by Davies, Cora
Ask her about Jeremy. Instead when he opened his mouth, he asked about something else that had been on his mind. "What is with the giant Mrs. Claus coat? It is freakin' hot in here."
"You're probably just sweaty because you've had children crawling all over you all day," she said, tightening the collar on her giant coat.
"Where did that monstrosity even come from?" He laughed removing his beard and hat. Ahhh, cool air on his face.
"It's my Christmas coat," Molly said wrapping her arms tightly around herself.
"You don't have one that isn't so... thick?" Jack asked.
"This dress Bridget bought, the new Mrs. Claus dress, it's terrible," Molly said and Jack noticed her cheeks redden.
"Is it that bad?" he asked and was met with a dead stare from Molly. He laughed. Something about spending the day with Molly without any expectations had put him in a better mood than he had been in a long time. "I have to see it."
"No, uh uh, no way," she shook her head and backed away from him. But he saw a sparkle in her eye, and he could not help but to follow her as she backed up.
"Please, let me see, I won't laugh. Scouts honor." He raised his fingers in the salute stepping closer still to her. She backed up into the wall and laughed. That laugh. That was his favorite sound in the world.
He reached out and loosened the belt at her waist, then moved his hands up to the button at her collar and pushed it through the hole in the horrid red fabric. Jack paused, waiting for Molly to tell him to stop, but she stood still and watched him with quiet interest. He slowly worked his way down the buttons, surprised that all he found under the coat was skin. "There is a dress under here somewhere isn't there?"
"Somewhere," she shrugged.
He had freed four buttons now. He paused as the realization that his hands were at her breasts hit him. Instead of opening another button, he took her chin and tilted her face up so that she faced him. Her blue eyes were shining with mischief, and it took all he had not to kiss her, but to instead continue playing this game they had started.
It had taken all of his strength to walk away from her offer of a kiss the other night. Even with the pressure of ten years of anger at himself, he still wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone in his life. Even though he kept telling himself to stay away from her.
No matter how confused he was about everything, the only thing he was certain of was he would not be someone's side piece, especially not someone like Molly. He wanted all of her, not just one night. He wanted all of her, for all of his life. If only he could ever forgive himself.
Jack's fingers shook as he slowly undid the button over her breasts. He told himself to stop, at least until Molly told her that she was done with Jeremy. But, at the moment he was being led by something other than his head. Not to mention, he was afraid of the answer he might get if he asked if she broke up with Jeremy.
The button was released and his fingers trailed over her bare cleavage as Molly's breath jerked in. He released the next button, and finally found something besides skin. White fur trim around a shimmery red fabric.
“So there is something under here,” he said, but his voice sounded strangled to his own ears. Knowing she was not naked, he worked his fingers the buttons faster now to release all the buttons, then pushed the jacket off her shoulders and onto the ground. "Whoa."
Molly stood in front of him in a short red and white dress that barely fell below her round butt. It left her bare shouldered and partially bare backed as it hugged the curves of her chest and waist. It flared around her hips, and he felt like if she spun, he would be given the gift of seeing all of Molly. She dug a red heel into the ground, turning her leg right and left. She was no longer looking at him, but had her eyes on the ground.
"Don't look away from me." He took her chin in between his thumb and forefinger and raised her face up. "There is that woman again, the insecure one. Where did this come from?"
"This is just me. Just the way I am," she said trying to pull her chin out of his grasp. He did not hold on tightly though, and if she used a little more force she would be free.
"No, it's not." He pressed his body against her and leaned down so his mouth was next to her ear. He whispered, gently nibbling on the edge of her earlobe. "You are a strong confident woman. I never see you back down from anything. You stand up for the village, for this town, for your store. When it comes to you though..." He began to kiss her neck, enjoying the way her breath was quickening as he worked his way from the base of her ear down to her collar bone. "You are the best part of the package. You are amazing. You are a goddess." He pulled his head back so he could see her face, but did not pull his body away. He looked into her eyes. "You have no idea what just the presence of you does to me."
"If it's anything like what you do to me, I know," she whispered, and Jack could not take it anymore. He put his hands below Molly's dress and placed both hands over her plump ass. She was covered slightly by the bottom portion of the dress. He lifted her into the air, careful not to touch too much.
She wrapped her arms around him. Molly nuzzled her face into his neck, and he felt goosebumps as her hot breath reached his skin. He carried her over to the small set of stairs that led up to the chair he had spent most of the day in, and laid her down on the soft red velvet carpet.
He laid over her keeping most of his weight on his own hands and off of her. Jack started with the dip in her collar bone and began to work his way up towards her mouth kissing her skin, inch by inch. His hands found a life of their own as one wrapped around her waist, and the other found her left breast. It was faster than he planned on moving with her, but Molly made no sounds of protest, only moans of pleasure. As he began to run his thumb in a circle over the cloth, he felt her nipple harden.
He used his thumb and middle finger to pinch it slightly through the fabric and Molly raised her chest upwards. Jack could not believe he was here with her. He had imagined this moment for so many years. She ran her nails through his hair, and he grew hard at her use of roughness as she dragged her nails down his neck and to his back. His mouth finally passed her chin and reached her beautiful wine red lips.
Just as his own lips parted and his mouth grazed hers, there was a loud burst of Christmas music coming from the back of the room. Jack jerked to a halt.
"It's just my phone," Molly whispered and raised her mouth to touch his. Jack used his hands to push her back to the ground, and get some distance between them. The outside world was calling. It was not just Jack and Molly, there were other people. Other realities. Other responsibilities.
Reality sunk into Jack with this interruption. "You never came and saw me this week."
"I've been so busy with the Dickens Council. I've barely had a moment," she whispered her eyes silted. "I'm seeing you now."
"Did you break up with him?" he asked and her eyes shot open in surprise.
"Do we have to talk about this right now?" Her hands drew his face to her, but he pulled away.
"Answer me," he commanded her and he felt an ache stir within his bones. It physically hurt him to be this close to her, and not kiss her. He should just kiss her. Forget about the real world. But he could not, not until he heard her answer. “Is Jeremy out of the picture?”
"It's slightly complicated." As the words left her mouth he retracted, feeling as though he had been punched in the gut. He pulled his hands away from her, and sat up. Jack rested his face on his knee, trying to push away the sting of the words. He felt Molly sit up, and wrap her arms around him. "Jack, please listen to me. We are basically broken up."
Jack shrugged Molly's arms off of him and pulled himself to his feet. "What does that even mean, basically broken up? You are either with him or you aren't Molly."
"We aren't together, but we have to pretend like we are, just for a few more weeks," she pleaded, trying to stand up but tripping over her own shoe. "Publicly."
Jack walked over to his Santa jacket he dropped just a few minutes before, grabbed it
along with his hat and beard and walked towards the front door.
"Jack! Please listen to me," she said, tears running down her face as she chased after him. "I tried to break up with him, but Jeremy said-"
"That is exactly what I'm talking about Molly!" The boom in Jack's voice surprised even him as he spun around to face Molly. She stopped mid-step, scared by his temper he was sure. He already wanted to apologize, protect her from harm. Even if the harm came from Jack. He forced himself to lower his voice.
"For whatever reason, you've decided you aren't worth anything. You're with that jackass Jeremy, who, if you haven't realized, is like every bad boyfriend from an 80s movie rolled into one. I would actually treat you like you should be Molly, instead of... instead of..."
He wanted to tell Molly what Jeremy had said about her in the bar that evening. But she was so wrapped around Jeremy's finger, would it even make a difference? "You're as toxic for me as I am for you. That's why I'm selling my business in the spring and getting the hell out of this town."
"What?" Molly pulled her jacket over her shoulders. "You're leaving? When were you going to tell anyone? Where are you going?"
"Anyone that matters knows already," he said hating himself for using those words. But if he hurt her deep enough, maybe she'd leave him alone. "I've got a chance to get in on a brewery with an old friend of mine. There is nothing keeping me back here. Especially now that you've let me know there is no chance in having a normal healthy relationship with you..." Jack trailed off. He did not know what made him madder at Molly. The fact that she was still with Jeremy, or that she was drawn to Jack even after she knew what he was capable of.
"You want a relationship with me?" Molly said as she tied the belt around her waist.
"Yes. I mean no. I mean," Jack took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. "It doesn't matter what I want. All that went out the window ten years ago."
When I ruined myself in your eyes.
Jack opened the door and walked into the cold carrying the pieces of his Santa suit in one hand. He barely noticed the blast of the winter on his bare arms.
Chapter Seventeen
Molly ordered a new Mrs. Claus dress that evening, promised that it would be there before the next weekend. Unfortunately, for that rest of that weekend she would still have to wear the itchy red jacket.
Jack did not meet her at her store that Sunday like he had Saturday. She assumed he would not. Not after what happened between them the day before. Her stomach was in knots on the way to Santa's Workshop hoping he would be there. She tried to tell herself it was just about having to find a new Santa, but she wanted to be near him. When she reached the front door to the Boughmans store, she crossed her fingers and pushed the glass open.
Jack was there dressed as Santa. Molly felt her body relax, but then immediately tensed up again as she realized this just meant she might have to deal with him being angry with her all day. Jack stood next to the Santa chair in deep conversation with Brian.
"Mrs. Claus!" Brian said walking towards Molly and extending his elbow. "A sight for sore eyes."
Molly rolled her eyes, but she placed her hand on Brian's elbow. "You mean a sight to create sore eyes."
Brian laughed a little, and Molly stole a glance of Jack. He was not looking at her, but had his eyes on the front door as the crowd began to line up outside.
"I'm actually here with some bad news." Brian patted Molly's hand.
"What?" Molly whipped around to face Brian, bad news hand delivered from a policeman was never something you wanted to hear. What could it be?
"The man that was outside your store the other night. His name is Mark McGinley and he is a person of interest in a stabbing upstate."
Molly's eyes grew wide and the room spun around her. "Person of interest, does that mean he did it?"
"You know courts, they don't want to say it just yet... there could be any number of reasons why he is a person of interest," Brian said. Molly looked at Jack. He was glaring at her with a cold stare. He was so mad at her he did not even care about this situation. "We don't think he’s around here still. Pretty sure he is long gone in fact. But, I needed to tell you anyway. Since you had the run in with him the other night. In case he does show back up, you'll know he's not a threat to be messed around with."
Molly nodded as Brian continued to talk, but the words seemed to slip in one ear and out the other. Jack stood up and rested a stiff hand on Molly's shoulder. "Nothing is going to happen Mols. No way he'd hang around here after gaining Brian's attention the other night."
The heat from Jack’s hand on her burned. She wanted to turn around and grab him, make him understand. But she stood still and tried to focus on what Brian was saying.
Brian spoke a little longer, made them promise to call him immediately if there was any kind of problem, or even a hint of McGinley. He left as the Workshop opened. The wave of children passing through the room made the day fly by quickly. Molly's mind was not static all day. It bounced between the night before with Jack to the possibility of having someone wanted for a crime so violent in town. Molly stole glances of Jack as the day passed, wishing he would talk to her. But outside of some friendly Mr. and Mrs. Claus banter for the kids, he ignored her.
When the day was finally through, Molly thought she might have a chance to speak to him. "Jack, we need to talk."
"Oh yeah?" Jack asked as he quickly moved through the room cleaning off the pieces of the workshop the children had played with all day.
"About us, about what's happening," she said stepping in front of him. Without missing a beat, he side stepped around her.
"There is no us."
"Last night-"
"Last night was a mistake. Good thing we didn't take it too far. Don't worry Mols, I won't touch you again." Jack threw the rag he held into the corner. "Are you good to finish up?"
Without waiting for an answer, he was out the front door. As it slammed behind him Molly felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes, but she pushed them away. She refused to cry today. She was crying too often for the holiday season. And what did he mean he would not touch her again? That was all Molly could think about, was his hands on her.
Molly went to work straightening up the room to prepare it for the following weekend. She stopped by the mirror as she finished and inspected her face for too obvious of a sign that she was upset. Then she headed back to her shop. She got back just as Rachel finished closing out the register for the night.
"How was today with Jack?" Rachel wiggled her eyebrows and made a thrusting motion in the air with her hips. Despite Molly's sadness, she allowed herself to laugh at her friend for a moment. Then the moment was gone, and Molly felt the break in her heart again.
"Nothing like last night," Molly said quietly. She had confided in Rachel the moment she returned from the Workshop the night before about what happened between her and Jack, and how he suddenly got mad and stomped out the door. "He's hot and cold so much, I can't tell what I'm going to get one minute to the next."
Molly slumped onto the seat behind the counter.
"Why don't you just march in there, strip off all your clothes, and demand he take you to bed?" Rachel asked. Molly wished she could say her friend was joking, but she knew Rachel would do just that if in the same situation.
"I can't," Molly said feeling annoyed.
"And why not?" Rachel asked tapping her fingers on the counter. "When Brian is being stingy and weird I always-"
"That's the problem," Molly said loudly. "You are sleeping with a married man. You don’t know how people in normal relationships act. You don’t know what it’s like to be in love with a man who won’t be with you; for reasons other than he already promised his heart to someone else.”
"Brian is going to leave his wife," Rachel said quietly. "He loves me."
"You know what? I've been hearing that for like a year, and so have you. I used to feel bad for you, now I just feel bad for Bianca. His poor wife, do you ever
think of her? She is just sitting around, feeling sorry for herself. Waiting for Brian to come home to her," Molly was almost yelling now. She tried to bite her tongue, to do anything to stop the words from coming out of her mouth. But they flew out with such a force, Molly had no control over them. "You are his side piece of action, nothing more. He's never leaving her."
Rachel looked as though she had been slapped, and Molly could almost see the joy that usually resided in her best friend's eyes drain away. "What did I do to piss you off?"
Molly did not look at her friend but instead glanced around her shop. Suddenly, all the decorations reminded her of Santa's Workshop, and the life she would never have with Jack. With a pit in her stomach, she realized she had never completely given up hope on Jack. Not even in the early years before she learned that Izzie had lied on prom night. And now she had to spend all of December with him while he ignored her. While he got ready to move away.
Molly walked over to the CD player and turned the music off. "I'm sick of Christmas shit."
"Now I know you have a fever," Rachel said adding a touch of lightness back into her voice. Molly knew her friend was attempting to cheer her up, but it was not going to work this time.
"I just want to be alone," Molly groaned refusing to be comforted.
"Fine." Rachel bundled her lanky body into her coat and scarf, keeping her back towards Molly. "Did Brian come talk to you earlier? About that guy from the other night?"
"Yeah." Molly refused to add more to that. She did not want to tell her friend that she was scared, or sorry for taking her frustrations out on her.
"Okay, well I'm going for the night. Get a good night's sleep Molly, try not to wake up such a bitch." Rachel slammed the door on her way out. Well that's two people who slammed the door in my face tonight.
Molly checked all the locks and dragged herself upstairs to bed.