Enthralled

By Lady of Spain banner by LOS

Chapter 1:Thunder on the Horizon

Another glorious day in La Push, and it was glorious. My best friend and sweetie was comin' over. Okay, so maybe she didn't exactly return my feelings, but they were there… somewhere... I could tell by the way her heart skipped a beat at seein' me, and the way she blushed whenever I looked at her. So, yeah, she had it for me, if only she'd admit it. And she would too, if only the ol' popsicle would let her outta his sight more often. Ah, well, I had time to infuse her with my charm and wit. No contest. Warm and cute, muscles and more, versus cold and stuffy, stony and uptight—lousy tick. So what if he had money, I had family and tradition, and I didn't havta move every six years to avoid suspicions. Couldn't Miss clueless see that?

Anyhow, I had just gotten outta bed, and pulled on my pants when I heard, "Jacob, you awake yet?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm up."

"Good. I need to use the bathroom right away."

Geez, the ol' man really needed to get his prostate checked out. I bounded out the door to his bedroom, and got him to the toilet pronto.

While he was in there, emptying his tank, I set out the plates and utensils for breakfast. Then, I cracked a few eggs, scrambled them up, and put the bread in the toaster.

Pointing his fork at me, Dad said, "Bella coming to visit today, eh?"

Somehow, he always knew. "Yeah, how can you tell?"

"There's a twinkle in your eye, Son."

I finished swallowing a bite, then commented, "A twinkle, huh?"

"That, and you're wearing a clean shirt."

I had to smile. "Nothin' gets by you, does it?"

With a straight face, he remarked, "I have powers you know little about."

Just then, a loud blast sounded, as my dad—to put it politely—broke wind, the aroma rapidly wafting my way. Shaking my head, I replied, "Yeah, pretty powerful all right."

In a matter of seconds, that rust bucket rumbled into our driveway, and Bella was at the door.

"Don't come in here," I bellowed.

"What?"

"Atmospheric conditions; let's leave it at that."

Jerkin' my head toward the door, I told Dad, "Gotta go. Bella's waiting."

Bella followed me out to the Taj, saying, "What was that all about?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna know."

"And why not?"

"'Cuz."

"'Cuz, why?"

"Just, 'cuz, okay?"

We walked forward a few more steps, and I swung open the garage door. Oh crap—Bella went sailin' over some coiled wiring that idiot, Embry, must've left out. Good thing I was fast on my feet, 'cuz I caught her before she did any damage to herself.

She straightened up, breakin' my grip on her, and smoothed out her shirt. Gesturing at the "Bella trap", she blurted, "For Pete's sake, what was that doing there?"

"Good question. I let Embry use the Taj last night, and I guess he's just not as fastidious as I am."

Snorting, Bella said, "Oh, right, you're the poster boy for neatness, aren't you?"

"Well, ya know, I try to put things back where they belong, especially when I know you're gonna be coming around."

A frown, creased her face as she retorted, "Are you insinuating that I'm clumsy?"

With a wince, I muttered, "Uh … can we change the subject? I'm getting' in over my head here."

"So, what are we doing today, Jake?"

"Spark plugs."

"Spark plugs?"

I picked up the new box of spark plugs from my work bench, and holding them up, said, "Yep, spark plugs."

The Rabbit called to me, and in a moment, I was elbow deep in the works, but every time I lifted my head out from under the engine hood, I snuck a peek at her. She looked so cute, sitting on that ol' orange crate. She caught me once, and smiled. I felt my heart hit the cement floor. Geez, what that girl did to me...

"Hey, Jake?"

"Yeah?" I mumbled into the rusty innards.

"How'd you learn so much about cars and engines?"

I retrieved my head, and turning, leaned back against the car door grinning at her. "No cable, no malls, no wii. I had to do SOMETHING with my hands."

Her eyes rolled in their sockets as she shot back, "Oh, you're handy, all right, and handsy too."

"Ouch."

The hands went to her hips. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

My eyes fell to the floor, and I wiped my hands on a nearby rag, whining, "I can't help it, you make me crazy."

"You were already that—

Just then the ringer on her cell chirped. She took it out of her pocket. Ugh, it was tickeroo.

Bella turned her back to me. Like I couldn't hear what he was goin' on about. Phfft! "I'm at Jake's. What's up? Oh, okay, I'll be right there."

I did not wanna hear that, and I panicked, so sue me. Trying my puppy-dog-eye-ploy did not work this time. "You're not goin' already, are you?"

"Sorry, Jake, but Edward says he has a surprise for me."

I widened my eyes. "Besides the fact that he's not human?"

Clicking her tongue, she spurted, "Be nice. You know I hate it when you say stuff like that about him."

"Even if it's true?"

"Jake—stop. I have to go. I don't want to disappoint him."

"But it's okay to disappoint, good ol' Jake tho', huh?"

"Don't be so dramatic. I'll be back tomorrow."

A loud boom of thunder shook the Taj. Bella jumped, and I took that opportunity to hug her breathless.

"Can't breathe, Jake."

I let go of the sweet thing, and stepped back. Being the king of segue ways, I said, "Crap, looks like a storm is headin' toward us. Be careful on the road … please."

"I always do. Bye, Jake."

"Yeah, bye." Damn that overgrown twinkie.

Edward had the bats, cleats, caps, and mitts all gathered for the game. He heard the thunderous roar of her truck from a mile away, and waited impatiently for the love of his life to arrive.

"Hurry," he urged, "We don't get this chance very often."

Bella was having second thoughts. "Are you sure this is a good idea? You know my history for accidents."

Alice came tripping down the staircase. "Silly Bella. You know we'd never let anything happen to you. You're safe with us."

Famous last words …