"Jacob Black. What have you gotten me into?" I looked up at the tall boy by my side. He chuckled and looked at me with his dark- almost black- eyes,
"Seriously, Bells? You asked me to come." My face contorted into a grimace as I remembered what had happened.
Today at school I had been sitting with Angela discussing AP Lit homework when Mike Newton had come up to us and had told us about the sick crazy party he was going to have that weekend. Unfortunately, Angela had said yes, and since I had told her that I wasn't doing anything that weekend, she pulled me into the whole deal by saying,
"Bella, you aren't busy this weekend, right? I could give you a ride!" I couldn't have refused, especially not in front of Mike. I would have came up with some excuse, but he had left before I could. As soon as I had been pulled into it, I contacted my life-saver, Jacob, Resident Social Butterfly and werewolf. Luckily, he had been free that night. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if he hadn't been.
We stopped on the edge of the lawn, and in front of us Mike's house was bright through the dismal rain that always seemed to cover Forks.
"We could still leave, Jake. Go grab food or something. Watch some Netflix. C'mon, bud!" He laughed at me again, then gathered my cold hands in his warm ones.
"One: don't call me bud. Two: I want to discuss you with the people who see you every day." He winked at me, and I laughed.
"You're incorrigible. Why are you even my friend?" He let go of my hands,
"Because I'm incredibly charming, and I'm your source of heat."
"This is also true. Okay, here we go then." Jacob and I walked up, and I wrapped smartly on the white door, slightly below the fake maple leaf wreath. The door swung open to reveal Jessica, her blonde ponytail slightly swaying.
"Oh, hey, Bella. And... Zach?" I suppressed a grin and glanced up at him.
"Jacob." He held out a large hand, and she shook it slightly. "Pleasure to meet you..." he hesitated, waiting for her to finish. She flashed her straight teeth.
"Jessica." I grimaced and wrapped my arm around Jacob's. I felt better immediately, but Jacob didn't even look at me, just smiled a little wider. Jessica's eyes lingered on my arm on his, pursed her lips slightly then turned and strode away, calling behind her,
"Drinks are in the kitchen. Non-alcoholic of course, police chief's daughter." I sighed slightly, grateful for the lack of a moral dilemma. Jacob pulled me slightly to the darkened living room where we could hear a movie playing. On the screen an actress held some books against her chest as some girls called her names. I rolled my eyes and said,
"Stereotypes? Already?" Several heads turned around, and a chorus of "Hey, Bella!"s greeted me. Angela laughed and answered my question,
"Yeah, but she gets more bold by the end of the movie."
"Oh good." I quipped. Mike and Ben scooted down on the couch to make room for me. I glanced at Jake,
"You want it? I don't mind sitting on the floor." Jake chuckled,
"Nah, I'll take the floor." I smiled and sat down, flopping down next to Mike, who looked slightly miffed that I had brought Jake.
"You guys all remember Jake?" A few people nodded and made half-waves. Jake waved back and sat on the ground in front of me, leaning against my knees.
I don't know when I started playing with Jake's hair. It must've been when the heroine met the handsome actor who played the love interest, but I didn't notice until Jake started to lean his head on my knee. It was a comforting weight, and it slightly reminded me of dog, but I wouldn't ever say that to him. It wasn't much since his hair was so short, but I just gently ran my fingers over it. I watched the movie, slightly smiling at the ever-increasing weight on my knee as Jake relaxed more and more. On screen, the heroine talked to her new best friend. The blonde best friend leaned forward in pink pjs while on the bed of the heroine, in the midst of a stereotypical sleep-over.
"Listen. If a boy looks at your lips, it means he totally wants to kiss you." The heroine's response was covered up by Jessica saying,
"Hell yeah. That's totally true by the way." I slightly gaped at the statements. I tried to recall Edward's and my kisses. Jacob's proximity helped fend off the piercing ache as I remembered his and my history. I didn't ever recall Edward looking at my lips. I certainly looked at his though. Slowly, the pain became too much, and I had to place my other hand on Jacob's shoulder as my other hand continued to stroke his short, fuzzy hair. Jake seemed to be able to tell that I was sad, and he placed his hand on my hand that was on his shoulder.
We finished the movie like that, or rather we would have finished the movie like that if I hadn't had fallen asleep. I woke up to being gently placed in my truck. Blearily, I looked at Jacob.
"Did you carry me out?" He sorta laughed, smiling gently.
"Yeah, Bells." He pushed my hair back from my face, his hand lingering on my cheek. I leaned into the warm hand, sighing. "Hey, where are your keys? We need to get you home, sleepy head." I nodded slightly and retrieved them from my purse. I also grabbed my phone and shot a text to my dad,
"Done, be home in like 20." I glanced at the time and was surprised to see 10:20.
"Wow, we got out sorta early." I stated as Jacob climbed into the driver's seat and shut the door with some force. He laughed and clicked his seat belt.
"Yeah, I guess. Are you going to buckle yourself in?" I noticed I hadn't quite yet. He leaned over and pulled the seat buckle over and clicked it. He glanced up, meeting my eyes, and smiled. His teeth shined in the dim cabin, and his dimples indented his cheeks. I smiled at him too, unable to help myself. His eyes flickered to my lips slightly, before meeting my eyes once more. He hesitated another second then straightened back into his seat, adjusting it.
"Man, a midget must drive this car or something!" He glanced over at me, smirking. I grinned and punched him on the shoulder slightly. However, my mind raced. He had looked at my lips. Looked at my lips! Did that mean Jake wanted to kiss me? I mean, I wasn't completely surprised, but I thought he had become just a friend, and that's just how he saw me now. I dwelt on that thought, but I must have been fairly tired because I fell back asleep on the way home. I resisted the urge to curl up next to Jake on the bench although I could have easily done that.
I jerked awake to the sound of tires on rocks. We were at my completely dark house with Jacob's Rabbit in front of it. He turned off my car, and we sat in the cab of my truck in silence. I finally gave into the urge to curl up next to him on the bench. I leaned on him, my back to his chest, legs stretched out on the bench. He turned slightly, his long legs occupying the space mine had just previously been. His warm arm wrapped around my waist, and he rested his chin against the top of my head. In the silence, the radio gently played an alternative song featuring a woman's gentle voice singing about something. Jake's breathing was slow and steady as his breath gently ruffled my hair. We sat there for what seemed forever. Actually, both of us fell asleep.
A knock on the window woke us up. We both jerked awake to a bright light shining into the car. Jake twisted the knob and rolled down the window. Jacob said seriously,
"Police Officer, how are you tonight?" Charlie shined the light on us, a gentle look in his eyes.
"What are you kids doing?" I yawned, stretching my arms.
"We were sitting after we got home, and we fell asleep." Charlie laughed and said in mock suspicion,
"Not kissing out here are you?" We both laughed and looked at each other. Jake's eyes never flickered to my lips.
"No, sir. We aren't a thing." My dad rolled his eyes and walked off, calling back,
"Uh-huh. Sure you aren't. Look, Jake, why don't you stay over tonight?" If I had been drinking something, I would have done a spit take. Jacob must have had the same idea because his head jerked. We both got out of the car and hurried to the door. I called,
"Dad, what?" as Jake said,
"Charlie, really. We aren't a thing." Charlie laughed again and hung up his belt on the rack by the door and heavily sat down in a kitchen chair, looking at the two of us.
"It's a Friday night, and it's 12. I don't want you driving the half-hour it takes to get home with all of the drunk people out and the obvious drowsiness you suffer from." Jacob opened his mouth to protest when I nudged him with my elbow. He glanced at me, eyebrows raising in surprise. My dad looked between us,
"Guess it's decided then. I'll call Billy. Go grab some sheets from the closet. You can sleep on the couch." As we trekked upstairs to the linen closet, I told him,
"Even if you're indestructible, your car isn't. The Rabbit couldn't make it through a car crash." He stopped for a moment as he reached for the sheets on the top shelf with ease.
"I suppose you're right. Thanks for that." I laughed a little bit. I saw my open door and decided to change before I went back downstairs. As Jacob tromped down the stairs, sheets in hand, I grabbed my sweats and a baggy shirt as I threw my hair up in a quick ponytail. I glanced at myself in the mirror and stopped for a second. I couldn't believe what I was about to do. I reached in my closet and flicked through my hangers until I found what I was looking for. I pulled out a flattering baggy shirt. I knew from experience that this shirt had a tendency to slide off my shoulder and show a little more cleavage then my usual clothes. I had worn it to school once, and Mike hadn't been able to take his eyes off me. I glanced at myself in the mirror now. It was innocuous enough, right? I now wore black leggings with my white, flattering, baggy shirt. I turned in the mirror and checked out my butt. I rolled my eyes at myself and walked out of my room. My dad passed me in the hallway.
"Night, Dad. Thanks for letting Jake stay." He smiled at me.
"Yeah, just be sure to head upstairs if he starts making moves on you. Or yell. I'll be down there lickity-split. I'm trusting you to be responsible. Don't give me any reason not to." I laughed and nodded.
"Of course. Will do." I walked down stairs to see Jake in a small pair of flannel pajama pants and without a shirt on. I caught my breath for a second before continuing on and flopping on the couch.
"Yo, kid. What happened to your shirt?" Jake looked behind him and turned.
"It's too small. I mean, your dad isn't exactly my size." I laughed before throwing him one of my extremely baggy shirts.
"Try that. It might be a little short. But that's all right, it's in style." He pulled it on and ta da! He had become a fully clothed human, werewolf boy. He sat down next to me and threw an arm over the couch. I leaned against him again. He sighed.
"You should play with my hair again, Bella. That was really nice." I smiled and snaked my arm up and rested my elbow on his shoulder and slowly ran my fingers over his hair. After a while I started to trace his side profile. First, his high Native American cheekbones, then his strong jawline, then his hairline, his eye socket, nose. I hesitated before I ever so gently traced his lips. Before I removed my fingers, he quickly pressed them to his lips and gave them a soft kiss. My face burned a true red as I thought about how he had looked at my lips two/three hours ago. He turned to me once again, my fingers still to his lips. Once again his eyes flickered to my lips. My heart rate picked up once more.
"J-jake?" He met my gaze,
"Yes?" His husky voice soft and warm just like his lips had been.
"Could we kiss?" Jake's smile broke across his face,
"I thought you would never ask." He turned and pulled me closer to him with a gentle hand on my lower back. He placed a rough, warm hand on my face and closed the distance between us. My eyes shut, and I leaned forward. His lips were soft, and he slowly moved his lips. I couldn't think. No thought crossed my mind. Just his lips on mine. My hand rested on his shoulder, and I pulled myself slightly closer to him. Slowly, we broke apart.
"Kisser, you're pretty good." I said, flushed. Jacob smiled softly, and gently traced my cheek that now matched his usual body temperature.
"Well, thank you. I'm glad I could impress." He pulled me a little closer, so that he could hug me. He kissed the top of my head.
"Oh, Bella. What am I going to do with you?" I smiled up at him, feeling bold.
"This." I pressed my lips to his, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. This kiss didn't last as long as the first one, but that was okay. There were many to follow.