I would just like to thank everyone who reviewed/messaged me! You guys are all wonderful! Also, I decided to break their date up into two different chapters just because it would have been grossly long if I had kept it to just one.
Disclaimer: I do not own the new lyrics, which are to "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars. (I just love that song so bad omg). Also, the restaurant in the chapter is real (I looked one up) but I have never been there so I just made up its appearance and menu.
Chapter nine: The Date
I remember tears streaming down your face,
when I said, I'll never let you go.
When all those shadows almost killed your light,
I remember you said, don't leave me here alone.
But all that's dead and gone and past tonight.
Saturday morning I woke up at nine o'clock, an hour and a half before Jacob had said he would pick me up. It took me the first half hour just to pick out what I was going to wear. Jesus, I haven't been this nervous in years. I grumbled to myself as I scooped up my outfit and headed for the bathroom. I closed the door silently behind me, knowing that dad had come in late from work last night and would probably sleep all day.
I jumped into a steaming shower and scrubbed my hair, using the best smelling shampoo available. When I stepped out ten minutes later, my skin was pink and smooth as can be. I dried myself off with my towel quickly and dressed. I had picked out my faded blue skinny jeans, a black tank top and a white tank top to go over it with my cheetah-print cardigan to top it all off.
I applied my make-up around my eyes and brushed on some foundation and blush. I brushed my teeth quickly, forsaking breakfast for becoming beautiful. Once I was relatively satisfied with what my face looked like in the mirror, I unwound my towel from around my head. I huffed at the tangled dark brown and red-streaked mass on my head. I picked up my hairbrush with all of the enthusiasm of picking up a spider.
It took a few minutes to rearrange my hair in an appealing way. It took even longer to blow it dry and straighten it. I surveyed myself in the mirror, casting a critical look over my outfit and hair. I should change. I decided, opening the bathroom door and heading back into my bedroom.
It was a good thing I had looked out the window before I started to redress though, because Jacob was getting out of his Volkswagen just as I had started to open my closet. Oh God. Oh dear God. I grabbed a black shoulder bag off of my hanging rack and scooped up my keys, wallet, and cellphone off my nightstand. I hurried to my jewellery box and picked out a small silver cross necklace. I hooked it on quickly and gave myself one last cursory glance in the mirror. It'll have to do. Damn it.
I flew down the stairs as the doorbell rang. I could hear movement in the living room, and I knew one of my parents were awake. Oh no! I careened around the corner into the foyer and found dad standing there, looking unimpressed as Jacob's hulking frame took up the open space in the door. Oh for God's sake, why is he awake?
It was strange to see Jacob standing next to my dad, who usually towered over people. Jacob dwarfed my dad, which I'm sure is why he's not very happy to see him. Dad also looked as though he hadn't had a decent night's sleep. His hair, the same dark brown shade as mine, was tousled and his hazel eyes had bags under them. Jacob, in comparison, looked perfect. Though, that was no different than any other day. He was looking slightly better dressed for the weather than normal, with blue jeans and a white t-shirt.
I also noticed that dad was regarding his tattoo, another thing that dad would probably not care for. Well, this is getting off to a great start already. Dad thought tattoos were a very stupid idea, and I was forbidden from getting one until I was moved out. He also didn't appreciate piercings. Come to think of it, dad didn't appreciate most of the things young people did.
"Hey, Jake." I said, a little breathless at my race to the door. "Um, this is my dad, Blake. Dad, this is Jacob Black."
"Billy Black's son," dad said gruffly as he surveyed Jacob. The look on his face plainly stated that he was not impressed that his daughter was going out on a date with him. I wasn't sure if this had something to do with the simple fact that Jacob was a boy, or that he was Billy's son. Dad had, on occasion, spoken of Billy, but it had only been in passing, and it had never been anything to signal that he didn't like him.
"Yes, sir." Jacob said uneasily as he glanced at me. I gave a reassuring smile, that I somehow thought may have come off as a grimace instead. "It's nice to meet you." Dad snorted and then focused his disapproving stare on me.
"Does your mother know?"
"Yes, I told her before I went to bed last night." I replied, somewhat defiant. I never used to tell them when I was leaving, but ever since Wilder had disappeared dad had cracked down on me. I had to get approval if I ever wanted to go anywhere. "You weren't home." I added defensively.
"There will be no repeats of last year, you hear me?" I bristled at his comment. I knew what he meant. No repeats of what happened with Wilder.
"Don't worry," I replied coolly. "I don't plan on it." I locked eyes with dad, but all I could see in his eyes was weariness. I softened a little. "I'll be back after supper, dad." I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ushered Jacob out.
"You have her back by ten!" Dad hollered out the door after Jacob and I.
"Yes, sir." Jacob replied with a smile over his shoulder at dad as he opened the passenger side door for me. I climbed in, holding my bag out in front of me. When Jacob closed the door behind me, I turned in my seat and set my bag on the back seat. Jacob was already in the front seat and turning the car on by the time I had turned around. I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't comment. How does he move so fast? Must be those damn long legs.
Jacob threw the Rabbit into reverse and zipped out of the driveway. I clipped on my seat belt and instantly leaned forward to tune the radio. Once I realized that I actually wasn't in my car, I withdrew my hand as though I had been scorched.
"Uh, do you mind if I turn on the radio?" Jacob looked at me with a frown on his face.
"Absolutely not, we're going to drive in silence for an hour and fifteen minutes." I grinned at the sarcasm that dripped from his words and shook my head at him, muttering a "whatever" as I leaned forward again and turned on the radio. I tuned into a slightly-fuzzy station from Port Angeles and leaned back, smiling. It was the kind of music I loved that I knew Jacob didn't appreciate nearly as much.
The tail-end of "Take Care" by Drake and Rihanna was playing. I furrowed my brow, disappointed that I had missed the majority of one of my favourite songs. You can imagine how surprised I was when Jacob started to sing along to the radio in a soft voice. I looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Since when do you listen to music like this?" I asked him, the surprise evident in my voice. Jacob stopped singing abruptly and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I noticed a blush creeping up his neck, which only perplexed me more.
"I guess when you mentioned that you liked it. I just started listening to stations like this." He was stubbornly avoiding my gaze now, though I'm almost grateful he wouldn't look at me, because I'm sure my jaw was hanging to the floor.
"Just... just because I like it?" I questioned as "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber warbled out of the speakers. Huh? I had absolutely no idea how to react to this. Nobody had ever taken that much of an interest in me. I knew on instinct what Wilder would have said run, run for the hills! You've got a stalker! The thought brought a smile to my lips, and I immediately felt bad. Here I am, smiling at my memories of another boy when I'm on a date with someone else. I really am fucked.
"Yeah, I just... I don't know, I didn't even really think about it. I just started doing it."
"Oh," I murmured, averting my eyes to the grey dash. What am I doing? Why am I here? Why am I leading him on? How many times do I have to ask myself this before I figure out that I need to just leave Jacob alone? I closed my eyes for a minute, letting the music flow over me. I need Jacob. That's why I'm here. He's like my own personal sunshine.
"That's totally weird, isn't it?" He asked, worry lacing his words.
I dragged my eyes from the dash and looked at Jacob. "Yes, it is. But the world would be a pretty boring place without all of the weird people." I grinned at him. "Don't worry about it, Jake. I think it's sweet." The relief on Jacob's face was immediate. It made me smile even wider.
"Alright, that's good." I laughed at him and turned the music up. I started bobbing to the beat, mouthing the words. Before long, both Jacob and I were singing out hearts out to the words and laughing at each other. The awkward moment had passed.
I found myself enjoying the drive more than I ever figured I would. I hadn't had this much fun on a road-trip since I last went with Lydia and Ally to Port Angeles to buy our junior prom dresses. I couldn't remember a time that I had laughed so hard as that day, but today was certainly catching up.
The drive didn't take as long as I imagined it would have, or rather, the time flew by as Jacob and I sang along to the radio and made fun of each others singing. Though, truth be told, I had enjoyed every second that he sang. It was such a wonderful feeling to be so comfortable with someone that you could easily make a fool of yourself and not give a damn. It made me miss having friends even more.
We left the highway and took to the streets of the city, Jacob told me he knew exactly where we were going to go for lunch, then we could do whatever I wanted until we went for supper and then went to our movie. He didn't seem to know his way around the city too well and we had to backtrack a few times, but I didn't mind. As long as I was with Jacob I really didn't think I would care if we drove to Mexico.
"Aha! I know where we are now, it's just down here." He seemed very pleased with himself at finally finding a familiar place. I congratulated him, a tad sarcastically, and laughed. I watched as the quaint stores flashed by the window, taking note of the ones I wanted to visit after lunch. Jacob turned into a small parking lot and parked the car in the first available spot he saw. I looked up at the little restaurant, called Cafe Garden.
Jacob looked over at me, as if trying to gauge my reaction to the place he had chosen. "Have you ever eaten here?"
"No, I don't think so. It's cute though." I grinned at him and unbuckled my seat belt. "Come on, I'm starving. I didn't eat breakfast." Jacob looked horrified.
"You didn't eat? Why didn't you tell me? We could have stopped somewhere!" I laughed at his reaction and opened my door.
"It doesn't matter, we're here now, aren't we?" I grinned at him and climbed out of the small car before I realized I had forgotten my bag. I leaned back in and grabbed it, resurfacing to see Jacob staring at me. I raised my eyebrows and I could see the blush racing up his neck again. I couldn't help but grin at him. How long has it been since someone has actually checked me out? I laughed out loud, knowing how ridiculous it was to be happy someone was staring at my ass. Nobody in Forks ever checked me out after Wilder claimed me. Even after he left, they didn't bother with me. Too broken, I'm sure.
"Come on, let's go in." I rounded the car and bumped into Jacob's shoulder. "Try and restrain yourself from watching my ass the whole time we walk over there though, okay?"
Jacob grinned, "I can't help myself." That, I wasn't expecting. I laughed again, feeling quite giddy already, and it was only noontime. Jacob grabbed my hand and led me up to the door of the restaurant. I looked down at our encircled hands and I smiled, a slight, sad smile. I didn't want him to ever let go of me. But at the same time, I couldn't help but remember holding Wilder's hand. Wondering, if he really was dead like most of the people in Forks believed, if he would have wanted this for me. If he would have wanted me to find someone else that made me happy, happier than he ever had. He wouldn't have. The dark thought pressed into my mind and the smile vanished from my face. He was too possessive for that.
I determinedly pushed all thoughts of Wilder from my mind. Who cares? He's long gone, alive or dead, so I obviously didn't mean that much to him. It's just like what Kirk said. Jacob dropped my hand to push the door open and held it for me, I grinned at him and stepped into the brightly-lit cafe. Jacob and I approached the hostess, who was looking at something logged into a book with a frown on her pretty face.
When she looked up at us, her face broke into a huge, and probably fake, smile. "Hello, welcome to Cafe Garden. A table for two?" Jacob nodded his head, and his hand found mine again. "Excellent, follow me please." Jacob followed the hostess to a small table at the back of the restaurant right next to a big window, tugging me along as I held onto his warm hand. She set the menus down and informed us that our server would be over shortly, then she departed.
I sat down and Jacob sat across from me. I regretfully slipped my hand from his and opened my menu. I was looking at the wraps, all of which looked absolutely delicious, when Jacob spoke up.
"Let's play twenty questions." I snorted, not lifting my gaze from a grilled chicken panini that looked absolutely delightful.
"I haven't played that since I was about eleven."
"So? It's a good way to get to know someone." I finally looked up him. "Or are you just too chicken?" He teased, eyes lingering on mine before he dropped his to his menu. Chicken? I scoffed. Hardly.
"Fine. You have to start then." Jacob laughed, and I got the feeling that it had been his intention to start anyway. He surveyed his menu for a moment longer before he laid it down on the table and grinned at me.
"What's your favourite color?"
"Yellow," I answered immediately. I pondered the wrap section some more, trying to think of a question to ask. "Why are you always so warm?"
Jacob looked completely taken aback by my question, totally unprepared to answer it. "Uh, well I was told it's because my heart beats faster than normal, which makes my circulation better than most peoples."
"Oh," it was my turn to be taken aback. I hadn't thought there would actually be a medical reason for it. "It's not dangerous is it?"
Jacob laughed, "your turn is over, but no, it's not dangerous." He looked slightly troubled for a minute, as if he was rethinking his answer, but he shook it off. "What is your full name?"
I shook my head, smiling, "Cassidy Amelia Reid." He was asking all of the cute questions. "Do you play any sports?"
"I play football with the boys," he grinned wolfishly. "I don't play with the other reserve kids though, they couldn't handle me." I laughed out loud at that one.
"Sure they couldn't, you cocky bastard." I noticed the a waitress heading toward our table and quickly scanned the menu once again, making sure there wasn't something even yummier than the Thai chicken wrap. Not spying anything, I closed it and set it down by the edge of the table just as the waitress arrived. She was a tiny little thing, with her blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail. She smiled brightly, though mostly at Jacob, I noticed with a pang of jealousy.
"Hi, my name is Janelle. I'll be your server tonight, what can I get you?" She looked at Jacob the whole time she said this, I noticed with a roll of my eyes. Of course, other girls would have to notice that he's practically a god. Fuck them. I locked eyes with Jacob, who hadn't even spared the girl a glance. I noticed her looking at him expectantly, but he was waiting for me.
"I'll have the Thai chicken wrap with french fries, and a pepsi." I grinned up at her, taking her to be the "salad and water" type. She looked at me for half a second before a smile forced its way onto her face and she scribbled down what I had ordered.
"Of course," she turned away from me again and smiled brightly at Jacob. "What can I get you?"
"I'll have the steak and potatoes, jumbo sized." Jacob said as he laid his menu down on top of mine. He looked up at the waitress, almost as if he was wondering why she was still standing there. "Oh, and I'll have a water to go with that." He turned away from her and looked at me, blatantly ignoring the waitress' stammers. She seemed to notice her dismissal, and I smiled at her as she dejectedly scooped up the menus and disappeared.
"Do girls always act like that around you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.
"I believe it's my turn to ask the questions." He grinned at me, and laid his left hand on the table, halfway between us. "What's your favourite junk food?"
"Ice cream," I answered immediately. "Or... wait, maybe Mars bars. Oh! Or dill pickle chips." I could feel myself starting to drool at the thoughts of my favourite foods. "Ugh, don't get me started, seriously, junk food is my favourite thing ever." Jacob's grin widened into a smile, and I couldn't help but think that he never seemed to be without a smirk or grin. It was a nice change.
"Ha, you're crazy. I say popcorn all the way." I nodded in agreement.
"Popcorn definitely has its merits." I considered Jacob for a moment, taking in his high cheekbones, his beautiful eyes, gorgeous skin. "What do you want to do after high school, you know, for a career?"
Jacob seemed to be waging some kind of war in his head as he considered this question. "A mechanic," he finally answered. "I want to have my own garage and work on cars and do whatever the fuck I want." I couldn't help but chuckle at this. It suited him, to a tee, really. He looked like the mechanic sort, especially if he had rebuilt the little Rabbit. It works good too, I had to admit.
"I can definitely see you doing that."
"Alright, let me think of a really good one for you." He pondered it for a moment. "Tell me about your best friend; Lydia, right?" I froze, the smile falling from my face. Why, why do you want to know about her?
"We aren't exactly friends anymore." I replied stiffly, avoiding eye-contact with him. "She won't speak to me, not that I've exactly tried to talk to her either." I sighed and looked into Jacob's eyes, full of concern, of remorse for asking the question. "She was great though, she's funny and always knew exactly what I needed to be cheered up." I ground my teeth, "but she also knows exactly what it takes to unhinge me, which she has been trying to do for the past week."
"Why?" He whispered, the sorrow on his face so real and powerful, I actually felt taken aback. He really did feel for me, he was sympathizing with me. I don't need sympathy! I flicked my eyes around the restaurant, trying to find something safe to alight my eyes on. Who am I kidding? I do need sympathy. I need someone's shoulder to cry on. I need Jacob's shoulder.
"She's quite mad that I decided I wanted to hang out with you and get to know you. She feels betrayed, I suppose."
Jacob looked positively bewildered. "Why would she feel betrayed?"
"Uh... it's my turn to ask a question, isn't it?" I faked a smile at him, and without really thinking, spewed out the first question that came to mind. "Have you ever been heartbroken?"
The shock, the hurt, the horror, on Jacob's face was enough to make me want to revoke my question. It was just opening my mouth to take it back, say it was none of my business, when he replied. "Yes, I have been heartbroken. I thought I was never going to recover, I thought I would be miserable for my whole life. I never thought I would love ever again."
"What changed your mind?" I whispered, concern and anger at the bitch who had hurt my sunshine so badly. If I ever met her, I would probably do what I wanted to do to Wilder the second I saw him. I would rip out her heart.
Jacob's eyes met mine again, and I felt the familiar swooping sensation, the familiar tug at my heart. Then he uttered three words that I don't think I will ever forget, no matter how old I became. "I met you."
It was like the breath had been knocked out of me, like someone was squeezing my heart. It wasn't painful, it was just so surprising, so touching, so... romantic. I had no idea what to say. So I just sat there and stared at him, stared as if he were the most wonderful thing I had ever laid eyes on. Which is true, I told myself, he is the most wonderful thing to have ever happened to me.
"Who was she?" I found myself asking, totally disregarding his previous statement. I felt like a tool, but I had no idea what to say. No way to formulate the thoughts that were so jumbled up in my head that I had a hard time sorting them out for myself, let alone a boy.
"It's my turn," Jacob said simply. "Tell me about Wilder."
There it was again. The wind knocked out of me. Though this time it was not a good feeling, it was a bad one. A bad, bad, bad feeling. How... how does he know about Wilder? Why would he say that? "How... I mean, what makes you think I even knew a Wilder?"
"My dad is best friends with a cop, Cassie." He said, looking at me, the smile gone from his face. In its place was curiosity. "I mentioned you to my dad, and he told me."
I sucked in a deep breath, my mind racing at the speed of light. What should I say? Say that I loved him, that I still am in love with him? That he was single best and worst thing to ever happen to me? That he ruined and completed my life? What do I say to someone who didn't know him, knew him only as the boy who ran away?
"I... I honestly, don't know where to begin with him." I whispered, feeling exceedingly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had gone in. The fact that we were out in public really asserted itself at this moment. "I would prefer to talk about it in private, actually."
"I'm alright with that, when we're done here you can tell me, and I'll tell you about Bella." I locked eyes with him, Bella? Is that the girl who broke his heart? I felt the anger pulse back, tenfold. Of course the little slut was, you know how many boys at school she's left broken in her blaze to Edward. I'll kill her.
"Wait, what makes you think I even want to tell you?" I snapped, once the meaning of his entire sentence permeated the fog that was my brain. My anger at Bella translating into my words. Why is it that I can never think straight around him?
Jacob looked at me, his face unchanging, though in his eyes I could see it. The anger, jealousy, hurt. "You don't have to Cassidy, but you need to realize that I'm not going to hurt you. I will never do anything to hurt you. I want you to be able to trust me."
Review please guys! The next chapter will be up shortly! Thanks for reading.
Note: Jacob said that he was warm because his heart beat faster than normal, which is true. A wolf's heart does beat faster than a humans, which keeps their body temperature up.
