Seraphina's Awakening

Chapter Seven: Calamity

Once Sera pays for her drink, she turns, debating whether to sit and get some paperwork done—she couldn't exactly focus on work earlier. That's when she hears her name.

"Sera?" Jack is coming up the hallway that leads to his office in the back. His messenger bag is slung carelessly over one shoulder. His tousled, golden hair looks like he had been fussing with it while he paid invoices.

"Hey, Jack," she responds, trying to distract herself from her thoughts.

"It must be a long day if you're here again." His entire face comes alive with one smile.

Once again, she is sucked into Jack's friendly banter despite the disastrous date, and the strange sensations she receives around him. No matter how much she knows she should stay away, a part of her can't seem to follow through. "You have no idea." Her hard exterior cracks, allowing her to smile.

Even though there is an unspoken elephant in the room, she finds it nice to still be able to joke around with Jack like nothing has changed. It makes Sera believe that no matter what happens between them, they will always be close.

"Are you staying?" His hand extends toward the green chair in the corner window.

"Uh, no. I was just headed out," she lies.

"Me too, let me walk you to your car." His excitement is apparent with every word. As he ushers Sera out the door, he waves to the barista. "See ya tomorrow, April."

"Stay out of trouble, Jack." Her sarcasm makes Sera hide a smirk. Jack holds the door open for her, and she follows him while sipping her coffee. She finds herself zoning out as Jack begins telling her about the investigation into the date-night-failure—a glitch in the wiring of the kitchen, which in turn, caused the melt down. Sera was there; that was no glitch.

"That's crazy," she finds herself mumbling in between his sentences.

"It's crazy it had to happen that night, of all nights, but, I'm glad you're okay." His arm wraps around Sera's shoulders. As they walk closer and closer to her car, his footsteps get shorter. His body seems closer. Sera glances around, feeling those eyes once again. Her hazel eyes scan the small, half-empty parking lot, from the dumpster to the low hanging tree... everything seems quiet, anticipatory.

They finally reached Sera's car, and she tries to dig into her pocket for the car keys. The nervous anxiety is building inside her once more. Before her fingers can grasp the key ring, he pulls her into an extra tight hug. Her fingers slip from her pocket, eyes wide with surprise. When he finally pulls away from their embrace, both his hands are on her shoulders.

Looking up into his face, his eyes are on her lips. She's frozen as his hands slowly trace their way up to her neck, then her face, until he finally brings her chin to his and plants a soft kiss against Sera's lips. Her limbs grow cold, ice cold in an instant. Her eyes immediately shut and her mind floods with every daydream she has ever had about Jack. Like some corny movie trailer, Sera sees the months of flirting, the way she smiled in the candlelight, and the first kiss just now.

Abruptly, Sera hands push him against her sedan, deepening their kiss. Her mind is numb, her fingers don't feel like hers as they climb up his washboard abs and wrap around his neck. Her tongue doesn't feel like hers as it teases his. He moans against her lips, enticing her even more.

The branches in the tree above them shake. A terrible crunching sound eventually breaks the spell. Jack's lips reluctantly pull away, and he spins around to face the noise. Sera finally snaps out of it, doubled over as the cold seeps out of her body. She stands with her hands on her knees, trying to get her mind back with the deepest breaths her lungs can muster. No matter how much air she inhales, she can't catch her breath.