Templeton Manor Book 2 of The Reflections Trilogy

CHAPTER 13. MOMENTO

"Oh my God! Is that the...? No way!"

When I grab the old bottle from the drawer to take a closer look, I can immediately tell that it's the same one we played spin the bottle with on Halloween night all those years ago.

"Yes! This is it, alright! I remember Tiffany tearing the corner of the label when she was trying to peel it off to make it roll better. Aww, I can't believe he kept this! He really did like me! He hung onto it all these years!"

An undeniable feeling of love suddenly overwhelms my heart as it floods my entire body with a warm, fuzzy feeling unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Tears start to fill my eyes as I hold it carefully between my hands and let it take me back to that hot Halloween night in Tiffany's closet. As I close my eyes, I can almost feel his lips when they first met with mine. That was the night the crush I had on him turned into something way more.

There must have been a genie inside that heard my inner most desires because he made my wish come true. It took him long enough, but then again, I'm not complaining. All those
sleepless nights I had over the years, as I yearned to be with Jace. If it had landed on anyone else, my whole life probably would have turned out different. So it must have been fate.

The way he touched me and looked into my eyes that night, I'll never forget it. It made me long to find that same feeling again. I guess that's truly the reason why none of my relationships ever worked out. They weren't Jace. That night changed something inside of me and turned my school girl crush into a full-fledged insatiable desire that would inadvertently be responsible for all of my failed relationships. Any doubts I had about the way he feels about me are all but gone now thanks to this good ol' Peppermint Schnapps bottle. Apparently, he's very sentimental like me and couldn't bear to part with it after our little romp in her closet.

I decide to put it back in the drawer and not to let him know that I found it. I guess I'm really anxious to see if he's going to tell me about it later or not.

Jace returns a few minutes later and catches me standing in front of his dresser. I can immediately tell by the shocked look on his face that he knows I've found something. But I play it cool and don't tell him I found the bottle. I just tell him I found his guns to cover it up.

"They're both unloaded and just my backups.I hope it didn't scare you when you found them."

"No, not at all. I mean, you are a cop. Now, if you hadn't told me, it would have scared the crap out of me! Hey, being undercover, do you always have to carry a gun?"

"Yes, I do, and this is what I usually carry."

He flashes his shoulder holster that's carefully concealed under his jacket and I get the most unbelievable thrill pulsating through my body. He sees my reaction and is a little surprised.

"What's the matter? Does this make you feel uncomfortable or something?"

"Umm, no. It's just...I'm really trying hard to wrap my head around all of this, is all. I'm actually impressed, Jace. Seeing you all grown up like this and you're a cop is just a lot to take in! Did I forget to mention I sort of have a thing for bad boys and that guns really turn me on.

"Is that so? Well, let me see what I can do to help you out with that!"

He starts walking toward me and playfully strikes a sexy pose and I'm not going to lie, my blood starts really pumping as he's doing this. Suddenly, the room feels like it's a thousand degrees and I'm sweating my ass off and turning every shade of red on the color wheel. Of course he sees this and immediately steps up his game.

He whips around and turns his back to me, wiggles his ass like he's just entered a twerking contest and I'm the only judge. Then slowly peels off his jacket like he's on stage at a Magic Mike strip show. Ok, so I eagerly play along and now I'm the bride-to-be at my bachelorette party sitting on a chair in front of him, waiting anxiously for him to seduce me.