Disclaimer: Not mine!
I didn't get as many responses as I'd hoped to, but I appriciate the ones I got! Many thanks to Slam2k, who influenced where this story was going.
Two whole weeks.
That's how long Bella and I had been at this 'friend' thing. I had to admit, it was going…well. Most of the time. We had a little bit of an issue about a week ago, when Bella tripped and cut her knee. It went exactly the same as last time-I was on her before she blinked, but she was able to shake me out of it. I still wasn't sure how she was able to do that, but I was glad she was. But it was like every time she hurt herself, all I could think about was her blood. So that's where we stood. She had arrived this morning about nine, and she was looking, and feeling, rather mischievous.
"So…I have a plan." She was full on grinning now. I looked at her, frightened, and sat down on the couch. I nodded for her to continue. This couldn't be good. "I think I have an idea to help you with this whole 'eating me' thing." Uh oh. There were only two options I could think of to stop my bloodlust-either she became a vampire or I finish her off. I couldn't see where she was going with this.
"I don't understand. You do remember that I'm a vampire, right?" I asked her, not entirely sure anymore. She grinned bigger.
"Of course, silly! What do you know about AA?" she chuckled.
"AA? You mean Alcoholics Anonymous? I have to admit, not much, considering I can't drink alcohol. What about it?" This couldn't get any stranger.
"Well, they have this kind of…twelve step program. It's what they use to completely overcome their addiction. I was thinking that maybe we could come up with a program like that for you. To get over human blood-my blood specifically. I'm getting tired of getting tasted." She grinned again. I had to admit, I liked this mood on her. I could feel her joy, and in turn it was making me happy. It was a weak joy, but it was there.
"So you want me to go on some kind of program to get over your blood?" I asked, unconvinced. She was sitting across the room-it was safer that way-and bouncing in her seat. This must really have her riled up!
"Yes. It works for them; I don't see why it wouldn't work for you. We can start small. We've already…hugged, so we know that's not a problem. What's the worst part for you, aside from actually coming in contact with my blood?" She was serious.
"You do realize that alcoholics don't need the alcohol. I survive on blood."
"I know that. But I'm serious! Answer my question. What's the worst part?"
"Alright. When we're here, in my house, the air circulates. Your smell doesn't bother me so much here, because I can get a breath of fresh air every now and then. But, if we were to be in a car for example, I think it would be…difficult." Imagining Bella and I locked in a car made my mouth water, and that wasn't helping.
"Great! So maybe we could go on a car ride. I've got the weekend off-maybe we could drive to Port Angeles! I bet we could get a hotel room up there, so that we wouldn't have to drive back in the same day. Would that make it easier?" I didn't know if I could do that. But I haven't been out of the house with the exception to hunt since the family left 3 weeks ago, so it might do me some good. And Bella's right-if we stayed overnight it would be better.
"Are you sure you want to lock yourself in the car with me for an hour?" I grinned, trying to cover up my nervousness. I couldn't feel any fear from her.
"Yep. I trust you, Jasper. And hey-if it gets to be too much, we could just pull over for a minute. So what hotel do you want to stay in? I don't have a lot of money to dedicate to this." She frowned. Apparently she hadn't thought that far ahead.
"We can keep it cheap. I'm not like the rest of them-I don't have to have the best of everything. I grew up in the south, remember?" I smirked, feeling her surprise. It was true, though. I didn't have the feel for extravagance like the rest of my 'family.' What I didn't tell her was that there was enough money in this house to fund several lifetimes.
"Really? Alright…how about we chill at the Holiday Inn?" she laughed. I laughed with her. I felt…free. Right now, in this room, there were no expectations. I didn't have to put up an act. I didn't have to feel the tension that came along with my presence in front of my family. For the first time in my life-my whole life-I was trusted. Bella had complete faith in me, and it was glorious.
"I like that idea. I hear they have excellent cinnamon rolls." She rolled her eyes at me.
That Weekend
Not food, not food, not food…I chanted to myself. We had been in the car for approximately 45 minutes, and I was thoroughly impressed that I had managed not to rip the door off and fly out. Bella was driving-she thought it was best, in case I lost it and wrecked the car. "If you wreck, then you can walk away. But what will be left of me?" Was her point. I grudgingly agreed, knowing she was right, but dreading the slow pace. The windows were rolled up, and the air conditioner was going. All it was doing was circulating her delicious smell around the cab of the truck. I watched her driving-I could see her pulse beating at her neck, and the blood flowing to her cheeks when she caught me watching. Surely my eyes were pitch black. Surely she could feel the danger.
Instead, she sat still, humming along with the radio, feeling only contentment. Beat, flow, beat, flow…her heart spoke. It was rhythmic, slow. I stared with wide eyes, venom flowing through my mouth. I was tensed like a snake, waiting to strike.
"Earth to Bella, the world can be an unfriendly place…" she was singing along with the radio-Incubus. And the song was perfect. Earth to Bella, I can taste your sweetness.
"Oh! We're here, Jasper. You made it!" she turned to me and grinned. My lips pulled back, and I couldn't stop myself from snarling a little. Her smile faltered. "O…kay…so let's get out now. What do you say?" she said, opening her door at the same time. The outside air hit, and it was glorious. I shook my head and opened the door.
"You're very lucky I like you so much, Bella. I don't think you realized how close we got back there." I said to her, unsmiling as we walked to the hotel.
"I told you before. I trust you. Let's go check out our room." She turned and grabbed my hand, pulling me inside. All I could do was shake my head. No self preservation whatsoever.
The room wasn't much, but it was comfortable. Bella sat down on one of the beds and flopped backwards. She was so content; it was hard not to feel the same. I just looked at her for a moment, finally able to so do unclouded. She really was beautiful, Edward wasn't lying. I'd just never really looked at her before-I only saw her blood. But as she lay there, all I could see was her. Her hair was splayed about her head, and her face was pleasantly flushed. She carried a smile that was for her alone. She was slender, but not too slender. She was exceptionally well proportioned, as a matter of fact. I hadn't noticed that she was staring at me as well.
I could feel her embarrassment before she spoke.
"What? What are you looking at?" she sat up, frowning at me.
"Nothing." That was the best I could come up with? She frowned at me, but said nothing on the subject.
"So what do you want to do now? We have all night. We could rent a movie! Or several, so that you could have something to do while I sleep. I've wanted to see Pride and Prejudice again for a while. What do you say?"
"Sounds good. Come on, let's go." I walked towards the bed, intending to help her up. She beat me to it, standing too quickly. She tried to catch herself, but ended up flinging herself forward. Automatically I reached out to stop her, but the angle was off. I grabbed her by the arms and flung her around me, catching myself on the bed. Inadvertently I had pulled her on top of me. Her breath hitched, and a flush caught her cheeks. But I didn't move. Why didn't I move? Her emotions changed from surprise to…lust. Well, that was new.
Please remember, this story isn't going to move super fast. I dont' think that's how it should run. But I still want to hear from everyone!