AN: I own nothing. Stephenie Meyer owns it all. I tried to reason with her but she won't budge. Oh well.
Thank you to all those who have added and/or reviewed me, it gives me the encouragement to go on.
In case you are wondering, I got the initial idea for this story from the song Hey Cinderella sung by Suzy Boguss.
Last Week: "You look good, Darlin'" was the reply in a deep Texas drawl. I dropped my pen and gasped, I would recognize that voice anywhere. Jasper.
I was so shocked by this vampire in front of me that I dropped my pen. In fact, if it hadn't been for Jasper's vampire reflexes I would have spilled my water all over. I quickly recovered, in part I'm sure to Jasper's influence, and tried to act casual, "Thank you sir. Who can I make this book out to?"
That sexy golden boy just smiled and said "Okay, if you want to play it that way. Please make it out to Jasper, ma'am." Then he leaned in and whispered, "I know you recognize me. I can sense your emotions, darlin'".
I wrote the dedication to Jasper and handed him the book. He took it and tipped his cowboy hat at me. "Thanks, ma'am", followed by "it was good seeing you. I would love to talk to you more." Leaning in he whispered, "I placed a cell phone in your jacket pocket. My number is the only one in it. Please call me." With that, he turned and walked away.
I couldn't help myself and I watched him saunter away. That man was so gorgeous. I wondered why I didn't notice it before. How could I spend time with him and his family and not realize how sexy he is. He was wearing a tight black long sleeve thermal that hugged his body like a glove and jeans that made me notice how tight his butt was. And the jeans were worn out in just the right, places making him look like he had just ridden in from the nearest ranch. My mouth started watering at the thought of kissing him and other things. I realized what I was doing when I heard him start snickering. Stupid empath! That stopped my lust completely (for the moment) and I was able to finish signing the few people who were left.
After the book signing, I spoke to my publicist for a few moments about my upcoming book tour then headed out to the "surprise" party my dad had planned for me. I arrived at the café and was actually surprised. My dad had invited almost the entire town of Forks and most of the people from the reservation. I walked up to my dad and he was just beaming. "Dad, I wrote a simple book. I didn't cure cancer or anything big like that." He just laughed and gave me a hug. "Bells, I am so proud of you. I know I have never said it but I am. I wish I could do more." I was shocked by my dad's speech. I think this is the most emotion he has shown EVER.
He gave me a kiss and told me to go mingle. It was a little overwhelming especially because I hate being the center of attention but I found myself actually enjoying it a little. I couldn't believe the people who were at this party.
Mike Newton came up and said "Hi Bella. You look great. How are you?" He had gained a little weight and lost a lot of hair but he still had that naïve childlike quality of a boy who never would grow up. "I'm good, Mike. I heard you got married last month. Congrats." He looked shocked that I knew. I just smiled and said "Charlie keeps me up on all the gossip. Where is your wife?" He replied, "She had to work. I snuck out to say hi but I have to get back to the store not that anybody is going to come since the whole town is here. I laughed and gave him a hug and thanked him for coming.
As I watched him leave, I saw him stop and talk to someone. I was taken aback to see that it was Lauren Mallory. Wow. She had sure changed. She had gained about fifty pounds and had gray hair.
I felt a nudge to my shoulder and turned to see Jessica Stanley. "She is on her fourth husband and is pregnant with her sixth child." Good old Jessica, she hadn't changed at all. She was still the town gossip. I didn't know how to respond so I changed the subject. "You look good Jessica. Thank you for coming." She giggled her stupid little giggle and said, "I do, don't I. I married a plastic surgeon who keeps me looking good. Lauren should have done that." I really didn't feel like gossiping so I excused myself to go mingle with my other guests.
As I walked around mingling, Angela Weber sidetracked me. She was married to Ben Cheney and was expecting her first child. I congratulated her and exchanged phone numbers and email addresses with her.
After about an hour of playing nice, the crowd started thinning out. Jacob came up to me and offered me a drink. I thanked him and gave him a kiss on the check. "Jacob, you have always been my hero coming to my rescue." He laughed saying "Bella, you are crazy. It's just a drink" I shook my head, "No Jacob, it's more than that and you know it. You are always around when I needed a friend and you lent me the strength to go on." We talked about for a little bit longer and I made plans to go to the reservation the next day to see his kids and wife.
Charlie interrupted us, "Bella, I want to introduce you to some of my police staff." He led me over to a table where some of the officers from town were seated. I sat down and talked to them. They told me how much Charlie had been bragging about "his successful daughter". I turned and looked at my dad. He was slightly blushing "Well, Bells. I had nothing better to talk about." I just laughed. "Okay, dad. I guess I need to get you a newspaper subscription so you have other things to talk about." His staff laughed at that.
After what seemed like several hours, it was just me and my dad left. I gave him a hug and thanked him for the party. He said he was going to stay a little longer to help clean up but I could go home. I was glad that I decided to stay at Charlie's house during my stay in Forks. I was so tired and wanted to go to sleep. I kissed my dad and headed out. As I got outside, I noticed that it had gotten chilly so I put on my jacket and found the cell phone from Jasper. I decided to call him after I was in my bedroom at Charlie's house.
After changing into my pajamas, I crawled into bed with my cell phone. I pushed the send button and waited for the smooth honey voice to answer "Hello, Darlin'".
AN (part 2): I hope this is still worthy. Please, please review and let me know what you think.
I can only update on Fridays due to being a stay at home mom of two little boys under 3 years of age. I look forward to next week when Jasper will play a bigger part.