Author's Note: Anyways, I want to thank you all for reviewing! This story seems to be a really good hit with you all, when at first I didn't think so. Keep 'em coming! (: Don't forget to check out the awesome trailer Haley made! ON MY PROFILE! :)
The song is: Star Witness by Neko Case. I listened to it while creating this chapter for you all, and looking up a really yummy rabbit stew and red wine recipe. Let me know what you think of the song!
FYI: Jake's text messages are bold. Bella's are bold-italics. Bella/Jake's thoughts are in italics. The pack members' talks are in the brackets. [ ]
Chapter Four:
Bella's truck was fixed perfectly three days ago, even though it took her a whole hour to get out of The Garage (not that she minded). She'd replayed the song "All the Young Dudes" on her iPhone all night and memorized him singing it.
She'd sipped her cup of tea, took her warm bubble bath and soaked until her toes were like prunes, then curled up by the fire in pajamas with her book and notepad and pen for an hour before retiring to her bed.
It was the next day, early morning and she had some time to pass before she went to work.
When the rain started, she flew onto the porch of her house as fast as her short legs could take her. All she could see was forest, and a few of the secluded, spaced out neighboring homes across the way. She wore her jean-shorts, black flip-flops and a light pink tank top.
Inevitably she was drenched.
She collapsed on her wooden porch seat, wiping the wet tendrils of hair out of her eyes. It was hot that day. Really, really hot for Forks, Washington. The trees glistened in the sunlight as the rain poured down on them, birds making the forest come alive.
She slipped her flip-flops off and slid them halfway across the porch, letting her toes feel the air and the wood beneath her feet. On the porch table was a half empty bucket of pretzel pieces and a bottle of water from last night.
She'd used mason jars to capture the fireflies in her front yard and set a bunch of them on the porch's railing. She read a book for a while, wrote a poem, and then set them free, watching them sparkle off into the night.
It was the only time she still felt like a child, catching those silly little flickering bugs.
She pulled the plastic top off of the pretzel bucket, reached her hand in side, and shoved a few in her mouth. It had been three days since Jacob had last fixed her truck. She was honestly missing him. She felt bored without him. He was the sun on a rainy day.
She grabbed the pen and paper that she'd brought out with her and began to write down her thoughts. Being an awkward and quiet person normally, she didn't quite know how to express her feelings.
She wrote about him, figuring that if she couldn't see him and be with him, she'd write about him all she wanted.
Jacob—
Smart, works with cars and trucks, fixed my truck.
Likes rock music like Hoople the Motts, or Mott the Hooples. I don't know the band's name.
Has beautiful black, golden skin, and gorgeous brown eyes. Is perfect.
Jacob. Kind. More so than anyone else that I've met.
He treats me like a human being. He sees me—I'm not invisible to him.
She grabbed another handful of pretzels and shoved them into her mouth. The sound of a roaring motorcycle could be heard in the distance. There weren't many motorcycles to be heard around this part of the Res. But it wasn't important and she didn't really care, so she went back to writing about Jacob, and remembering his face.
Has two friends named Quil and Embry.
Knows all about spark plugs.
Hates my boss.
Heals quickly.
Dad's name is Billy.
Last name is Black, like the color.
His shop's name is The Garage.
Loves warm Coke.
Loves calling me sunshine, despite the fact that I hate -
Her pen scribbled across the paper as a loud, black motorcycle came zooming into her view. She froze in mid-chew, her cheeks stuffed like those of a squirrel's, and just stared. The cyclist in his black leather jacket hopped off of the black Harley sprint with a swagger than meant business.
She squinted her eyes at him in curiosity. He nodded his head in greeting at her before taking off his helmet and letting his long black hair flow down his shoulders like a waterfall. He shook his head like a dog, the grin of satisfaction on his face unmistakable.
He slipped off his leather jacket and laid it on the motorcycle's seat and hung the helmet on the handles of the bike. He wore a gray wife-beater shirt and his jeans, which looked exceptionally good on his muscular, tanned legs.
He raced up to her porch step with something in his hand. Suddenly her gears started working. She closed her notebook quickly, crunched the pretzels with her teeth, and stroked her long brown hair with her fingers.
He puffed his chest out once he stepped in front of her, making himself look super macho, more than he already did. She blushed bright red. "Hi Jacob." It came out slightly muffled due to the food in her mouth. She reached over to the bucket of pretzels. "You want some?"
Jacob laughed, shaking his head. "Nah, pretzels aren't really my thing. I'm more of a chip kind of guy." Bella almost reached over to write that new fact down in her notebook, but she held the self-restraint on herself. "Anyways, I came to bring you back your pocketbook. You left it at The Garage. Embry found it last night. Had your address, phone number and everything in there."
She took the pocketbook back from him and winced. "Jeez. That's a lot of information I could have lost…"
He nodded his head and shifted from side to side awkwardly. "It's a real good thing I'm not a creeper, huh?"
She looked up at him through the sunlight and cocked her head to the side. "Well, I don't know you that well yet," she joked. He laughed, his eyes trailing down from her face slightly.
The rain had made her tank top somewhat see-through and since she didn't have monster-boobs like Angelina, she could go around her house without a bra. She followed his line of gaze to the small mounds on her chest. He was staring straight at her nipples, which pebbled up instantly with the passing breeze.
Horrified, she uttered a slight 'oh my god' and covered her chest with her arms, standing up instantly. His eyes snapped away from her womanly bits with a look of guilt on his face. "Jeez, I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "I should probably go inside to change my clothes, and um, slip on a dry shirt…" she murmured.
"You don't have to!" he blurted, holding a hand to cease her movement. "I mean, that's a completely natural thing. Don't be ashamed…" Jacob cut his sentence off when he noticed the look of complete shock on her face. "Yeah, you can go change."
She turned towards the door, hearing him sigh. "You want to come in and wait? I could fix you up some lemonade if you wanted." He nodded his head slightly and she opened up the door for him, so he could drop inside.
Bella was absolutely horrified when she opened up the door to see things across the floor. She hadn't cleaned up. She flew to her knees and picked up fallen papers and discarded clothes, hiding them from Jacob's eyes. "Sorry, so sorry. I wasn't expecting company, so I didn't clean up…like, at all."
He waves it off with a comforting laugh. "You should see what my room likes like, sunshine. It's a complete pig-sty, I'm telling you. My dad has my ass for it."
She looked back at him. "You still live with your dad? That's kind of sweet."
Jacob's face got slightly red as he stuffed his hands inside of his pockets. "Well…it's because he's immobilized. My sisters are off in college, and I got one that's pregnant and moved out with her boyfriend…so that leaves me to take care of him."
A certain adoration flooded back inside of her. "You know what? I was wrong. It's not kind of sweet, it's super sweet." She rushed upstairs to her bedroom and slipped on a random bra and a tea shirt.
When she came back downstairs, he was sitting at her kitchen table, his palms splayed on the table. His eyes were locked on the portrait of her and high school best friend Ben.
She waved to him when he looked over to her. She padded over the hardwood floor, going to the refrigerator to fetch the pitcher of homemade lemonade. She poured him a glass while watching him from her peripherals. He was frowning.
He was still frowning when she handed him his glass of lemonade. "Who's that?" he almost hissed. "Tell me his name."
She was shocked at his bluntness and his anger. "Um…that's Ben. He was my really good high school friend."
"Did you date?" he asked.
"Pardon me?"
"Did you date this…this Ben guy?"
She shook her head. He seemed to calm down at that statement. He took the glass of lemonade and took a sip of the yellow liquid. He smiled at her. "This is good," he murmured. "I haven't had lemonade in a really long time."
She sat down next to him and stared at him from under her dark black eyelashes. "I always make lemonade. That, and tea." Thunder crackled outside, stirring her, and making her jump up from the table. "Holy crow. I should probably bring the plants in so they don't drown."
She propped open her screen door and rushed down the porch steps to grab the four pots of vegetation inside. Jacob admired the fact that she was very nature savvy, like most of the girls on the Res were. She set them on open wooden windowsills, the thin white curtains blowing softly with the rain's breeze.
He loved her house. It was a little wooden thing with cozy furniture inside. It was perfect, and he wanted to live there with her. "I worked so hard all summer to get my plants to grow, and they finally have peaked." She pointed to the plant on her front windowsill. "That one's growing cherry tomatoes. I got five off of it already—and look! There's three more."
He turned and watched her pluck a tomato off of a leaf and pop in her mouth. She moans at the taste. "It's good, huh?" he asked her. She nodded.
"Yeah, the tomato tastes good. But the victory does too. Before these babies, I was never able to grow a single vegetable," she laughed and picked another one off of its vine. "You want one? They're real nice and juicy."
He shrugged and she tossed him the tomato. Popping it into his mouth, he felt it erupt between his teeth, flavorful pulp and tiny seeds on his tongue. "You're right," he murmured. "It's really good."
She gave a little squeak of triumph. "Good! I'm glad you like it. I was thinking of making a stew with the carrots, potatoes and beans I grew out back. But I don't have enough supplies yet." She pulled out her grocery list and wrote down some odd spices and a few different meats. "I'd love to have you over for dinner, maybe. That is, if you like stew."
He grinned so wide it almost blinded her. "I love stew," he said a little too enthusiastically. "I'll come." She nodded her head and blushed, looking down at her table. He slid the list out from underneath her fingertips carefully and inspected it.
Rabbit meat
Red wine
Bay leaf (1)
Dashed pepper
Sliced, sautéed mushrooms
"I can get these items for you," he told her. "My buddy Sam's wife has got all these products and when I tell her that I'm getting them for you, she'll surely let me use them."
She began to nod when a sudden realization struck her. "Wait…you talk about me to your friends?" she asked. His face instantly turned around as he folded up the note and stuck it into his back pocket.
"That's not important," he protested. "But anyways, I feel like I should take something for the dinner. If it's gonna be a date, or whatever, I figure I'd be nice and get these things for you."
Her eyes almost popped out of her head. "This…this is a date?"
His face reddened as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. When he regained his confidence, he puffed out his chest and nodded. "Yeah. It's a sort of date, I guess."
Holy crow, it's my first real date! She thought. "It's my first sort-of date, then," she told him with a tiny smile.
"Good," he smiled. "I get to set your expectations high, then."
She poured herself a glass of lemonade and leaned back in her chair, sipping on the sweet fruit juice. "Why's your dad immobilized, if you don't mind me asking?"
Jacob blinked, sighing. "Well…my parents got into a car crash when I was seven. He lost the use of his legs."
Bella felt horrible. "I'm so sorry. But your mom's okay, right?"
"Nah. Died in the crash."
You stupid, stupid person. Why would you ask that? Her internal conscience screamed. He looked a little upset, staring at the table longingly.
"You're kinda beautiful," she blurted, desperate for something to break the horrible silence.
He sniffed a laugh, glancing up at her. "I was thinking something more along the lines of handsome, or radiant, but that's okay too."
She blushed. "How long have you been growing out your hair?" she asked him.
He glanced down at his long, silky black locks. "Uh…since I was fifteen, I guess."
"I love it."
"Yeah, well I hate it."
She gasped. "Why do you hate it?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's because no one really has long hair in Forks if they're a guy. I feel…I dunno, Paul thinks long hair's feminine, or whatever."
She snorted. "First up, who the hell's this Paul guy, telling you long hair's feminine? Mister Black, you're anything but feminine."
He grinned at her compliment and licked his lips subconsciously. Her scent spiked with arousal at the action. He inhaled deeply, his eyes flickering slightly. "Thank you, Miss Swan. Billy doesn't want me to cut it, but Paul does. At least a little bit. Maybe up to my chin, like Seth's."
Bella had no idea who he was speaking of, but she went along with it. "Back in Jacksonville, I used to cut my uncle's hair all the time. If you wanted a trim, I could…"
His face lit up instantly. "For real? Here?"
She nodded her head slightly, perhaps regretting what she had just said. "Um…sure. I'll play Barber Bella today."
0o0o0o0o
The scissors cut off lock after lock. She watched black chunks of hair fall into the sink. She splashed some more water onto his hair, making Jacob grumble when some got in his eyes.
"Sorry," she giggled.
"You wanna play water fight? There's something different, sunshine. So be careful with that water of yours." Jacob snapped jokingly, his lips quirking into a little smile.
She snipped off a little bit more, taking some of his bangs back a little. "I'll just tell you right now…I think this new look could really grow on me."
He swallowed a lump in his throat when she stepped between his legs and leaned her torso against his chest to reach a little further. His big, hot hands settled on her tiny hips, steadying her.
Lust formed where there was once nervousness, and Jacob felt the bulge in his pants become just a little bit harder to ignore. "Almost done," she murmured, pressing up against him a little harder.
He did the unspeakable when her knee rubbed him the right way accidentally.
He moaned.
She jumped back, thinking she hurt him. His breath caught in his throat as the pleasure built slightly. "No, I'm fine. Sorry," he mumbled. She pursed her lips.
"I'm done, anyways. You wanna stand up and look in the mirror?" she asked softly.
So he stood. Tall.
And he looked in the mirror.
"Jesus."
Her face got bright red. "You don't like it."
He shook his head quickly. "No, it's…it's better than I could have imagined it to be. You did a really, really good job."
Now Jacob's hair hung close to his shoulders, and some of the silky black hairs hung in his face. She stepped behind him with a hair tie and jumped a few times, trying to reach the back of his head. "You're too tall," she whined.
He ducked down a little, allowing her to stand on the chair and tie his hair back into a low ponytail. Pieces of his hair slipped from the tie and framed his face perfectly, making him look amazingly hot, in her opinion.
"It's really nice. It's almost exactly like Seth's."
She nodded and hopped down off of the chair. "Okay. I don't know who Seth is, but I'm guessing that's a good thing."
He nodded back. "Mmm-hmm. It is."
She smiled. "You're absolutely beautiful." Then she added, "I mean, handsome."
He turned and hooked a finger under her chin, turning her face up to his. "It's okay. You're…you're absolutely beautiful too."
She laughed and shook her head. "You're something. I'm plain and mousy, and short, and pale…and unattractive. Or so I've heard."
His demeanor changed like a chemical reaction. "Who said that?" he cocked his head, curling his lip in disgust.
"Men," she snorted. "I hate men."
He chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head in disbelief. "Any man who makes that claim will lose his tongue. I promise you."
She looked up at him, quickly realizing that he was not the kind to kid when it came to the particular situation. "Oh."
The longer she stood there in all her sheer beauty, telling him that men called her plain and unattractive, the angrier he became. And he was almost glad for the call when it happened.
[Jacob. Leech near Old Quil's property, bordering the river.] came Jared's voice.
[I'm there,] he replied.
"Listen sunshine, I gotta go. I'll see you around tomorrow okay?" he told her.
She nodded her head and pointed her finger at him. "Yup. For our sort-of date."
He gave her his best smile, even though he sure as hell wasn't in the mood to smile. "Right. Until our sort-of date, then."
She gave him a small finger wave and watched him dart out of her door and into the rain. "Until the sort-of date."
0o0o0o0o
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Courtney xx