gently forcing her to look directly at him again.

“Hey, I will never force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, alright?” He said eyeing her steadily.

Jessica felt relieved, but knew she was fooling herself. As she gazed into those beautiful blue eyes she knew at that moment she made up her mind. She was now at the point of no return. This was it, and this was what she waited months for. The Spirit of the Mirror had given her so many things over the last few months, but she was proud to say that she did this on her own, but she knew The Spirit was still a big influence.

Their eyes met and they just stared for a moment not needing any more words as Jessica’s lips curved into a smile. If only he knew, if only he knew they thing she had done the last few months. If only he knew she was there the night Sara Miller died….

There was a part of her that wanted to confess, and no longer feeling the guilt that sometimes ate at her, but then she knew if she did that Mark would hate her, and she would never have a future.

The emotions must have been predominant on Jessica’s face, because Mark eyed her in concern.