As always, I do not own the characters you recognize, but this plot is all mine. :)
No Regrets
"Hello" Bella said softly. "Did I wake you?" Jake's husky voice asked tenderly. "No." Jake sighed loudly. "Hey" he whispered. "Hey" Bella said it back with a smile forming on her lips. She had forgotten that she had wanted him to call her when she'd talked with Edward. "I'm glad you called, Jake" she breathed. "Yeah?" he sounded hopeful. "We should talk about what happened" Bella flatly stated. Jake's face fell at her words. Who am I kidding? He thought. He had known that they needed to talk, but he had hoped that maybe she wanted him too. Before he let his mind get away from him, he cleared his throat and prepared for what Bella had to say. "Yeah, I guess we do" he said.
Bella wasn't sure how to begin this conversation. Maybe it should wait until tomorrow, she mused. No. It has to be now. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Jake. What happened tonight…it was amazing" "But?" Jake replied. "I don't know. I mean, let's forget the fact that we're both married for a minute" she sighed. Did she really just say that? He wondered if he'd imagined it. "Okay" Jake half-questioned. "Well, we work together. I don't want things to get weird at work. I love my job, and I don't want to jeopardize my career. And…I've come to think of you as a friend. I don't want to lose you because of one crazy thing that we did, you know?" It was quiet for a moment while Jake processed what she just said. She never said it was a mistake or that she regretted it. I have to know.
"Jake?" Did he hang up? "I'm here, Bella. I have to ask you something." "Sure, anything" Bella said sweetly. "Do you…regret what happened between us? Because, I gotta tell you that I don't, not for one second." Jake stated confidently, even though inside he was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. He waited with bated breath for her answer for what seemed like hours. Finally, he heard her breath come out slowly, as if she were calming herself enough to speak. "No. I don't regret it either, Jake. In fact, if Jennifer hadn't come in…" "What?" he was grinning now and could picture her blushing. "Well, let's just say that I don't know how far it would have gone before I stopped you…or myself." Bella covered her face with her hand, as if he could see her right now. She was 200 different shades of pink, she knew it.
After Jake pumped his fist in the air a few times, he finally began talking to her again. "So….what do we do now? I mean, are you okay? Edward didn't hurt you did he?" Please say no so I don't go to prison now. "No, he didn't. He was very calm about everything and finally came clean about what's been going on with him these last few months." "Really?" Jake was surprised by this. "Yeah, I was right to suspect him having an affair." She sniffled a bit. "Oh Bella, I'm so sorry honey." "It's okay. The only thing that hurts is that he wanted another man over me." She laughed bitterly at her statement. "He what? No way!" Jake couldn't contain his shock. "Yep. I won't tell who it was, that is Edward's business. But we are getting divorced as soon as possible and Edward is moving his things out tomorrow. We didn't even fight about tonight. In fact, he never mentioned it after you left."
"Wow. I'm sorry Bella. You guys always seemed happy…until you told me about the last few months, of course. I had always hoped that my marriage with Jen would have been as good as yours seemed to be. You just never know, huh?" Jake shook his head, thinking of how strange life can be sometimes. "So, what about your marriage?" Bella asked. "Did you and Jennifer fight after you left?" "She was quiet until we got home, then she let me have it. She was astonished that I would cheat on her, even though she's cheated on me plenty." "She has?" "Yes. I always let it go, covered for her with our family and friends, anything to keep her happy. I thought that maybe she would see how good I was to her -for her and she'd change her ways. Guess I was naïve. People really don't change." He stated mournfully.
Bella wanted to be able to comfort him so badly. Instead, she just told him that she was sorry and that things happen for a reason. Jake thanked her and then told her about how he'd moved out and was staying with a friend until he could get his own place. They talked for a while longer just about random things, trying to take their minds off of their marital situations. Before hanging up, they made a plan to have dinner on Saturday night so they could talk more. Jake and Bella both were giddy with anticipation about their evening together and how things might progress in their relationship, even if they only remained friends.
