Author's Note:
Hey thanks so much for the advice and the kind Reviews. I hope to clear some stuff up and answer some of your questions in this chapter.
As always Stephenie Meyer owns the characters. I'm just using some of the character's name and places from the Twilight series. Thanks again for reading and leaving Reviews. They make my day :)
Chapter 3
Okay we have twenty sleeping bags… and still not working. Work couldn't keep my thoughts away from Jacob. He told me he missed me. Really? I mean after all this time, now? He chooses now to tell me he misses me and that he's sorry.
The last time he told me that, was when the divorce papers made it to his front door. It took him a year and six months to sign the damn divorce papers. Something that he could have done sooner to speed things up, but no, not Jacob, he always had to do things the hard way. God knows I love the man, that's why I've been crying almost every night, after I received the papers stating we were officially divorced.
It's stupid because we've been separated for two years. I should be used to the idea that it was over, but there was this annoying little voice in the back of my mind that kept telling me he loved me and wanted to come back.
If he missed me like he said he did, he wouldn't have signed the divorce papers at all, he would have been the persistent Jacob I fell in love with, well maybe that's why he drew out the divorce longer than necessary, but in the end he caved. Just like he caved under pressure and walked out on me. Some man I chose to fall in love with...
The stock room screamed at me from the corner of my eye, I've walked in and out of that room countless times and today Jacob was all I saw whenever my eyes wondered to that particular location in the store.
(Flashback to a younger Bella & Jacob: before Junior even existed)
"Jake? What are you doing here?" I whispered to him, as I looked around for any witnesses.
"I miss you and I wanted to see you." He stated matter-of-factly.
I rolled my eyes at him, "I have to close the store. Wait for me outside."
I began to shove his broad shoulders, but he wouldn't budge. When I stepped back to look at him, he had a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I know that look Jacob Black," it was the look of desire, of need, of passion. And although I would never confess it to him, that look always turned me on.
"What look?" He smirked stepping closer.
I stepped back, and swatted away at his reaching hands, as I giggled, "Jake, not now."
"Yes, now I want to take off all your clothes, starting with that cute little top you're wearing." His hands went straight to the hem of my Henley style shirt his fingers leaving a trail of fire on the skin just below my belly button.
I swallowed hard. Then I remembered the stock room in the back of the store. If any one were to drive by they wouldn't get a peep show. Jacob slid his hand up my back, wanting all of my attention. He wrapped his hand around my neck, and pulled me closer against his hard body. The tip of his nose skimmed mine before his lips crashed down on mine for a long, deep kiss. He feels so good. The way he taste is so familiar, so caring but wild at the same time. His tongue fought mine for control of the kiss, quickly turning it ablaze.
I pulled away from him the both us breathing heavy, a smile on his lips, I made a run for the stock room and Jacob was right behind me. When I finally managed to unlock the stock room door, Jacob already had my jeans unbuttoned and unzipped. His hand was making its way into my panties. Incapable of moving, I moaned and leaned against the door jamb for support as his other hand slid beneath my shirt to unhook the front clasp of my bra to tease my breast. His teeth scraped my neck as he pressed the heel of his hand against my mound and slid two of his fingers deep inside of me. My breath froze in my lungs. My short nails bit into the wood as I came apart in his arms.
"Bella, Hey Bella…" Mike Newton, my boss and memory interrupter, shook me back to the present. "Where were you just now?"
"I've been here, what are you talking about?" I went back to the task at hand, which at the moment was inventory.
Mike chuckled, "You've been here physically, but you were staring off into space, daydreaming. Am I working you too hard?"
I opened my mouth about to say, 'no,' when…
"Mom! Look what I won at the arcade! Hi Mike!" Junior ran down the tents aisle I was standing in, with a camera in his hand.
"Hey Little Jake, Bella why don't you head out, I'll take care of the rest." Mike said grabbing the clipboard, from my hands.
"You sure? I mean I can still do it, I'll just have Jacob leave him with Charlie."
Mike shook his head, "Go, I'll see you tomorrow. You have a nice camera there Little Jake."
Junior beamed, "Thanks."
I wrapped my hand around Junior's and led him outside while he chatted away about his exciting weekend with Jacob. When I went around the corner of the store, heading towards my car, Jacob was leaning against his truck, with one leg up on the running board, and both hands stuffed into his pockets. Just like the way he did when we younger.
"Hey Bells," He said.
"Hey," I blushed and looked away. I couldn't help it. Not even five minutes ago I was mentally re-calling one of many hot and passionate moments we had shared.
"Junior, get your bag and put it in mom's car." Jacob said shrugging away from the truck and stepping closer to me.
Junior let go of my hand and ran towards the back of the truck to do as his father said. I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear before I began to fiddle with my car keys. I couldn't look him in the eyes.
"Bells, we need to talk." He whispered in his husky voice. My knees wanted to give out under my weight.
"I… I… umm… maybe some other time," I turned around.
He grabbed my forearm, not roughly, but just enough to force me to look at him. "Then when?"
I sighed and pulled my arm away from his warm hands. "What did you want to talk about?"
"About giving me a younger brother, right dad?" Junior piped in.
"Junior, get in the car." Jacob sternly said to him.
I stood there shocked to silence.
"Bella, I swear that wasn't…"
I shook my head, "I can't do this."
"You can't do what? I haven't asked you to do anything, but talk to me." Jacob said getting in my face.
"I don't want to talk to you," I gritted out in frustration.
"Why not?"
Because it hurts, seeing you hurts, seeing you in our son hurts. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and slowly let out the air. "Say what you have to say and be done with it Jacob."
"No," He crossed his arms and stood back.
I shrugged and walked around him, to get into my car.
"Bella," He called out when I had my hand on the door handle.
I turned around to face him.
"Have dinner with me tomorrow night. We'll talk then." He turned on his heel, not giving me the chance to turn down the invitation. I'll just call him and tell him, 'No.'
"Mom, guess what?" Junior excitedly asked from the back seat.
"What honey?" I asked as I fought to get the steering wheel un-stuck so I can turn the keys in the ignition.
"I asked Dad the same question I asked you and he said the same thing you said." I looked over my shoulder to see him smiling back at me. "You know what that means?"
I shook my head, and smiled to myself when I won the battle and got the car to turn on. "What did you ask him?"
"Mom…" He whined frustrated that I had no idea what he was talking about? "Remember I asked you if you loved Dad?"
Yeah, I remember all right I almost couldn't answer him without balling in front of him. "Yeah, I remember."
"Okay well Dad said that he loves you, and you said that you love him. So…"
"So, you need to mind your business and stay out of adult situations."
"But, Ma I want us to be a family like Aunty Leah and Uncle Sam," he sniffed.
I peeked over at him from the rearview mirror. He wasn't the bright and chipper kid; Jacob had dropped off at the store, "Baby your Dad and I are better off as friends."
He sighed, "Dad told me that too."
I stopped at a red light and turned to face him, he had tear staining his cheeks, "Aww… honey don't cry. You want me to take you to have some ice cream?"
He dried his tears with the back of his long sleeved shirt, "Before dinner?"
I smiled at him, "Just this once."
He nodded a slightly bit happier.
The ice cream was the trick, that and the fact that one of his friends from school was there.
"Mrs. Black right?" The mother of the kid that was playing with Junior asked sitting next to me on the counter of the ice cream shop.
"Ms. Swan, we… um… we divorced." I hadn't heard Black attached to my name in a while. I was surprised it still sent butterflies fluttering away in my stomach.
The lady gasped, "I am so sorry to hear that. You guys are so young. If I may ask how old are you?"
I politely smiled at her, "It's okay, I'm twenty-five."
"Wow, I can't believe it. Well I'm a single mother too, so whenever you and Jake want to come over, we can have a play date ya know?" She smiled at me. But I know that smile, I saw it all the time, it was the pity smile.
"Sounds good, I'm sorry what did you say your name was again?" I smiled back at her.
"I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name is Tanya… Tanya Denali." She stuck out her hand.
I shook it getting up from the counter's bar stool, "Bella."
She got up also, "It was nice meeting you."
I nodded, "Likewise."
I drove a hyper Junior back home. As soon as I parked the car he flew up the porch steps and ran inside to greet Charlie, I'm sure to tell him all about his fun filled weekend. As soon as I made it inside with his Transformer duffle bag all I could hear is Junior chatting Charlie's ear off and Charlie laughing at the funny things he said. After I un-packed Junior's bag I noticed his cold medicine was un-touched. Upset I picked up the phone and dialed Jacob's house number.
"Hello?" Jacob answered after about five rings, with laughter in his tone.
"Thank you so much for giving our son his cold medicine." I closed the door of the room for privacy.
He sighed, "Bells he didn't need it. He's fine."
"Whatever look, I'm not going to this dinner thing tomorrow with you. I… I have plans." I lied.
"What kind of plans?" He practically growled out.
"What's it to you? Just know that I can't because I have plans period. I have to get Junior ready for bed so… bye."
"Bella hold up… Hello?" Jacob sounded desperate now.
"Yeah?" I smiled, feeling evil for doing this to him.
"Why did you call me yesterday?"
That wasn't what I was expecting, "What are you talking about?"
He chuckled, "You called me last night and you asked Billy for me. He told you I wasn't there and you wanted to talk to me. I called you back and all you tell me is that Junior needs his cold medicine. You could have told Billy that. So why did you really call me in the first place?"
Damn him, damn him straight to hell. I called him out of a moment of weakness just to apologize for over reacting that day, when he told me he had missed me. I wanted to tell him that I missed him too. That I miss him every time I look at our son, that's a spitting image of him. But I couldn't tell him that, he can't know how weak I am for him.
"And still no answer." I could imagine the smile he was wearing on the other side of the phone.
"I didn't tell Billy because Junior is our child not his."
He laughed, "Come on Bells that was weak."
I mentally slapped myself, because he was right it was weak. "Whatever, I have to go."
I hung up the phone and lay down on my bed. I don't know how long I was staring up at the ceiling for when I heard a knocking sound at the door. I sat up and wiped away the few tears that somehow escaped without my knowledge. "Come in."
"Hey," Jacob strolled in closing the door behind him.
I pushed myself up from the bed. "What are you doing here?"
"You're busy tomorrow night right? So how about we talk right now?" He sat down on the edge of the bed.
I followed suit to sit next to him, I glanced at the digital clock sitting on my bed side table the green numbers screamed it was ten o'clock. "Shit! Junior."
"Charlie put him to bed." Jacob patted on the spot next to him on the bed.
I sat a little further away from him but that gave us space to be turned to look at each other.
"We never did marriage counseling." Jacob said looking down at the patterns of the cream colored comforter.
"So?"
"So it could have saved us all this trouble." He looked up at me and my heart leaped in my chest.
"Jacob, you left…"
"I know, I know, but Bella understand me for a sec. I come home from work and you're yelling at me to take off my shoes, to take out the trash, bitching and complaining about how anything I did wasn't good enough. I took it and took it until I just couldn't take it anymore. You're my wife not a..."
"I was your wife." I whispered out.
"Baby, you'll always be my wife. I don't need a paper to tell me that." He scooted closer to me on the bed.
"Jacob…"
"I want us to get back together. I want us to get some of that counseling shit done. We'll take it slow you know, do it right."
"I can't, do that." I wiped away the tears that came falling down.
"Why?" He reached up and cradled my cheek. I couldn't help but sigh and lean into his touch.
"What if you leave me again?" I blubbered out.
Before I knew what was happening, he kissed me. It was a soft sweet kiss that made my heart beat faster and my toes curl. He took my breath away. All of him was so familiar. I felt complete, until he pulled away.
"I'll never make that stupid mistake twice. Baby, I swear." He gravely said as his eyes began to swim in moisture.
I melted. I couldn't help it. He always had that affect on me. I reached up and stopped the tear that rolled down his cheek. "Okay."
His face split into a huge smile that lit up the room. He leaned in for another kiss but I held out my arms stopping him, "We're going slow right?"
He slumped his shoulders and nodded in defeat.
"We're not telling anyone about this." I told him regaining my posture.
"Why not? Charlie and Billy will be stoked."
"Because what if it doesn't…"
"It will." He interrupted me.
"How can you be so sure?" I crossed my arms.
"Because we love each other."
"Jake that didn't help us any the last time," I rolled my eyes and got up from the bed.
He snorted, "I don't want to argue about this. You don't want to tell anyone, fine. But you have to come camping with me and the fam. Charlie is coming too."
"Are you black mailing me?" I asked opening the door to the room.
He stepped up behind me and closed the door again. His hands rested on my hips as he turned me around and walked me back until my back was pressed up against the door. He lifted my chin with his fingertips and lowered his mouth to mine. I sighed and buried my fingers in his hair as our tongues danced over one another. He pulled away when we both needed air to breathe.
"God, I miss you." He smiled.
I rested my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. I ran my fingers up and down his back loving the feel of his muscles twitch under my touch. "I'll talk to Mike about taking my two weeks."
His arms encircled me and I nuzzled myself closer to him. "Should I bring condoms?"
I laughed and slapped his chest as I stepped away, "No."
He pouted, and was about to say something, but I spoke up before he could.
"We're going slow remember? Who is this counselor we're supposed to go see?" I asked him getting away from him before my body betrayed me.
He scratched his head, "I don't know I was hoping you would know one?"
I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, "Here we go again Jacob, why is it up to me to find a counselor and make an appointment?"
"Chill out babe, I'm on it. I refuse to fuck this up." He smiled that smile I could never stay mad at. "But you do need to cancel those plans you made for tomorrow night."
I smiled at him, "Sure, no prob."
"There was never any plans were there?" He asked stepping closer to me again.
"I had plans to wash my hair," I shrugged.
