Falling in Love

***Author’s note*** this story can be read as a stand-alone, but it is part of my Falling series.

A combination of fire and alcohol had warmed Jenny flushing her face. She took another sip of her hard lemonade and threw a penny into the fire. Hints of blue-green flame danced with the orange and red hues. 

“Jenny!” Aurora chided. “We’re not children, and besides, this isn’t a wishing well.”

“What difference does it make, Aurora? It’s one cent. It’s cheap entertainment if you ask me.” Evelyn said.

“Except no one did, and now with your two cents, it’s three wasted.” Aurora said.

“It’s just so magical.” Jenny responded in a higher than normal pitched voice. She rested her head on the back of her chair and stared at the sky. “Look at the moon. It’s so...” 

“Magical?” Evelyn interjected.

“How did you know?” Jenny inquired.

“I’m a mind reader.” Evelyn chuckled.

“I think the full moon has caused our friend here to go a little looney.” Aurora teased. “Oddly enough, the word lunatic is derived from luna, which refers to the moon, obviously. Many people thought madness was correlated to the stages of the moon.” 

“Okay smart ass, I think you’ve gone a little looney too.” Evelyn said.

***

The absence of street lights and the presence of woods meant that Ryan and Ethan were getting closer to their destination. The last trek of the journey; however, was the most difficult because both men were weary. Ethan was grateful to be in the passenger’s seat as his eyes fluttered open and shut.

“We’re almost there.” Ryan said.

“Good.” Ethan yawned.

Just as if he had summoned it out of nowhere, the next turn Ryan made had them rolling up a dirt road toward the cabin. The log cabin was gorgeous. It had a rustic and cozy charm, and it was secluded by the woods. As they approached, Ryan tapped the horn. Ethan and Ryan made their way inside. From there, they could see three women sitting around a camp fire out back. Behind the women the lake spread out seemingly for miles. The full moon was reflected in the calm water.   Ethan had wanted to change, but since they had already missed dinner, they dropped their bags and went out to join the women.  

“Hello!” They called. Their voices echoed. 

“Hello!” The women returned the echo.

“It’s about time!” Aurora said.

“Sorry, honey, we got stuck at work. The full moon brought out all the loonies tonight. We were slapping bracelets on people left and right.” Ryan walked over to Aurora and kissed her head. “Evelyn, Jenny, this is my buddy Ethan.” He gestured to Ethan as he spoke.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Evelyn said.

“Uh oh, who called the cops?” Jenny said. “Please don’t arrest me officers. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Are you three causing trouble?” Ethan grinned.

“Don’t listen to her. She’s drunk.” Aurora said.

“I’m not drunk. I’m just happy.” Jenny answered.

“Okay, sure.” Aurora said.

“Yes sweetie, that’s how alcohol works.” Evelyn said.

Jenny didn’t bother fighting back. Her attention had been drawn to him. Jenny stared at Ethan. She couldn’t resist a man in uniform. The fire illuminated his face making it glow, which added more warmth to his honey brown eyes. His badge glinted from the flames.

“May I partake in this happiness too?” Ethan said.

“Help yourself.” Aurora pointed toward the cooler.

Ethan grabbed two beers and gave one to Ryan. Ryan took a chair next to Aurora, and Ethan sat between Ryan and Jenny.

“Make any interesting arrests today?” Aurora asked.

“Certainly did.” Ryan answered. “We arrived at the store for a report of a suspected shoplifter. Now, keep in mind asset protection at this place is crazy. They hide in clothing racks and literally chase people. They also have employees whose job it is to watch video footage of the self-checkout. Many people think they are so clever and stack items when they scan them so that only one barcode is scanned. What they don’t know is these employees are hawks, and can see it.”

“Anyway, he digresses.” Ethan said. “The suspect was a pregnant lady who was accused of hiding items under her sweatshirt. When she was asked to take off her sweatshirt, there was nothing there. Nobody was going to make her take her t-shirt off, of course.   That would have been awkward for everyone. We had a female officer do a pat frisk and lo and behold, Ms. Pregnant lady is not pregnant. It was a hollow bump where she hid all the items.” 

“A for effort though.” Ryan added. “She almost got away with it. She fit a lot of shit in there too. It was close to $200 worth of items.” 

Everyone laughed, but Jenny’s laugh was over the top. “You arrest them and we defend them.” This time, everyone was in hysterics. 

“It sounds like a slogan.” Evelyn squeaked.

“Oh no. You’re one of them?” Ethan feigned surprise and looked right at Jenny. 

“Guilty as charged.” She said. 

When she saw everyone looking at her, Jenny averted her gaze to the fire trying desperately to act cool, but she was failing. She then jumped up. In her haste, she tripped slightly. 

Ethan grabbed her wrist tightly. His words were stern. “Easy, we don’t want you falling in the fire.”  

The energy from his hand radiated through her body. The effects of the alcohol were waning but now she had a new intoxicant.

She giggled. “Oops. “I’m okay, thank you. I’m ready for some s’mores.” 

“It just so happens, he said, that I am one of the best s’more makers around.” Ethan said. 

“Is that so?” She asked.

Everyone else around the fire tittered. The obvious flirting was both hard to watch and entertaining at the same time. Ethan was quite the showman. Jenny was sufficiently engrossed in the theatrics. 

“I’ll prove it to you.” Ethan said. “Sit back down and let me make one for you. How do you like your marshmallow?”

“I like mine nice and golden. No burnt marshmallows for me.” Jenny said.

Crouching directly in front of Jenny, Ethan put a marshmallow on a stick and twirled it slowly over the fire. His shirt was taut on his frame accentuating his shoulder and back muscles. All Jenny could do was stare.  He was tenderly roasting his prized possession. He was very cautious, and yet, one wrong move and the marshmallow went up in flames like a dry Christmas tree. He quickly removed the stick from the fire and blew out the marshmallow, but the damage was already done.

“Damn.” He said.

Everyone was laughing, except for Ethan. “Hey, don’t laugh at me.” He retorted and slumped back into his chair still holding the stick. 

Now, everyone was quiet. For a moment even the crickets failed to chirp and the frogs failed to croak as if his tantrum snapped them into submission too.

Not a minute too soon, an owl hooted and Ryan broke free from his stupor. “It’s all good, dude. I love burnt marshmallows.” As he spoke, he jumped up from his chair and took the marshmallow off the stick. Then, he inhaled it in one bite, and with that, the tension melted.

***

Jenny relived that getaway weekend countless times. How, after Ryan ate the burnt marshmallow, he, Aurora, and Evelyn left her alone with him. How she wanted to be mad at her friends, but in reality she blamed herself. How, brightly blinded she was by his badge. How it brought her inherent protection and trust. She remembered how Ethan’s second attempt at toasting was delightful. The marshmallow was golden brown all around without a touch of black. As she took a bite of her s’more it oozed out and stuck to her face. How, when he looked at her, her breath caught in her throat. Then, when he wiped the marshmallow off her cheek, electricity coursed through his fingertips into her body. When he pulled her in close and kissed her, she knew she was his. 

Now, looking back, the warning signs were there. He had grabbed her wrist a little too hard, and his temper when his pride was bruised, sealed her fate. But his kiss, his kiss, owned her.