Chapter 8: Like Old Times
"Look I really am very sorry about today."
"It doesn't matter Jacob. Leah's your girlfriend and that's what couples do."
I blushed pink as I said this to him.
"Still," he persisted.
"Leah and me aren't even like that though. Our relationship is so agitating the majority of the time."
"Then break up." I suggested.
He laughed.
"Yeah right! Leah might commit suicide or something."
I laughed at that.
Then he began to laugh.
And then suddenly we were both belly laughing and rolling around on Rosalie's bed like goofballs.
It felt vaguely familiar.
I knew that we must have done stuff like this when we had been toddlers.
Eventually when we both calmed down he started apologizing again.
"I've seriously made such an ass of myself this week around you."
"It's ok, everyone has bad moments, I just always happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... that's really my life story."
He chuckled.
"I must have come across so cocky and arrogant."
"Hmm... yeah a bit."
"Sorry. I really mean it."
"It's ok. I think it's funny it matters to you this much."
I sighed.
"Yeah... it's just the way I feel for some reason."
"I don't mind."
"I don't either." He said and looked sideways at me.
We both stared at each other silently for a few seconds.
I quietly cleared my throat and looked away.
"Well what have you been up to the last thirteen years?" I asked grinning.
He smiled back.
"What else do kids like us do? School, sports, friends, family... that's about it I guess."
"I don't remember you being a football fanatic before." I pointed out.
"I'm really not. Apparently I'm just really good. I'm not THAT crazy about it."
"Will you go to college and play?"
"Nah."
"No?" I'd being lying if I said I wasn't shocked.
I had imagined he would say he wanted to get a scholarship of some sort from it.
"I'm staying here. It's where I belong, I have no desire to live anywhere else."
"Hmm.."
"Well what about you?"
I shifted in my indian style sit.
"What do you mean, what about me?"
"Well what have you been up to the last thirteen years? Hows your mom?"
"Moms good. She remarried and is trying to have another baby."
"That's cool."
"Yeah... same as you I suppose. School, family... a few friends."
"Do you miss them?"
"No."
"Really?"
"My mom is the only one I really miss."
He nodded.
"I take back what I said before."
"What?"
"That you hadn't changed much."
"Oh that. Right. Why did you change your mind? How have I changed?"
"Your taller."
I laughed.
"Besides that?"
"Less boyish."
"Well that's relieving."
He grinned.
"It's weird, your different and you're the same."
"How am I the same?"
"You are just so... you. You know exactly who you are and you're comfortable with yourself."
"That's a good thing I guess."
"It's great. A lot more people should be like you."
"Well you're just one beastly giant mass of optimism." I laughed.
He grinned and laughed back.
"Especially around you it seems like. I wish you had never moved."
I frowned.
"It would have been nice to grow up together, since we get along so well."
He nodded.
Suddenly he cracked a grin.
"You'll never believe what I did the first day of school."
"What?"
"I went down to the lake where we always use to be with our dad's and went down on the dock."
I tried to remember back.
I vaguely did remember.
"Didn't we use to star gaze down on the dock whenever it got late and our dad's were cooking the fish they caught up on land?"
Jacob grinned ear to ear.
"That we did. Do you remember making sand castles?"
I gasped.
"Yes! You always destroyed mine!"
"Well you always destroyed mine too."
"Because they were always AWFUL!"
I began laughing.
"As a young boy I thought they were damn good." He defended.
"Oh Jacob, no they were absolutely ugly. Just mounds of mud and junk."
Stubbornly he muttered:
"I liked them."
I began laughing hysterically and he joined in too.
Once again we were laughing rolling goofballs.
"Do you think I've changed much?" He asked me once we again regained our breaths.
"Yes, drastically... but it's perfect. I love it."
He stared at me and blinked.
"What?" I asked.
"You're perfect too."
I laughed.
"And beautiful." He added.
"I didn't even realize that I saw you earlier tonight."
I blushed.
"Thank you Jacob."
"S'no problem. I've been trying to ask you all week if you want to hang out sometime, and it just so happens that the first time we are hanging out I'm going to ask you to."
We both laughed.
"I would love to, anytime."
We continued to talk, for over an hour, about everything.
Mostly about old times and memories, but we also talked about recent things.
Leah never came up in our conversations.
I really began to feel sad about that fact that I had moved away from this wonderful, fun loving, sexy man.
He could have been my best friend all these years and who knows, maybe we would've even fallen in love.
There was no denying it that I liked Jacob, personally and physically, but I quite understood the fact that he was was Leah and they were intimate.
All I worried about was that maybe she didn't make Jacob happy.
They obviously fought a lot and Leah seemed very immature to me.
After over two hours there was a knock on the door and then vigorous yanking on the door handle.
"Hang on a sec!" Jacob yelled running across the room to unlock the forgotten door.
He opened the door to reveal Rosalie and Alice.
"There you are!" Alice cried looking at me.
"And there you are!" Rosalie shouted pointing at Jacob.
"The party's over guys! Jake you didn't even dance with me!" Rosalie said upset.
"Ah I'm sorry Rose." Jacob said moving aside so they could walk in.
"What have you two been doing up here all this time?" Rosalie demanded sitting down on the couch in her room.
The bed was too far away for her to walk to in her buzzed/hungover state.
Jacob laughed.
"Just been talking, about old times."
"Oh that's right! You said you guys are old friends!" Alice smiled.
I nodded smiling.
"The bitch was looking high and low for you all night Jake." Rosalie said in an annoyed voice.
Her eyes flickered to me then back at Jacob and she grinned.
"But I see you found something much better to do with your time."
I blushed and looked away.
Alice saw this and grinned, then quietly muttered.
"Edward was looking for you everywhere."
"Edward?"
It hit me.
"Oh my god! I totally ditched him," I muttered to myself feeling awful.
I had told him I would dance some more with him, I would be right back, just had to pee.
Whoops.
Funny how I hadn't even thought of him for a second in the past two and half hours.
Even funnier that Jacob and I hadn't realized the entire party die down.
There wasn't any music playing at all anymore.
"What time is is?" I asked quickly looking around for a clock.
"Almost 3."
"Oh no! I've gotta get home!"
"Nonsense just stay the night here, Alice is too."
"I'll have to call my dad."
"I'm sure he's already asleep Bella."
"Oh gosh, yeah he definitely is... well I think I'll be getting grounded tomorrow."
Everyone laughed, including me.
"Well I guess I'll be heading out." Jacob said standing up.
"Bye Jake!"
"Bye!" Roslaie and Alice said.
Jacob looked at me and I grinned back.
"I'll see you soon." He said.
I nodded.
"I had fun."
"Me too."
"Have a goodnight."
"You too."
He winked before walking out of the doorway.