Chapter Twenty One
Renesmee
"Yes, you may." I replied and let Jacob step forward and pull me into his arms.
"Here, place your arms around my neck, if you can reach." he directed my hands behind his head.
"I can reach." I smirked and clasped my hands together. "And where will your hands go?"
"Around your waist, like this." He smiled and let them fall into the curve of my back.
"And now what do we do?"
"We sway," he said and began to gently move from side to side.
"Seems easy enough." I smiled and moved along with him.
"Are you enjoying yourself so far?" asked Jacob.
"Yes. Are you?"
"Yes."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Yes. Ben and Evan are nice. They've been keeping me company while you girls dance."
"That's good. Oh my gosh, where's Lauren? She's not alone is she?" I asked, panicked as I searched the crowd.
"Relax, she's dancing with Ben over there." said Jacob as he nodded behind me with his head. I craned my neck around to see Lauren and Ben, holding each other much in the same way Jacob and I were, swaying slowly around. To my surprise, they weren't talking at all and both of them look slightly uncomfortable together.
"That doesn't look good... they're best friends and they're not even talking to one another." I commented.
"Hmm... well, you know, not everyone likes to talk when they're slow dancing." said Jacob.
"Is that your way of telling me to shut up?" I frowned.
He laughed, "No, I like it when you talk. I was just saying..."
"Oh..." I sighed and rested my head on Jacob's chest. It was actually really nice; swaying to the music, not saying a word. I was a little disappointed when the song ended but before I could really think Lauren came bouncing my way and we started dancing to some more upbeat tunes.
"I love this song!" shouted Lauren.
"Yeah, it's great." I shouted back.
"Hey, Renesmee," called Julia as she grabbed my arm and spun me to one side, "Jesse has his eyes on you! Straight ahead!"
I looked straight ahead and locked eyes with Jesse, standing tall and dressed in a bloody football jersey, fake blood splattered on his face, hair all messed up and dirty looking. When he caught my eye he smiled and waved and then disappeared into the crowd of dancing people.
"Did you see him?" asked Julia.
I blushed, "Yeah, I saw him."
"Thought so. Anyways, I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to sit for a bit."
"What? Where are you going Julia, you can't be tired already." frowned Lauren.
"Sorry, but these Catwoman heels aren't very friendly to my feet. Grab the guys to dance." she suggested.
"That's not a bad idea." smiled Lauren. "Come on!"
We followed behind Julia as she headed over to the table where the boys were sitting. "I think it's time you boys join us." smiled Lauren.
"But you're having so much fun on your own," reasoned Ben.
"Yes, and think of all the extra fun we'll have once you join us," pushed Lauren. "You'll come and dance, won't you Jacob?"
"Sure, why not?" smiled Jacob as he stood up. Ben watched him stand and then rose himself.
"Fine then, you talked me into it."
Lauren stuck her tongue out at Ben and then grabbed Jacob's hand and headed back to the dance floor. It was fun dancing with the guys. They had some pretty great, and seriously silly dance moves. At one point the DJ played a very sizzling latin beat and I watched as Lauren's hips moved side to side to the beat. The way she moved drew the attention of all the boys around her and for a moment I cursed my self for wearing such a large and puffy dress.
"Alright guys and girls, we're going to slow it down now..."
"Jacob, will you dance with me?" asked Lauren.
"Uh, sure... I'd love to," said Jacob as he stepped forward.
"Renesmee?"
"What?" I turned, distracted by the sight of Jacob and Lauren.
"Would you like to dance?"
"Hmm? Oh... Ben... sure." I smiled and tore my eyes away from them and placed my focus on Ben.
"That's quite some dress you've got there," he smiled as we swayed to the music. "It looks amazing on you."
"Thank you Ben, you look pretty amazing yourself." I smiled and snuck a glance at Lauren, laughing and talking with Jacob.
"No, really, I mean it. You look beautiful tonight."
"Really?" Some thing about the way he said those words made me forget about all about Lauren.
"Yeah, really." he smiled and pulled me closer. "Are you having fun tonight?" he asked in a deep, soothing voice.
"Yes. Are you?" I gulped down my increasing nerves.
"I am now." he grinned and then grabbed my hand and allowed me to do a little spin on the dance floor and float back into his arms.
"Wow... you're a great dancer."
"Thanks. I took some dance classes when I was younger. They were my mother's idea. I've forgotten most of it but at least I've still got my rhythm." he smirked. There was something about the way he was acting that reminded me of Jonathan and that night in the woods. Maybe it's because he's dressed as a vampire... from a Anne Rice novel... No, that's not it... Why does he suddenly look so different? ... I've never seen Ben look so... so... I mean, his smile is sparkling in the spinning lights... and why does he keep looking at me like that, like I'm the only girl in the room? Maybe I should ask Jacob about this. He knows more about this than I do.
I glanced at Jacob and felt a stab of heat shoot down into the pit of my stomach when I saw Lauren with her head resting on Jacob's broad chest. I don't know why but I had the sudden urge to pounce on her. The only thing that made the pain in my abdomen feel somewhat bearable was the fact that Jacob was looking at me and Ben with a look of bitterness on his face. Moments later the slow song ended, only to have another start right up. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"Hey, Benjamin. Mind if I take Renesmee for a twirl?"
"Uh... sure... no problem..." said Ben, disappointed, as he let go of me.
"Would you like to dance?" asked Jesse.
"Uh, sure. I'd love to." I forced a smile and stepped forward. I placed my hands on his shoulders and Jesse placed his hands around my waist. One thing quickly became clear: Jesse was not as good a dancer as Ben. In an attempt to dance me around the room he managed to step on my feet a total of twelve times, none of which hurt but I was growing increasingly worried about my poor shoes.
"Why don't we just stick to swaying back and forth?" I offered as politely as I could.
"Sure, sounds like a good idea. I guess I'm just not used to dancing with some one..."
"So big?" I offered.
"Yeah! I - I mean - you know - the dress is big. Not you. You're not big at all... that's not what I meant." he stuttered.
I smiled, "It's okay. I understand..." We swayed back and forth in silence for another minute. I tried extremely hard not to look at Jacob and Lauren but it was like the second I took my eyes off of the ceiling there they were, smack in the middle of the crowd, her arms tightly locked around his neck, looking more like she was holding onto him for dear life than dancing with him. Honestly, does she have to be that close to him? She just looks silly... I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so... And who dances with someone two songs in a row?
"So, zombie jock?" I forced a smile and put all my strength into not looking away from Jesse's face.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, that's me. Really original, right?" he smiled. "This was actually Luke's idea. I copied him."
"Well you look the part." I grinned.
"Thanks. Hey... I was wondering, if maybe..."
"There you are! I've been looking for you!" smiled Lana coyly as she pulled Jesse's shoulder away from me.
"You've been looking for me?" asked Jesse, disbelieving.
"Yes! Of course I have! Oh hi, we haven't officially met. I'm Lana and this Rachel and Kaitlyn."
"Hi." I smiled softly and let go of my hold on Jesse. It seemed like the right thing to do since Lana was beginning to pull little Miss Bitch-Fit. I recognized such a thing after years of living with Rosalie.
"Lana, what do you want?" asked Jesse, annoyed.
"I want you, silly! Luke's outside getting the car. We're all heading down to Ricard's for some spooky Halloween fun." she grinned.
"Ricard's? What's that?" I asked.
"It's this old house off of highway number 12. It's supposed to be haunted and there's a legend that says if you run around the building three times screaming "Old man Ricard, come out, come out!" his ghost will appear." Explained Jesse with skepticism in his voice.
"You talking about Ricard's?" asked Lauren as she approached us. "It's a big waste of time. There's no ghost. It's just an urban legend to scare the elementary kids with."
"And who asked for your opinion?" said Lana as she turned to face Lauren. That's when she caught sight of Jacob; tall, dark and brooding in his perfectly fitted costume.
"Oh, hello... You're new to town aren't you? My name's Lana." she smiled and stuck out her hand.
"Nice to meet you." replied Jacob softly.
"This is Jacob." I said, as I took a step towards him and linked my arm around his.
"Your boyfriend Renesmee?" questioned Rachel.
"No, Jacob's just a friend of Renesmee's," replied Lauren as she grabbed onto Jacob's other arm.
"He's a close, family friend." I said defensively and rested my head on Jacob's shoulder.
"Oh, I see." commented Lana as her eyes bounced over the three of us. "Well Jesse, you coming?" she asked, smiling, before she spun on her heel and headed towards the exit. Jesse looked crestfallen. He thanked me for the dance and followed behind Lana and the girls. We watched as they headed out the gym door.
"Well, that was awkward." said Jacob as he shrugged out of both of our grips.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. That's just Lana for you. She can't be helped," smiled Lauren. "Jacob, would you like to grab some punch?"
"Uh, actually I think I'm going to head outside for a breath of fresh air."
"I can come with you! You know... to keep you company..." offered Lauren as she batted her eyes.
"Actually... I'm going to make a phone call, so, it's probably better if I just go alone. It's kind of a private call."
"Oh... well, okay than! Renesmee, you still feel like dancing?" she smiled.
"Actually, my feet are sore. I'm going to sit down." I frowned and headed for the table. Julia greeted me with a quizzical expression. "What was that about? I saw the way Lana interrupted your dance with Jesse."
"Meh, whatever. He wasn't that great of a dancer anyways." I caught Ben's expression when he heard those words. He looked slightly elated.
"Come on you guys! Let's dance! The night is young!" cheered Lauren from the dance floor.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming." sighed Julia as she got up out of her seat. I waited and watched as Julia met with Lauren on the dance floor before I headed for the back door.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Ben. "Aren't you going to sit a while?"
"I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll be right back." I replied and nearly ran to the door.
The crisp, cool autumn air felt so good against my face and bare skin. The sky was completely clear and full of twinkling stars. The closed gym door behind me did poorly to mute the pounding music that was coming from within the gym. I slowly made my way across the parking lot to Jacob's parked Mustang. There was Jacob, dressed in his 18th century attire, leaning against the side of his car, deep in thought.
"Mind if I join you?" I grumbled as I approached him.
"I was hoping you would come," he smiled.
"Really? Are you sure you weren't waiting for someone else?" I jeered.
"What? Like who?" he asked, confused.
"Oh I don't know, maybe Lauren?" I scowled.
"Lauren?" he repeated, with a frown. "What is up with you Renesmee?"
"Nothing's up." I shrugged. "I just saw how much you enjoyed each other's company, that's all." I blurted and crossed my arms over my chest.
Jacob cocked his brow, "Right... and the fact that I was 'enjoying Lauren's company' had nothing to do with the fact that I thought you two were best friends and I was just trying to be nice to her." He shot me a look that left me slightly confused. It was a cross between a smirk and a frown. It left me feeling a lot less confident about myself and got my heart fluttering.
"I... It didn't look that way to me..." I murmured.
"Oh really? And what did it look like?" he asked as he pushed himself away from the car and stood just inches away from me. My heart began to pound in my chest as I stared up and into Jacob's brooding face with his dark features and stunning eyes.
"It... it looked like something else..." I swallowed.
"Something else..." he repeated and ran the back of his hand along my cheek.
"Yes..." I breathed, heavy and full.
"Hmmm..." he hummed as he stared down at me. I was locked in his gaze; I couldn't look away. His face was framed against the beautiful back drop of the starry sky. Even in the night I could make out the flakes of gold in his eyes. With out thought I raised a hand and let my finger tips gently trace the features of his face... his brow bones... his cheek... his jaw line... his lips...
"Jacob..." the words left my mouth on their own.
"Yes...?" he breathed.
"I... I... I love this song..." I sighed as the music from within the gym morphed into Kissing You by Des'ree. I could easily make out the soothing rhythm and I felt my heart melt and relax.
"Than we should dance," he smirked and grabbed a hold of my waist, lifted me into the air and spun me around. I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck as my body soared. He then placed me gently down on the pavement and we began to sway to the muted music. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, pressing my body up against his. I rested my head on his shoulder. It was hard to tell who's heart was beating faster, mine or his.
"So what is this song called?" whispered Jacob.
"Kissing you..." I replied.
"It sounds beautiful..." he repeated in a deep, tranquil voice. I lifted my head from his shoulder and stared into his eyes. There were so many emotions in his face. I saw lust, happiness, sorrow and longing; I felt all of those things my self. It suddenly became hard for me to breath. My corset felt tight, really tight and as Jacob's hands traced up and down my back my breathing only quickened. I unlocked my hands and cupped the back of Jacob's beautiful head. The extensions and his real hair all felt like one. I fingered the soft mane and scratched his scalp with my finger nails. I could see in his eyes that he enjoyed that, he was nearly panting in excitement. I wanted to kiss him! I wanted to feel his soft lips pressed hard against my own. I wanted his hands to continue to caress my back and the thin lace corset that was covering it. I wanted him to grab me into his strong, solid arms and hold me even tighter! I wanted to -
"There you are! Oh!" gasped Julia as she and Lauren stopped in there tracks. "Oh my god! I'm sorry! So sorry! I didn't know you two were, you know, out here - together - and wow! Um, we're - we were just, you know - uh..." stumbled Julia, looking completely embarrassed. She smiled slightly and then grabbed Lauren's hand and dragged her back to the gym without another word. I had caught sight of Lauren's shocked expression. I thought the sight of Lauren with her jaw to the ground, seeing Jacob and I in such an intimate stance would make me feel happy inside, but it made me feel horrible. I wanted to run after them and tell her that I was sorry, but what was I sorry for?
"Oh no!" I moaned and pulled away from Jacob. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" I cried. "How could I do that? Oh my god! She's so hurt and it's all my fault!"
"Renesmee, calm down, nothing's your fault." Soothed Jacob as he tried to pull me into a hug. I pushed him away.
"No, it is my fault. You saw her face! She's heart broken. She obviously likes you! And now she hates me!" I cried and dropped my head into my hands.
"Renesmee, you're over reacting. Come on, babe... don't cry, every thing's okay."
"Okay? It's not okay, Jacob! She's never going to talk to me again! She probably hates me! My first real friend and now she hates me!"
"Ness, look at me," he coaxed, "What ever feelings Lauren may or may not have towards me have nothing to do with you. You got that? If she has feelings for me than that's between me and her. Okay?" he stated, sternly.
"Okay," I moaned and nearly started to bawl. Was this his way of telling me to butt out of his personal life? Oh god I can't hear this!
"Good. I mean, you can't go feeling bad just because she has feelings for me that I can't reciprocate."
"You, you can't?" I asked, between tears.
"No, not at all."
"But, she looked so pretty tonight and you danced with her for two whole songs."
"I danced with her for two songs because that guy Jesse beat me to the punch in asking you, and she had quite the grip on me. And as for her being pretty," he lifted my chin and stared into my wet eyes, "She may be pretty, but you take my breath away."
"Really?" I whispered, as I snorted back my sniffles.
"Always." he assured me and smiled. "Come on, I'll take you home."