Well guys, I said I'd have Chapter Eleven up pretty soon. And just in time too! I start school again tomorrow so I would've had less time to write. But no! I spend the two thirds of my last free day doing my English coursework and the remaining third finishing this off for you. So you better damn well like it! No pressure. Tee-hee XD It's pretty long since I wrote six extra pages just to make you all happy. But I'm sure you can live with that. Anyways, please read and of course, enjoy! :)
A Connection
I waved goodbye to April as she drove down the road and wished her luck when she had to face her mother. I really hoped she could handle it. I knew she could. If she wanted this enough then she'd show her mom that she rules her own life now. I told her to ring me and let me know how it all goes and if her mom didn't like it, at least I knew Embry would.
When April's car had vanished from my sight I heaved my bags up the porch steps and fumbled around for my keys. There was a faint rustling from behind me and I turned in time to see the bushes on the other side of the road quivering. But there was no wind. My heart sped up and I rushed to get the door open. I slammed it shut behind me and leaned heavily against the wood.
"Hey, how was your shopping trip?" Uncle Tony asked coming out of the kitchen. He had a beer in his hand and still had his fishing boots. He hadn't been in long either.
"It was really good thanks. I made April look like a new person. She dyed her hair red."
He chuckled. "I bet her mom's not too happy about that."
Since he worked as a cop around here, it made sense for Uncle Tony to know who April's mom was. And what she was like.
"I know. I'm glad I'm not in her shoes right now."
"Maybe you should be." I stared at him for a moment, confused by his remark. "Well, you just said you made her look like that," he added.
"Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right." Silence fell into the conversation then. It was one of those awkward silences when no-one knows what to say next and you end up standing like a total moron staring anywhere but at the other person. Eventually I broke it. "Well, I guess I better take these upstairs." I motioned to my bags and tried unsuccessfully to get past him. He stepped back into the kitchen so I could get through. "Sorry," I mumbled and disappeared up to my room. The moment I closed the door behind me I dropped my bags and landed flat out on my bed. I felt exhausted. I stayed there unmoving for a while before I decided I should check the time. When I looked at my bedside clock I almost jumped out of my skin. It was 5:00pm. I only had an hour before Jake said he was picking me up, and knowing him he'd accidentally get here early like he always did.
I rushed through the bags of clothes I'd just bought like a robot, struggling to put them all on hangers and into the wardrobe. It was like a battle with the hangers trying to get them to stay on the rack; every time I hung one up it would catch another and knock it down. I was so busy cussing at the damn things that I didn't notice the door open and anybody enter the room. I turned around, startled by the sudden interruption, to find Jacob leaning against the doorframe laughing at me. He looked incredibly good in a white shirt and jeans with a black jacket over the top.
"Jacob!" I said in alarm. "You're early." I could feel my face heat up as he composed himself.
"Yeah," he laughed, "And you were obviously busy."
I looked over at the bags scattered across the floor and the hangers poking out of the wardrobe. Half of them were piled up at my feet. I cleared my throat and stuck my head up at him.
"Yeah, I was just putting some clothes away."
"Clearly," he said, "By starting a war with the hangers." He started to laugh again and I glared at him in annoyance.
"It's not funny," I said trying to keep a steady voice. But I could feel the humour creeping into it as I spoke. "Those things well and truly despise me!"
"I'm sure they don't," he said, walking towards me. He picked a hanger up from the floor and grabbed one of the t-shirts from the bed. "Let me help you." I watched as he slid the hanger into one side of the shirt and lifted the other side over it. "Easy. Now all you got to do is hang it up. Just like that." He popped the shirt into the wardrobe and smiled smugly at me, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked really big and really bad and kind of a little bit sexy when he did that. I ignored the urge to reach out and stroke my hand across his bulging arms and picked the rest of the hangers up instead.
"Alright then Mr Know-It-All, you finish them up." I shoved the hangers at him and grabbed the clothes I'd laid out for tonight. "I need to go change anyway."
He smirked. "Okay then, I will."
I smirked back. "Good." Then, without glancing back at him to see if he was actually doing it, I hurried to the bathroom to change. I slipped on a new pair of blue jeans, a white tank top and a denim jacket to match. I shrugged my shoulders contentedly. It felt good to wear fresh clothes again.
On the way back to my room I shoved my old clothes in the wash and checked myself in the mirror. I still looked rough but I looked better than before.
"Okay, I'm done," I said, entering my room. Jake was sat on my bed grinning widely.
"So am I."
I looked around. All of the hangers were gone, including the clothes I'd left on the bed, and all of the bags had been cleaned up and disposed of.
"Wow, thanks Jacob. I thought you were going to leave them."
Jacob frowned. "Hey, I do what I'm told you know. I'm a good boy." He smiled smugly again and stood up. "So are you ready yet?"
"Um, sure, let my just get my bag." I grabbed my shoulder bag from off the chair and went to pick my purse up from my desk. But just as I reached out for it Jacob stopped me with his hand.
"You won't be needing that," he said.
"But Jacob, that's my purse."
"Yeah, and like I said, you don't need it."
"But...how am I supposed to pay for anything?"
"I'm paying," he said simply.
I shook my head in disagreement. "I don't think so, Jacob. You can't pay for everything."
He narrowed his eyes playfully and leaned in towards me. I felt my breath catch in my throat as the distance between us closed in. "Wanna bet?" Then he drew back nonchalantly like he hadn't just invaded my personal space. He watched as my expression turned from confused to dismal. "What?"
"It's not fair," I sighed.
"Sure it is," he said, tapping his fist into my shoulder. "I owe you so I'm paying."
"Fine then. You can pay. But you have to let me make it up to you."
"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea," he agreed. I rolled my eyes. "Now can we drop the money issue and go please?" He took me by the hand and lead my down the stairs. "See you later Mr Baines," he called as he dragged me towards the front door "I'll take good care of Grace." Tony looked around the side of the couch and waved.
"Bye!" I yelled just as Jacob pulled me through the door. "You're a little eager aren't you?"
"Whats wrong with that?" He asked.
"Nothing, but the movie doesn't start for another two hours."
"Yep, but we still have to eat remember?" He paused by his car.
I groaned. "Really, Jacob, this whole eating thing is..."
"Completely necessary," he said opened the passenger door for me.
"Actually I was going to say ridiculous." I climbed in and he walked around to the driver's side.
"I refuse to believe that you just insulted food," he said, getting in and starting up the car.
"I didn't. I just said-"
"You said it was ridiculous."
"I said the whole eating thing was ridiculous. Not food."
"Same thing." He stuck his nose up at me jokingly.
"So are you just going to pretend that you're not my friend for the rest of the night?"
He looked down at me from the corner of his eyes. "Maybe."
I scowled and tried to think of a reason for him to befriend me again. "Would you forgive me if I told you, you were the coolest person I know?"
"I would but you're just saying that."
I glowered at him. "Am not!"
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
I sat back in a huff and glared out of the windscreen. "This isn't funny anymore, Jacob."
"This isn't funny anymore, Jacob."
"Oh, so you're copying everything I say now?"
"Oh, so you're copying everything I say now?"
He glanced over to see the moody look on my face and snorted trying to hold back a laugh.
"You're stupid," I told him.
"You're stupid," he repeated.
"Fine, copy me. See if I care." I folded my arms across my chest.
"Fine, copy me. See if I care."
Silence consumed us then. Jacob was trying his hardest not to smile but his attempts were failing.
"Idiot," I muttered.
"Idiot," he said again.
"You really are immature, you know?"
"You really are imma-"
"Dammit Jake, will you shut up?" He started to say it again but I gave him a warning look that said 'If you copy me one more time I'm jumping out of this car – moving or not – and you can forget this date ever happened'.
"Alright, enough's enough. I'm sorry." He smiled at me apologetically but I didn't return the gesture.
"If you weren't my friend anymore you wouldn't be on speaking terms with me."
Jacob frowned at me. "You want me to forgive you that much?"
I looked up from my sullen position. "Maybe," I said, a smile slowly creeping onto my lips. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible not to smile around Jacob – however annoying he might be.
He laughed and winked at me. "I'll think about it."
When we arrived in Port Angeles Jacob pulled the car up in McDonalds. We were quiet for a moment and he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
"You like McDonalds, right?" He asked, looking slightly worried that I might say no.
"I do," I sighed.
"Great." He beamed at me and hopped out of the car. Before I knew it he was at my side holding the door open.
"Thanks," I said taking his hand as he helped me up. We found a table by the window and Jacob left me while he went to order.
"Is there anything you don't like?" He asked before he went.
"Um..." I thought for a second, wondering why he was asking me what I don't like. "I like pretty much anything, I guess."
"Perfect," he said and disappeared again. He was gone for quite a while. I was starting to wonder what was taking him so long when he reappeared with a tray full of food and...four other workers each carrying another tray behind him. I'm not sure how they managed to fit all five trays on the table but somehow they did. I just stared at the food dumfounded.
"You bought two of everything?" I exclaimed, blinking at him.
"I told you to be ready to eat, didn't I?"
"Yes, but I didn't think you were going to make me eat the whole of McDonald's food supplies!"
"Maybe you shouldn't underestimate me," he said, taking a huge bite out of a cheese burger. "Tuck in."
I stared at the food wondering where to start. There was just so much, I couldn't understand how Jacob thought I'd be able to eat it all. Maybe he thought I functioned like a garbage can – sort of like the way he did, devouring everything in front of him.
Eventually I went for the chicken sandwich.
It was awkward trying to eat when everyone in the restaurant kept sending us funny looks. Even people in the street looked at us as they passed. Jacob saw how uncomfortable it made me feel and told me to ignore them – they were just jealous because they didn't get to eat with such a good looking guy. I rolled my eyes at that one. But I had to admit it was probably true.
"You're so full of yourself," I laughed.
"Yeah, but you agree with me though."
"Sure I do, Jacob. You just keep telling yourself that."
By the time I'd finished my second burger and I'd moved on to the fries, Jacob was already halfway through his side of the food and still eating away! I had to stop to shake my head at him. He grinned around a deli sandwich, a childish sparkle in his eyes. I ploughed through as much of the food as I could until I got to my fourth burger. After that I was stuffed. I lay back against my seat and groaned.
"I feel like I'm going to explode."
Jacob glanced up at me from a box of large fries. "At least I got you to eat something."
I stared at him like he was crazy. "I don't know how you do it. Where the hell does it all go?"
He shoved one last handful of fries into his mouth and sat back to pat his stomach. "Good metabolism, I guess." He smiled at me but his eyes faltered as though he was hiding something. Perhaps he was. But it was more likely me just being paranoid, and either way, I wasn't going to force him to tell me anything anyway.
"Well, are you ready to hit the movies?" I checked the time on my watch. "It starts in forty-five minutes."
"Sure."
We each piled up all of the rubbish onto two trays and took them to the trash. Then we grabbed the rest of the trays and stacked them up on top of the trash holders. People were still giving us funny looks as we left the building but by then I'd gotten used to it. You only live once, right? So who cares if we looked like idiots?
As we approached Jacob's car I started to get a similar feeling to the one I felt earlier in the salon. It felt like eyes burning into my back but when I examined the lot there was nobody there.
"Whats wrong?" Jacob asked noticing my apprehensive behaviour.
"Um, nothing. I just thought I saw someone."
When we got to the movies Jacob bought our tickets and headed straight to the popcorn stand. It shocked me that he could still eat after all of that food in McDonalds. I told him I was just going to the ladies room whilst he queued up for the popcorn. Once I had relieved myself of drinking so much lemonade, I washed my hands and looked myself over in the mirror. I still looked like a stressed out zombie but I was getting the colour back in my cheeks. Maybe I was wrong about letting go of Jacob. He seemed to be doing the trick getting me back on my feet, although he's probably not aware of it.
I smiled to myself and left the toilets. This was the most content I'd felt in weeks.
Jacob was waiting for me with two large boxes of popcorn propped in his arms. He had the tickets perched in his right hand and was smiling brightly as he saw me approach.
"Hey, are you okay? I didn't make you feel sick with all that food, did I?"
"No, course you didn't. Actually, you did me a favour. I feel really good after all that food. I guess you were right about me not eating properly."
"I told you so," he said, sounding pleased with himself. "You should listen to me more often."
"Um...those aren't for me, are they?" I asked, pointing to a box of popcorn.
He smiled impishly. "Theres always room for desert."
"Hmm, you really are trying to make me look like a hippo, aren't you?"
"No!" he said, looking offended. Oops. "But you can't watch a movie without popcorn. It's like...it's like eating strawberries without cream. Insane!"
"Jacob, that's a stupid comparison," I said, taking the popcorn from him. We started to make our way towards the screens. "And for your information, I hate cream."
Jacob froze in the middle of a group of people. He looked horrified. "No way! You don't like cream?"
"Nope," I laughed, "Now come on. You're in that lady's way."
Jacob chuckled to himself and handed our tickets to the guy in charge of the screens. We found ourselves a seat somewhere in the middle and Jacob got to work scarfing his popcorn down. Luckily we had the row mostly to ourselves – except for one guy and his girlfriend at the end. I think Jacob and his piggish way of eating steered away anyone who was planning to sit near us.
"I still can't believe I'm eating this popcorn," I said, popping one into my mouth as the film started up.
"I still can't believe you don't like cream," he replied, finish the remains of his.
"I can't help that," I shrugged. "What film is this again?"
"Rise of the Fallen. It's about some woman who's supposed to be dead but it turns out she's not. Sort of. I didn't think you'd mind."
"Oh. Nice."
As the film started to progress, I wondered why Jacob made me feel the way he did. I knew what it was like to lose someone – hell, I knew what it was like to lose two people – and the pain of having to deal with it was hard. Very hard. But Jacob pulled me away from it so easily. He made me feel happy and relaxed the way nobody else ever could, even through all the bad stuff that seemed to take over my life. I couldn't get my head around how easy it was just to forget around him. To forget the pain and the loneliness that stabbed into me every night. There was something about Jacob that I didn't want to let go of, even if it was wrong of me to keep holding on. But no matter what Paul said or what I thought, I knew it would have been wrong to listen to either. Jacob was my friend – my rock – and although he didn't know it, he made me feel good in more ways than one.
My thoughts disappeared when Jacob's head blocked my view of the screen and I looked at him to see what he was doing. He was trying to steal a handful of my popcorn because he'd already eaten all of his and as ludicrous as it was, he was still hungry!
"Uh-uh, no you don't" I said, pulling my box away from him. "These are mine." I gained myself a 'shh' from someone behind us and a sad face from Jacob. He stuck his bottom lip out and tried to do an impression of the puppy-dog eyes.
"Please?" he mouthed. I eyed him suspiciously for a moment and then handed the box over. He grinned and took it greedily. When he gave it back it was nearly empty. I gaped at him and he shrugged innocently. Gee, thanks Jacob, I thought, snatching the box back. I munched what was left of my popcorn quickly so that he couldn't steal anymore.
By the time the movie ended Jacob resembled someone who'd been watching paint dry for the last two hours. He looked like he was ready to fall asleep and I didn't blame him. The movie wasn't that much to stress about; just some woman who, as Jacob had said before, was thought to be dead but came back to haunt her husband.
"Maybe you should let me pick the movie next time," I joked as he yawned and got to his feet.
"Maybe I should," he agreed, ushering me along the aisle. "It was a whole bunch of crap."
I laughed at his enthusiasm towards the film and made my way down the stairs. I could feel Jacob's hand at my elbow as he walked down behind me, careful not to get to close, but gentlemanly enough to make sure I didn't lose my balance. I wanted to move my hand up just an inch so that I could take his hand and twine my fingers through his. But I resisted. Making a move like that would be weird even though he'd already done it to me multiple times tonight.
Once we were out into the lobby again Jacob excused himself to use the theatre's facilities whilst I waited in the candy section. He told me he'd be back in a minute so I browsed through the variety of sweets the theatre had to offer while he was gone. Rows of different coloured candy were lined against the wall with large scoops and paper bags to put them in. I stopped to eye the cola bottles even though I didn't want any. It was silly really. I'd already had way more than enough to eat but I still couldn't help looking.
As I moved onto the next batch of candy a familiar feeling washed over me. It was the same spooky feeling I'd felt earlier at the salon and out in the parking lot. I tried to shake it off and carry about my business but a reflection in the plastic candy containers caught my eye. I froze. It was the same mysterious man I'd encountered through the shop window before. As if my body was on automatic, I turned expecting to find him waiting behind me, but there was nobody there. I looked around the theatre trying to see if he'd disappeared into the crowd of people. Nothing. Not a trace.
It's official. I'm going crazy.
I shook my head at my paranoid behaviour and went back to browsing the sweets. A moment later, Jacob came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Hey," he said. I nearly jumped through the wall. "Whoa, chillax it's just me."
"You scared me," I gasped, clasping a hand to my chest.
"Sorry. We should probably go. It's getting late."
"Do we have to go home?" I asked, following him through to the entrance. "Can't we stay out a little while longer? I have fun with you."
I thought I saw a hint of a smile cross his face but I couldn't be sure from where I was standing.
"Won't Tony mind?"
"No."
"I guess its okay then."
I followed Jacob out to his car and he held the door open for me again.
"Hm, I could get used to that, you know?"
"Sure, sure," he chuckled. He walked round to the other side and shut the door behind him, blowing a cold draft in my direction. I shivered involuntarily. Jacob noticed and turned the heater on.
"You didn't need to do that, y'know? I can practically feel the heat radiating off of you." He laughed once at my joke but it was humourless. Maybe it wasn't as funny as I thought.
"So where are we going?" I asked expectantly.
"I thought we could go to the beach."
"At this time?" I checked my watch. 8:45p.m.
"Sure, why not? It's cool there at night."
"Uh, okay then."
So Jacob drove me to the beach. It was a quiet drive, except for the soft humming of the radio somewhere in the background of it all. But it wasn't awkward. It was peaceful, easy, as we both basked in each other's company. Once in a while Jacob would ask me if I was alright and I would tell him that I was fine. Then it would go back to the silence again.
When we arrived back in La Push Jacob pulled the car up in a small parking lot by the beach and we walked down to the shore together.
"So you haven't really told me much about yourself," he said as we walked along the edge of the ever churning water. He took me by surprise but I had expected this to come up sooner or later.
"What's there to tell?" I asked.
"Well, you could start by telling me where you came from. I know you said you moved here a while ago but you never really said why - just that you were living with your uncle."
Suddenly I felt sick. I didn't know how to answer without getting to the hard parts. I started by taking a deep breath and choosing my words carefully.
"Well, I moved here from California a few weeks ago. My parents are...sort of unavailable right now." It was hard to say it, having to lie to Jacob. But it was easier than having to face the truth and paying for it after. "That's why I'm staying with my uncle."
"I see." He nodded in understanding. "So they're what? Working? Or..."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Something like that."
"How do you feel about it all?"
In truth it was killing me inside. The only thing keeping me sane is you, Jacob, I thought.
"It's great," I lied, "I like the rain."
Jacob looked at me in disbelief. "You do?"
"Sure."
"Well, I guess that's a good thing since you moved here. We don't get much sun in La Push."
I don't need sun – I've got you, I wanted to say but thought it best to keep my mouth shut. I could land myself into big trouble with my mouth, just like I nearly did in the fitting rooms with April today. I mentally cringed at the thought. I couldn't get out of promising her and now she expected me to tell her everything, my whole reason for living in La Push, everything that made me into the miserable idiot that I was. What if she never spoke to me again once she found out I was on the verge of breaking? What if she thought I was a waste of space? No. April wouldn't be that cruel. Would she?
Jacob saw the worry spread across my face and lay a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
"Um, yeah sorry."
"You sure? You seemed pretty deep in thought just then."
I smiled weakly. "Yeah, I was just thinking about earlier today. I made April dye her hair red. Her mom will probably kill me."
Jacob's eyes got wide. "Are you serious? Man, she's got to be in some serious shit right now."
"Probably," I agreed. "But I think it's worth it. For Embry's sake." I winked and he let out a bark of laughter.
"That's true. Embry'll be complimenting her for weeks."
"Exactly. But she doesn't believe me."
Jacob let out a gust of air as he bent down to pick a rock up from the sand. I watched, amazed, as he tossed it out into the ocean and five seconds passed before I heard a 'plop' as it hit the water.
"Ah, she will eventually." He bent down to pick up another rock.
"She doesn't seem to think so. She thinks he'll never like her in that way."
"Now that is impossible," Jake said, raising his arm ready to launch the rock. Then he stopped like he realised he'd said something he shouldn't of.
"He really likes her doesn't he?" I asked as his face turned disappointed. He was angry with himself.
"Something like that," he said, repeating my words.
"Whats so bad about that?"
Jacob looked at me before he threw the rock into the water. "Nothing why?"
"You just seemed like it bothered you."
"Grace, can I ask you something?" he said, completely ignoring my statement. He was slow to say it, but he chose his words specifically and looked me directly in the eyes. "Do you...feel any sort of...connection between us?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"Anything, just anything at all."
I deliberated for a minute, trying to understand what he meant.I did feel something between us. I wasn't sure what it was but it was definitely there. Definitely something.
"I feel good around you, if that's what you mean. Like all of my worries disappear. I'm sorry, Jacob, I don't understand."
Jacob smiled at me and draped his arm over my shoulder. "It's good. Don't worry about it."
We continued to walk silently down the shore until Jacob stopped by a driftwood log. I recognized it from somewhere. I think it was the same one I came to on my first day of school here. I liked it here...until I saw the wolves that night. I froze remembering the way they all stopped to turn their heads at me.
"Jacob!"
"Whoa, what is it?"
"It's not safe here. The wolves..." I swallowed hard so I wouldn't choke myself from talking so fast. "...I saw wolves here, Jacob!"
Jacob was silent for a minute as he processed my news. Then he burst out laughing.
"It's not funny, Jacob. They could be watching us right now!"
"They won't hurt you," he said, still laughing.
"Are you really sure about that?"
"Positive."
Jacob pulled the car up outside my house and cut the engine. He turned to me but he never said anything. I could hear the wind start to pick up and whistle around the car.
"So I guess I should say thanks for taking me out tonight," I said, feeling miffed about having to separate. I was just starting to enjoy our time out when we had to say our goodbyes.
"S'no big deal. We should do it again sometime and I'll let you choose the movie."
"Yeah, you should," I said tapping him on the shoulder. He laughed and started to say something back to me, but his words seem to get quieter and I barely heard anything he said when my eyes ventured behind him and landed on a familiar figure standing a few feet away. It was him; the man I had seen outside the salon today. This time I was sure I wasn't seeing things.
He had taken his long jacket off so that he looked less conspicuous out in the open and wore a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I'm guessing he's really into black.
He was staring at me again with the same menacing glare that made me feel small and vulnerable. It was obvious to assume that he was planning some kind of attack because I couldn't think of any other reason he could have for following me. The way his arms tensed at either side of him, unmoving like he was trying to fool me into thinking he was a statue, was disconcerting. Suddenly he flexed his fingers and I noticed how the veins in his arms became more defined. His mouth turned up into a slow, tantalizing smile and then something happened. Something I was not expecting.
The strange, distinct glow I had noticed in his eyes earlier seemed to amplify until they covered the whole of his eyes and I realised they were now glowing the same terrifying amber that I recognized from my dream. And from the night before.
Impossible.
The colour I'd previously been happy to retrieve drained from my face and all of the food I'd eaten tonight suddenly wanted to make an appearance again. My head started to spin but I felt Jacob's arm reach out and hold me steady.
Then just like that, the colour in the man's eyes dissipated and they returned to normal.
"Whoa, Grace, whats wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"N-no but that's a pretty close description."
Jacob looked confused. He followed my gaze to wear the completely weird freak was standing but just as he turned around, the guy vanished into the forest.
Jacob looked back at me. "I don't understand."
Suddenly I realised what I was saying. I couldn't tell Jacob that the glowing eyes I thought I was imagining last night (and dreaming of, too) happened to be the eyes of a man. He'd think I was crazy!
"Uh, nothing, it was nothing." Jacob didn't seem at all convinced.
"Alright then," he sighed, exasperated, "I guess I should go."
My stomach churned at the thought of being alone with a freaky supernatural guy hanging around my house. I didn't want Jacob to go.
"Will you stay with me tonight?" I blurted, surprising myself aswell as Jacob. His eyes widened in shock and he looked like all the air had just been pushed out of his lungs.
"Are you serious?"
"I know it seems like a lot to ask," I persisted, "But...well...I guess that film kinda got to me," I lied.
"What about Tony?" he asked, looking like he was considering it. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes!
"Tony never comes in at night. He won't know."
"I don't think it's such a good idea."
"Please, Jacob? Just for tonight."
For a few brief seconds he looked like he was fighting with himself, wondering whether he should go with the part that was telling him to say yes and come back with me. Or the part that said no, it was too risky and that he should go home. All through this internal argument I had my fingers crossed tightly behind my back.
"Alright fine," he sighed. "But Tony better not kill me when he finds out."
"Eek! He won't," I squeaked and flung my arms around his neck. He hugged me back tightly.
"So how do we do this without getting caught?" He asked once we'd gotten ourselves back to normal. Actually, I hadn't even thought about that.
"Um...you can climb in through the window."
"And my car?"
"Oh, I forgot about that." Jacob arched his brow as if to say 'exactly'.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. "Well it's ten o clock now. I could drive my car home and walk back. I don't live that far. Plus, that way my dad will see that I'm 'home'," he made quotation marks around the word 'home', "and it would give you a chance to shower and change and do whatever girls do before they go to bed. You think Tony will be asleep by then?"
"He should be. But are you sure? I mean, I don't wanna make you go through all that for my sake."
Jacob waved his hand at me. "Nah, don't worry about me. Now go on. Go put Tony to bed and I'll see you in an hour."
"Okay." I hugged him again and opened my door. But just as I was about to dropped my feet out I spun around to face him again. "Thanks Jacob," I said and kissed him on the cheek. He looked kinda stunned like he couldn't believe what I just did. But I just smiled at him and got out of the car. He waved at me as he drove away and I could've sworn I saw him touch the spot that I'd kissed him as he turned the corner.
I sighed and went in to face Tony. He was sprawled out across the sofa with a beer can balancing on his stomach and a cushion covering his face. He'd fallen asleep watching TV again. Carefully, I took the can from his hold, removed the cushion from his face so that his muffled snores could be heard and covered him with a blanket. Then I slipped silently up the stairs. I hurried to take a shower, brush my teeth and change into some fresh panties and a tank top before Jacob got here. Then I threw my things in the wash and went back to my room to wait for him.
It was funny how he seemed to get here right on time.
Just as I opened my bedroom door, Jacob jumped through the window and landed with a thud on the floor. He smiled apologetically at me and closed the window. He was shirtless and looking pretty darn good in only a pair of three-quarters, but for some reason I didn't think to ask why. Instead I just stood there, gawking at him.
"Tony's out on the sofa," I said, trying to make a quick recovery. "He shouldn't be a problem anymore."
"That's good," Jacob said crossing the room. I swallowed hard as he came to stand in front of me. My head just reached above his chest. "Where am I sleeping?"
"Um..." I looked around for a blanket and blushed when I couldn't find one. "My bed I guess." Jacob didn't say anything and I glanced up at him to make sure it was okay. "You don't mind do you."
He swallowed and looked over at my small, one-man bed. Then he looked at me in my panties. "Nope. Not at all."
"Okay then." I walked over to my desk and yanked my brush through my hair, quickly trying to untangle the mess. I heard Jacob take his shoes off. When I turned to face him again he was already in bed with the covers pulled over. He patted the space next to him. I crossed the room tentatively and slid in beside him.
"This is really weird," I said hugging the covers to my chest. We both stared at the ceiling – at the glow-in-the-dark stars I'd childishly stuck there. One of them was wonky and out of place.
"Tell me about it," he agreed. "But it's good though, right?" I heard his head scrape against the pillow to look at me.
"Yeah." I twisted around to meet his gaze and was shocked to find just how close he was. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity until I decided to break it and turn around. Jacob put his arm around me and I froze, uncertain. But then I heard him sigh contentedly and I relaxed into his body heat.
"Goodnight, Jacob," I whispered.
"Night."
Minutes passed.
"Are you asleep yet?"
"No, but I was getting there," I moaned.
"Oh. Sorry. I don't feel tired."
"That's too bad because I am."
He started to draw circles on my shoulder and my skin prickled.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to occupy myself." His fingers slid down my arm and I shivered under his touch.
"And this is how you do it?"
"Why not? You like it right?"
I smiled. I did. But it's not like I was going to say that.
"Goodnight, Jacob," I said again.
"Night."
We said nothing after that.
Well, was it fluffy enough for you? I certainly hope so cause I put so much energy into trying to make it right for you. I even wrote the ending twice cause the first time went poopy. Now, I hate to be a bother and all but I've spent alot of time this past couple a days glued to my computer screen so that I could get this up. It would really mean alot if you could review and tell me what you think. I went to alot of trouble trying to get it finished. I even stayed up till 4:00a.m THIS MORNING trying to get as much of it done as I possibly could (which by the way is the reason than any part of this chapter maybe a little bit patchy). So please please be an awesome reviewer and give me your thoughts. Lotsoflove, TheMazaltoff xx