Shadows
Chapter Sixteen
Romance






Irissa wondered just how Zara and Jalonia had talked her into this. It wasn’t, strictly speaking, a date. Just a few friends getting together for an outing. When they reached the restaurant for lunch, though, Irissa felt trapped and uncomfortable. She was been relieved when there was no table inside and they had to sit on the deck area. She ordered a coffee and sat at one of the chess tables.




Mark came and sat opposite her.
“I’m not very good at this game,” he admitted as he sat down.
Irissa smiled shyly. This was the guy Zara and Jalonia had set her up with. He was nice, Irissa had to concede, and good looking. She had seen him in school and been quite taken with him.
Zara and Jack sat at one of the other chess tables, looking serious. Irissa knew that they were both good. They were in their school chess teams and it was Zara that was teaching her to play. Irissa had hoped that she would be able to play with Sergey next time she saw him.




Irissa glanced across at her sister, who was playing a different kind of game, flirting with her new boyfriend, Frank. From what Jalonia had told her, she was very keen on this boy.
And from the way the boy grabbed Jalonia and kissed her enthusiastically the feeling was mutual.
Irissa was not sure that she could be comfortable making out like that in such a public place, but Jalonia didn’t seem to care. She was lost in Frank’s embrace. Their hands moved over each other’s bodies and they seemed intent on swallowing each other’s tongues.





Frank leaned Jalonia’s body back, whispering to her. Whatever he said was undoubtedly on the naughty side because Jalonia burst out with peals of her infectious dirty laugh.
Then she pushed him gently away and went to get coffee. They sat together talking intently and drinking their beverages.





“Your friend seems really tense,” Jack said to Zara. “I thought she was going to pass out in the restaurant.”
“I noticed,” Zara replied.
She was trying not to let her concern for Irissa colour her weekend. It was the first time she had been alone with Jack in months. They spoke on the phone every night and he spent weekends at Silversprings, but since she had moved from the city to live with her aunt he had only managed to spend four weekends with her. This weekend Rebekah had been away and she and jack had been completely alone.




How they had been spending the weekend...WOW. She felt hot just thinking about everything they had done.
“The lanes will be open. We should head to the bowling alley,” she said, starting to pack away the chess pieces.
Jack was still distracted.
“Will Irissa be okay there? I was hoping to get something to eat. It’s restaurants that upset her, isn’t it?”
“I think so. I wasn’t comfortable eating out at first either,” Zara replied.
“You seem to be over that part,” Jack commented.
“There was more than the murders for Irissa to deal with, that night,” Zara replied cryptically.
Jack didn’t enquire further. He knew Irissa had secrets that Zara wouldn’t share.
“Those two should get a room,” he indicated Jalonia and Frank, changing the subject.





At the bowling alley Irissa relaxed completely. The six friends spent the afternoon laughing and joking. Mark was easily the best bowler and scored strike after strike.




After winning yet another game he grabbed Irissa.
“I think I deserve a prize for that,” he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and planting a kiss on her lips.
She laughed too, but Jack thought that she looked a little uncomfortable.
Zara pulled out all the stops in the next game and managed to beat the champion, crowing in victory.





Mark caught Irissa in his arms and kissed her again.
“You don’t deserve a prize, you lost,” she protested, laughing.
“Now I need some loving to cheer me up. You need to console me,” Mark grinned. “In fact, I’ll take any excuse to kiss you.”
Irissa’s face flamed.
“You are a beautiful,” he told her, caressing her cheek. “And I’m having a great time with you.”
Irissa smiled weakly, uncertain of how to react to such a statement.





She put her arms around his neck and let him kiss her again. She was lucky. He was a good looking boy, really sweet and he seemed to like her a lot.
This was what girls her age should have. Good friends, fun days out and cute sexy boyfriends. Yet there was still a funny empty space inside her, like something was missing.




When they went to eat the feeling of panic came back. The others happily checked out the menus and discussed the food options.
Irissa ordered a burger and struggled to eat it. Her jaw seemed clenched and every muscle in her body was tensed. Even speech seemed difficult.
Zara was very conscious of her friend's discomfort and as they ordered deserts she was well aware of how much Irissa just wanted to be out of the restaurant. Still, she ordered the sundae she wanted, knowing that Irissa would not want her to fuss and leave. Her mind worked overtime on how to deal with the problem.




When they left the table Mark took Irissa in his arms again.
I want to take you out again” he told her. “A proper date. Just you and me.”
“Okay, call me then,” Irissa answered, surprising herself by taking the initiative and kissing him.
“Oh wow,” Mark laughed when they broke the kiss. “Now that I liked."
“I’ll call you as soon as I wake up tomorrow,” he promised.
“That would be nice,” Irissa assured him.



Secret Garden





“Oh my Goddess! It’s amazing. And this was here? Like this?” Irissa gasped in astonishment.
“Not exactly. I’ve been working on it for weeks,” Zara admitted. “The circle was part of the floor design but it was covered in moss and weeds and there were tiles missing. It was covered in rubble.”
“So she called me and we cleared the weeds and fixed as many of the tiles as we could. We unclogged the fireplace and tidied the whole place. It’s been a lot of work. Your birthday present,” Jalonia grinned. “We wanted it finished by next week.”
“But how did you find out about these ruins at all?” Irissa asked.






“Old Mrs Kofman, Jack’s gran, told him about the place. Said he had a friend who would want to know. She’s a bit of a witch herself,” Zara grinned. “He helped me that last weekend he was here.”
“So are you going to teach us, Sis? Form your own coven?” Jalonia teased.
“I don’t know a lot, but if you like, yes,” Irissa replied.
“I was told that you are ‘one of the real ones’. That will do for me,” Zara grinned.
“Who by?” Irissa asked, curious.
“Rowena. She’s well impressed with you,” Zara replied.
Irissa felt a warm glow flow through her. Rowena was a talented witch and had been initiated by the coven of a very well known and respected founding member of the modern craft. To have her endorsement meant something.





They spent the early evening running through the basics of casting the circle and calling the quarters. The ruins had a wonderful feel. Zara said that there were strange and evil stories about the place that tended to keep people away, but Irissa knew that there were no negative entities anywhere in the grounds. There were presences, but not malign and none of them chose to show themselves that evening.
“We should get some special clothes for doing this,” Jalonia suggested.
“And waterproof cloaks for poor weather,” Irissa replied.
“And hurricane lamps,” Zara added. “These candles would go out in inclement weather.
“We work in bad weather?” Jalonia protested.
“Being at one with the elements means all of them, Jal,” Irissa intoned sombrely.





The late June day had been warm, but as the sun began to set it became cool. It was Friday and the girls could stay out late. Happy to stay in their secret garden they moved to the cushions Zara had brought and the blonde girl lit the fire in the old grate.
“How are you getting on with Mark? You had a few dates I know, but you seemed pretty cool with him today,” she said to Irissa.
“Yeah, we were getting on really well,” Irissa told her. “We went to the cinema a couple of times, and bowling again. And he came over to the house.”
“Were?” Zara latched on to that.






“Well, he came over last night and it was good. Jalonia and Frank went up to watch TV upstairs and we stayed in the lounge. It was nice. We were cuddling and smooching on the sofa. He kept making me laugh. He can be a really funny guy,” Irissa smiled, remembering.
“But then he kept trying to put his hand up my jumper and touch my breasts. I told him to stop a few times.”
Zara glanced at Jalonia, who shrugged.





“Anyway, he just laughed at me and tried to put his hand between my legs. I got really pissed off and told him if he didn’t stop he could just go home,” Irissa explained.
“He said, ‘fine, if that’s what you want I’ll go’ and he stood up and just glared at me. I told him that he had no respect for me and that if he cared at all he would listen to me.”






“He told me I was stupid and frigid and that I should be glad that he couldn’t keep his hands off me. That I should be flattered.”
“I got really mad and told him he was arrogant and big headed and why should I be glad just because some guy couldn’t think with anything other than his dick. He told me that any other girl would be glad that he was interested in them and that there were girls in school who would give anything to be in my shoes,” Irissa frowned angrily.
“Then he asked what I thought Jalonia and Frank were doing upstairs and that he bet that they were having a lot more fun. That Jalonia was hot and sexy and I wasn’t worth the effort. That I was weird.”





“I told him that it was tough that she was spoken for, then, and if that was how he felt he could just leave. It was no loss to me,” Irissa continued.
“So he did. We broke up,” Irissa finished.
“And how do you feel about that?” Zara asked.
Irissa shrugged.
“He was right about Frank and I, though. We were having sex upstairs,” Jalonia confessed.
“Really?” Zara raised her eyebrows. “So was it your first time?”
Irissa said nothing. Jalonia had already told her how she had lost her virginity to Frank a few weeks before.




“No. That happened about three weeks ago. It was a gorgeous day and I was over at his place. I don’t know if you have been there Zara. It’s kind of a big cabin with a couple of acres of forest lands round about. Frank decided we should go for a walk in the grounds.”
“He went the whole hog on the romance thing. Lots of kisses and caresses and he took me to the most gorgeous parts of the grounds. We had a walk by the stream and through the trees.






“He did all the prince charming stuff, kissing my hand, saying all kinds of romantic things. Really sweet."
“Then he told me he had a really special place to show me and we were going to have a great afternoon there. I’ve got to admit I was kind of getting the impression he was intending taking things further than we had, but I wasn’t that adverse to doing a bit more.”




Jalonia recounted how they had ended up in a lovely wooded glade. Although she had been prepared for some more intense making out and perhaps some foreplay, she had been a little taken aback when Frank had completely undressed. He had given her little time to think, though, pulling her against him and running his hands over her body.
“I want to see you,” he had told her, starting to remove her clothes.
Jalonia had let him undress her, caught up in the magic and romance of the afternoon.
He had looked at her with wide eyes.
“You are beautiful, babe,” he had told her huskily.




She had let him lie her down on the soft turfed ground where he had begun to kiss her. He had touched and stroked her until she was gasping and writhing beneath him.
He made a small growl in his throat.
“Oh yeah, baby, you’re ready.”
He moved closer to her, his penis prodding at her.





On his first thrust into her Jalonia yelped at the sharp pain and tried to buck him off.
“Easy, honey. It’ll be all right,” he promised, holding her down and pushing forward again. The second jab was less uncomfortable and she relaxed a little.







He circled his hips against her as he moved into her and there was no more pain. Jalonia made a soft sigh as the pain changed to something else, a promise of something good building inside her. She arched her body closer to his and moved her hips to the tempo of his movements.






“That’s it; honey, oh God, yes. This is so good, oh God, yes...” Frank groaned.
Jalonia could hear her own voice gasping his name, begging him not to stop, even though it was apparent he had no intention of doing so.





The pleasure reached its peak and spilled over her, so intense she screamed aloud, her body thrashing beneath his. His body quickened pace as he pounded into her.
Sated from her own orgasm Jalonia watched the play of tension and release on Frank’s face as his body trembled with the venting of his seed into the condom he had put on just prior to entering her.
Relaxed now he lowered his body against hers and held her for a few moments.
“You were sensational,” he told her. “My beautiful Jalonia.”




“So, for me the earth really moved,” Jalonia grinned at her friends.
“Well, definitely a bit more romantic than my first time,” Zara laughed. “A woodland setting, careful seduction. Sweet. Frank certainly made an effort.”
“It wasn’t his first time. He knew what he was doing.”Jalonia shrugged. “Jack wasn’t romantic.”
Irissa tried not to fidget. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to be hearing these revelations.





“Hell, no. I didn’t give the poor guy a chance to be romantic. I had only seen him a few times since my folks...” Zara’s voice broke slightly. “...well, since I had moved out here to stay with Rebekah. He was staying the whole weekend from Thursday night as there was a school break. And Rebekah was visiting friends that weekend.”
"We were in the games room in the basement. We were making up for lost time with the making out and I decided that wasn’t enough.
“I practically ripped his clothes off and we ended up on the floor. I wouldn’t say it was romantic at all, but I really needed to be that close. Like Jalonia said, it hurt at first, but I didn’t care. I just wanted Jack to be having sex with me."




“It was pretty wild and frantic, but that was so much what I wanted. I think I just needed to know I was alive, doing something life affirming,” there was another break in Zara’s voice as she spoke.
Irissa reached over and touched her hand.
“It was the first time for both of us, but in spite of that we both came. I think that was partly to do with the desperation I was feeling. My body kind of knew how to get what it needed,” Zara half laughed.





“Anyway, that was just the start. We moved to the bedroom a while later and did it again. It was gentler that time, much more romantic.”




“It didn’t let up the whole weekend, except when we went out with you guys. We did it on my bedroom floor,”





“On the bathroom counter. I was brushing my teeth and Jack came out of the shower. I didn’t even let him get dried off before I made him take me.”




“We were exhausted by the end of the break. We had hardly slept. But I felt better than I had in weeks. We just held each other and caught up on sleep most of the Monday.”
“So I guess now you think that your sister and I are a pair of slut?” Zara grinned, knowing that Irissa would think nothing of the sort.






“Of course not. Here’s another lesson from the Goddess. ‘All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals...’” Irissa quoted. “Making love with Jack and Frank was right for you two. Sexual pleasure and the connection between two people is a gift. I just don’t want to share that with Mark.”


Plans




The next morning Zara came to a decision and phoned Sergey to discuss Irissa and her concerns for her friend.
“How is she doing?” Sergey asked.
“She’s doing really well in school,” Zara said.
“She’s caught up with all the subjects she was behind in and she’s making friends,” Zara assured him. “But that’s not what I’m worried about, Sergey. Can I come and see you? We could meet at the diner.”
“I should be there at about one o’clock, if that’s ok.”





She was surprised that Ladislaus was with his father when she met Sergey at the diner.
“I wanted to check out how you were doing. I haven’t seen you since your parents died,” Ladislaus told her.
“I’m doing ok. Well, kind of. Rebekah is okay and I have good friends. Jalonia and Irissa are great and Jack comes over every couple of weekends.”
“And Irissa? How’s she doing?” Ladislaus demanded.
Zara frowned to herself. It was great seeing Ladislaus, but she really wanted to talk to Sergey.
“Mostly okay,” she turned to Sergey. “But she has developed a real terror of restaurants. Almost a phobia. It’s kind of putting a damper on outings with friends. When we all went out bowling with our boyfriends we went for a meal after and she was almost too afraid to eat.”





“Irissa has a boyfriend?” Sergey and Ladislaus asked at the same time.
Zara almost laughed.
“She did have. She dumped him because he was coming on too strong. He wanted her to have sex,” Zara waited to see the reaction.
“She’s too young,” Sergey said with paternal protectiveness.
Ladislaus said nothing, but scowled.




“I was trying to keep some distance from you and Irissa in case the Cappelli’s decided you had told us what happened that night...”
Zara looked sharply at him, suddenly scared.
“...don’t look so shocked, Zara. I know what happened that night, but I won’t be telling anyone. You and Irissa won’t be involved in any trial but I will get that family somehow. More importantly now, I need to see Irissa and try to sort out the problems she’s having,” Sergey finished.
They ordered desert and coffee and waited until the waitress moved off again.
“It’s her birthday next week. I thought maybe you could take her out somewhere nice. She would feel safe with you and it might help her get over her fear,” Zara suggested.
“You are a smart girl,” Sergey grinned.