By the time Friday rolled around I was very excited to watch Cullen Baseball. There was definitely a storm coming in, much as Alice had predicted, the rain pouring down heavily. I got soaked just running from my car into the school. Alice and Jasper were waiting for me by my locker, my boyfriend rolling his eyes at his sister's exuberance.
"Davina!" My pixie friend bounced forward, gripping me in a tight hug.
"Alice, I can't breathe!" I gasped and she moved back instantly.
"Oops, sorry," she said.
"What's got you so cheery?" I asked, grabbing books out of my locker and slamming it shut. Jasper took my bag from me, kissing my cheek. I smiled and took his hand, Alice following us as we walked.
"I'm excited for tonight!" she squealed. "It's your first game, you'll love it!"
"I'm sure I will, Alice," I laughed. "But right now, we have an English essay to hand in."
"Oh, don't worry," Alice waved it off. "You'll pass."
"Alice, not everyone needs to know every little thing that will happen," Jasper told her.
"Shush, you, and get to class." Alice smiled at us and glided into the classroom. I shook my head at her, laughing slightly, and turned to Jasper who was watching me with a small smile.
"What?"
"You're beautiful," he said. Jasper leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. I blushed as he pulled away. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and smiled again.
"I'll see you after class."
I watched as he walked back down the hall, smirking slightly to myself as I noticed how great his butt looked in those jeans. When I sat next to Alice she nudged me and winked, of course she saw that. I blushed again, slightly embarrassed that my friend had caught me perving on her brother, and turned to face Mr. Mason.
Jasper was waiting for me after French as usual. He walked me to my car but, unlike every other day, he didn't get in. Instead, he kissed me and told me he would pick me up after dinner. So I was nervously about to tell my parents that I was going on a date. They had known about Jasper, of course, but I had been telling them that we were just hanging out at his place. Which was true, for the most part, but they didn't need to know about the romantic walks, or about me sleeping in Jasper's room instead of Alice's when I slept over.
"Dad?"
He looked up from where he was reading the newspaper on the sofa, next to my mother who was watching one of her soaps. "Hmm?"
"I have to tell you guys something."
Mom muted the TV and Dad placed his newspaper on the coffee table, both of them turning to face me. "What's wrong, chéri?"
"Nothing's wrong," I said. "Just… I have a date."
"With Jasper?" Mom asked. I nodded and she smiled. "Good, I like that boy."
"You haven't met him, Maman."
"Well, I like his parents, and if he is anything like them, then I like him."
"When are we going to meet him?" my Dad teased and Mom smacked his arm.
"Richard!"
"What, Dria? I'm only teasing," he defended. Dria was his nickname for my Mom, short for Alexandria.
"Well, leave her alone," she hissed.
"Maman, it's fine," I intervened. "Jasper is actually about to pick me up, so I can guess you guys can meet him now if you want?"
At that moment there was a knock on the front door and I had to smile at Jasper's impeccable timing. "I guess we have no choice," my Dad chuckled.
I answered the door to see Jasper wearing a baseball uniform, looking very handsome in his cap. "Wow," he said. "I was not expecting to see you wearing a Mariners shirt."
"Oh, it's an old one of my dad's," I laughed. "I know nothing about sports, but my dad is a big fan." Jasper laughed and his eyes flicked behind me. I turned to see my mom peeking around the corner from the living room and I giggled at her attempt at being sneaky. "They want to meet you," I told him.
"I'd like to meet them, if that's what you want."
"Sure." I took his hand, pulling him inside, and led him into the living room. "Mom, Dad, this is Jasper. Jasper, my parents."
Mom stood up and offered her hand to the blonde man at my side. "Hi, Jasper. It's great to meet you, I've heard lovely things about you. Your father seems very proud of you, and my daughter is rather smitten."
"Maman!" I blushed a bright red and my Dad chuckled.
"I thought you told me to stop teasing her, Dria?" He stood and offered a hand to Jasper as well. "I'm Richard Haywood, this is my wife Alexandria. It's good to meet you."
"You too, sir." Jasper shook my father's hand.
"No need to call me sir, Jasper," Dad smiled.
"It's a habit, sir," Jasper replied, politely. "The way I was raised."
"Where are from, if you don't mind my asking?" Mom asked. "I notice you have an accent."
"Everyone has an accent to you, dear," Dad said, cheekily.
Jasper chuckled, "I'm from Texas, Ma'am. Aunt Esme adopted me and my sister, Rosalie, when our parents died. She and Carlisle have been amazing." That was the official story, anyway. "You have an accent yourself, Mrs Haywood. Where in France are you from?"
"Nice, just on the Riviera. Have you ever been to France?"
"I have, briefly," Jasper said. "We vacationed in Paris once, but it was years ago. I will have to go again." He looked at me as he said this and my stomach fluttered at the thought of a holiday with Jasper.
"We should get going," I said. "Alice will be going mental."
Jasper smirked slightly. "Indeed. It was lovely to meet you both," he directed at my parents. They said their goodbyes as we left.
Parked behind my car was a huge jeep, the tyres looked bigger than my head. Jasper laughed at my wary expression when he held the door open for me. He gently placed his hands on my waist and lifted me into the jeep with no effort whatsoever. Closing the door, he walked around the car at a human pace, hopping into the driver's seat.
"This is Emmett's car, right?" I asked, as he drove.
"Yeah, it's better than your car for where we're going," Jasper told me.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
"Jazz!" He laughed at my impatience and I huffed. After about twenty minutes, Jasper finally pulled off onto well-hidden a side road. The terrain was bumpy and it was all I could do not to bounce everywhere. As Jasper drove through the trees a clearing came into view. I could see Emmett and Edward messing around, throwing a baseball back and forth while attempting to dodge Alice. Once I was out of the car I could see Carlisle setting up bases, much wider than was usual for a baseball diamond. I assumed that had something to do with the extremity of vampire sports – they were much faster therefore needed more space. Rosalie and Esme were sitting on a large rock, the blonde vampire twirling an aluminium baseball bat. I guessed they'd probably break a wooden one with their strength.
"Davina!" Esme smiled sweetly when she noticed us approaching. "You made it." The motherly vampire flitted off the rock, drawing me in for a quick, gentle hug.
"I wouldn't miss it," I said. Rosalie snorted and stalked off towards the others.
"Don't worry about her," Esme murmured. "She'll come around. You're family now." She kissed my cheek and flashed over to Carlisle.
"She's right." I looked at Jasper and he smiled encouragingly.
"It's time!" Everyone turned to Alice who had now taken up the pitcher's position.
"Go kick some butt," I told him and Jasper grinned, kissing me quickly before he and Esme swapped places. We sat together on the rock and I got ready to watch what was probably going to be the most intense game of baseball I had ever seen.
"Oh, my God! That was amazing!"
I was right; the baseball game had been intense. I could barely keep up with what was going on, though Esme helped keep me updated on who was where. After hearing the crash of Emmett and Edward colliding while chasing the ball, I now know while they could only play during a thunder storm.
Alice laughed at my excitement. "I told you, you'd love it."
"Well, not that I was into baseball in the first place, but you guys have definitely ruined normal sports for me."
"Will you come to the next game?" she asked.
"Definitely!" I said. "I mean – if it's okay with you guys?"
"Of course, sweetheart," Carlisle said. "I'm glad you had fun."
"I should get you home," Jasper murmured in my ear. His arm wrapped around my waist as I waved to the others, Emmett making a kissy face at us as we left.
When we pulled up to my house, Jasper cut the engine and reached for my hand. Placing a kiss on the back of it he asked, "Do you want me to stay tonight?"
"Do you need to hunt?"
"I went this morning before school."
"Then yeah, I want you to stay."
"I'll drop the jeep back at home and run back. I'll see you in an hour?" I nodded and he leaned over the console. He kissed me and his other hand reached up to tangle in my hair, gently tugging the tie out and letting my curls spill over my shoulders. My own hands gripped the back of his head, knocking his baseball cap off. After a few moments the kiss slowed down, fading into soft pecks on my lips and across my cheeks. Jasper rested his forehead against mine, my breathing heavy and my eyes closed as I tried to calm myself down.
"I should go inside," I murmured. Jasper nodded and kissed my forehead. I climbed down out of the jeep and as I reached the door the jeep peeled out of my driveway and down the street.
"Hello?" I called as I went inside.
"In here." I followed my mother's voice into the living room and found her still watching soaps, while ironing her work clothes for the next day. "How was it?"
"C'était merveilleux, Maman. Juste merveilleux." It was wonderful, Mom. Just wonderful.
