Just One Night [SHORT STORY]

Chapter Five

It wasn't immediately clear what type of building it was but it didn't seem to matter when they rode the lift to the very top floor then took stairs onto the roof. The building was clearly not in use so Archer used his magic to whisk the lift to the top floor.
When they stepped out onto the roof with nothing but open sky above them and skyscrapers in every direction, Jesse felt a little nervous.
"Archer?"
Jesse didn't have a problem with heights but she was acutely aware of being on top of a very tall building with a complete stranger. A stranger with magic powers who could make motorcycle helmets appear out of thin air, killed demonic creatures and had the abs of a Spartan warrior. Jesse watched Archer as he strode confidently across the rooftop, all the way to the edge and took a step up onto the ledge.
"Archer!"
Archer turned so his back was facing the open sky and reached his hand out to her,
"Do you trust me?"
"No, I barely know you."
He smiled at that, a sad smile that spoke of intimate days and passionate nights with a woman who did know him.
"Come on, don't be shy. I won't let anything happen to you. Powerful witch, remember?" He gestured airily to himself as Jesse contemplated taking a step forward. What could he possibly want to show her from the top of a building? On shaky legs, Jesse took the steps required to close the gap between them and finally approached the edge, taking Archer's hand. She didn't step up onto the ledge with him but at his gesture with his chin towards the skyline, she peered over.

Jesse had seen the New York skyline before. Once on holiday and a million times in the transition scenes of Friends, but this...this was something else. While it looked pretty much the same, Jesse could see that this New York was vastly different. The buildings were lined with fluorescent and twinkling lights that gave it a futuristic look. Neon lights and hologrammed advertisements flashed on the sides of buildings, promoting modern technology alongside magical elixirs and spells. It was a cacophony of sounds, a kaleidoscope of colour and excitement that left Jesse feeling exhilarated just by looking at it. Her heart began to beat from the rush of adrenaline at seeing all this from so high up. She didn't realise she was standing on the ledge until she felt the warmth of Archer's breath brush against her left ear.
"This was Alex's favourite place in the whole world."
Jesse jerked, surprised by his close proximity but his arm slammed into her stomach, staying her against him so her back was plastered against the solid plains of his chest and stomach. Her breath shortened as she felt his other hand come up to rest on her hip,
"I've got you," he whispered softly, the feeling of his breath against her skin, sending shivers down her spine and curling her toes in her boots. "I'd never let anything happen to you."
She knew it was true. No matter her resistance to being seen as Alex and her need to get home, she knew Archer was being truthful. He had been so far, right?

Archer pulled her gently into him so that her ass and his groin were perfectly aligned and she felt his presence almost immediately. Jesse swallowed, embarrassed to admit that she should move from such an inappropriate position but really didn't want to. Archer continued to hold her, one hand on her stomach and the other on her hip, secure against the strength of his body.
"Alex felt like she owned the world when she was up here," he murmured into her ear and Jesse shivered. Archer removed his hand to point out toward the tightly clustered buildings.
"The Magician's Council," he showed a large neon blue covered building to their left. "The Palace of Pleasure..." he pointed out another skyscraper, this time covered in alternating fluorescent lights of purple, lime green and pink. "...and The Rose Garden." This last building was shaped like a gherkin and was made entirely of glass.
"Up here, she could see all the places she wanted to destroy and pretend they were something else...something that hadn't hurt her or tried to control her."
"Hurt me?" Jesse was alarmed, both by his words and her seeming acceptance of herself as Alex. But Archer continued,
"It gave her pleasure," he pressed himself into her ass on the word pleasure. "To look down on the people that tried to destroy her and plot her revenge. This was the place she felt truly free from all her obligations, her fears and her wants."
Jesse found herself leaning into Archer, her neck reclining so her throat was exposed to him. She didn't have the brain capacity to wonder why she was letting him do this. All Jesse knew was that he felt and smelled wonderful. Like cinnamon and strawberries, he completely enveloped her with his scent that had her careening into a memory she couldn't possibly have lived. But there, in the recesses of her mind was this feeling of being whole, being happy. Of being with him on nights just like this, a million nights before.
Jesse felt the faint brush of Archer's lips on her neck but before she had time to register it, to even try and reject it; she felt...weightless. The feeling was intoxicating, her belly folding over on itself, the wind brushing past her face in an exhilarating drop from the building's edge. Lost in his scent and the feeling of freedom, Jesse opened the eyes she hadn't realised she'd closed and saw the ground coming up from below her at a hurtling speed.
She was actually falling!
She hadn't realised what was really happening, so caught up in the feel and smell and beauty of Archer and now she was going to die.
Jesse opened her mouth to scream but almost as soon as the thought took root, the world changed and she was floating.

Floating through a world of coloured clouds and muffled music, like she was underwater and someone had put a rainbow of paint in the water. Her scream caught in her throat as Archer appeared in front of her, no longer behind her but simply holding her wrist, floating in front of her. His eyes twinkled with amusement and with his index finger he pointed away from her, diverting her attention away from his spectacular face so she could take in the beauty around her. Jesse watched him let go of her wrist and she panicked, making her arms spin trying to catch her balance. She heard Archer's laugh, sweet and tinkling like a bell and turned to see him floating around in the clouds, doing somersaults and diving through the air like he was underwater. He looked completely out of place in his black leathers but she couldn't help but be amused, even if she couldn't show it.
"You try!" he called out to her.
"Are you crazy!" she yelled out to him but the sound was muffled, coming out dim and not nearly as fierce as she'd intended.
"Quite possibly," he said. "Come on Jesse, have a little fun."
Maybe it was the way he said her name. Maybe it was the look of pure joy when he said it, but Jesse found herself trying to follow his movements and soon enough, she was doing acrobats in the middle of a psychedelic dream.

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours or days but Jesse found herself playing with Archer and loving it. From the colourful dream, Archer held her before they fell again and landed at a gun range. It was such a change from where they'd been that her brain was a little muddled as she found her footing. Archer promised it would wear off soon enough and when it did, he put a gun in her hand. Jesse couldn't have told anyone what type of gun it was but when she held it, it felt familiar somehow.
Archer clicked his fingers and protective eye and ear gear appeared on her and for the next few minutes, they took shots at the targets.
And she was good!
Everything seemed to come naturally to her and she had no idea why. The obvious reason was staring her in the face of course but she couldn't possibly be Alex. She was Jesse, she'd always been Jesse! Still, it didn't stop the feeling of familiarity when they shot automatic weapons or sparred with actual swords. It didn't stop when Archer took her to a race track to drive sports cars or to do archery in woods that looked like something out of Twilight or paragliding off the three identical towers that apparently made up the Empire State Buildings.
It didn't stop how comfortable she felt issuing spells and incantations at Archer's instruction and them working with such ease. Everything felt natural.
Everything felt right.
When they were hurtling through locations with the use of Archer's magic, Jesse found herself using powers she never knew she had. Her hands could ignite with purple flame and at one point she was sure she could hear what Archer was thinking just because she'd been staring at him, wishing she knew what he was thinking! When they'd been in a tulip field in the middle of who knew where, looking at the rainbow of colour and she sneezed, she teleported from one end of the field to another.

She'd been terrified but Archer had been there, at every moment, explaining what was a power she'd always had and what was manifested and how because of their magical surroundings. Jesse learned over the course of the night that while magic was in the blood of witches, the world they lived in acted as a conduit for other forms of power to develop. There was a world of possibility and wonder in this new world she'd found and it was enthralling. It had opened Jesse up to a type of happiness she couldn't ever remember feeling and she knew she owed what little time she had here, to Archer.
The thrills and danger of their activities, both normal and magical seemed to never end but Jesse did them all and found herself feeling connected to the activities that stopped her being afraid. She laughed and screamed with delight all with an unmistakable smile on her face that she could no longer hide. Archer saw it but didn't comment and she was thankful for his tact while they continued to have fun in the seemingly endless hours of their night together.
"Where to next?" Jesse asked out of breath with a big grin on her face. They'd just finished racing horses down a Coney Island beach and the adrenaline was still pumping through her veins.
Jesse couldn't stop smiling and she didn't want to. She didnt care if she wasn't Alex, she wanted to be if life could be this much fun with Archer. When Archer didn't respond to her and used his magic to replace her riding clothes with her previous attire - he'd used his magic to give her the riding clothes in the first place of course - Jesse grew concerned.
"Archer...what's wrong?"
Archer took a deep, regrettable breath and looked at her. "I've wasted time. I thought I could...we need to get back to the Guild."
Jesse was confused. She knew they would have to go back eventually but why did Archer look so upset about it?
"We have to get back to the Guild and figure out how to get you back to London."
Wait, what?
"Figure out?"
Archer looked at Jesse and shrugged, as though his next words meant nothing. "I don't actually know how to get you back." He looked away, guilty. "I lied that I could get you home."