AN: This is my first attempt, so thoughtful tips and reviews would be much appreciated.

I do not own Twilight. S.M. owns it all.

Jacob's POV

Chapter 3: This Is Normal

I sat awkwardly in the silent living room of the stone cottage holding a bouquet of freshly picked wild flowers tied together with a silky orange ribbon. Bella and Edward, sitting just to my left, looked just as awkward as I did. It had never been like this before, but, of course, that wouldn't be normal. Not now that I was romantically involved with Nessie. They were hell bent to make sure we had all the normal experiences of young love. Even the nerve riddled moments when you are all alone with your girlfriends parents.

This is normal. I repeated to myself over and over again.

Edward chuckled just slightly. That was not normal. Normal parents could not read minds, although they wished they could. I'm sure he was trying as much as possible to stay out of my head, well, as much as anyone would let him. Everyone constantly hounded him about checking in on us to see if we were following the rules they laid out for us...and I mean everyone. I think my dad was even in on it.

This was our first real date. Nothing too serious, just diner and a movie, but it felt like I had come to take their baby away from them. I felt guilty for that and I felt pressure to make sure this night was the most special night of her young life, so far. I would have to make each night I was with her the most special night of her life so far. That's a heavy load when all of your, someday, in-laws would kill you in an instant if you made her upset in the slightest. I knew being with her would calm my nerves completely and that was the only thing that made enduring this bearable.

I could see the door at the end of the hall open. She just stood there for a second, honey brown curls cascading around her soft porcelain face and down over her shoulders, locking her eyes to mine and then she smile. I lived and breathed for that smile and she took my breath away. Wearing extremely high heels, a pencil style knee length skirt, and a italian plum colored button-up short sleeved shirt, anyone could see that her figure was very definitely female. Curves for days. I thought in my head.

Edward shot up so quickly, I thought he was coming to rain down justice for my impure thoughts. Instead, he clapped his hands together awkwardly. "Well, you two kids better get going. You don't want to be late for your reservation." Mercy. He had taken mercy on my soul and my wildly inappropriate thoughts.

I jumped to my feet and strolled across the living room to her. "These are for you." I handed her the flowers as I bent down to kiss her warm round cheek. She smelled like honeysuckle and lilacs. Not perfume. No, this was her normal scent to me. The most pleasurable scent in the world.

"Thank you. They are beautiful! Like the ones I pointed out on our walk the other day."

"The exact ones you pointed out on our walk the other day," I corrected her as I smiled coyly.

"But that was like 100 miles from here," she said with a look of shock on her face.

"I can run fast, remember?" I was beaming because I knew I was off to a good start.

"Thank you," she said again, smiling wider than even before.

"Shall we?" I asked, placing one hand at the small of her back and the other in a gesture towards the door.

Edward tossed me the keys to the Aston Martin, something I had not expected, but should have. Also not normal. I should be driving her to our first date in my beater car like a normal teenager, not a european sports car, but that normal was not something any of the Cullens ever faked.

We were out the door in seconds. I opened the door for Nessie, like any good gentleman would, and made sure everything was tucked in properly before I closed it. If these butterflies did not calm down, I was going to be very sick very soon. Completely normal, but not the best night of her life, so far. As soon as we were alone, they passed. She could always calm me like that with just her presence.

We drove silently to a small eclectic italian restaurant in Port Angeles where the only light was from candles and Louie and Ella serenaded us with the trumpet of a god and a voice that dripped like honey off everything in the room. The candlelight emphasized the highlights in her hair, which caught the color of the freckles in her eyes, making her the most beautiful thing in the room...and she was mine. I was butter. Normal. I thought to myself. There was nothing normal about this heavenly creature.

"Did my dad give you a hard time before we left? Did they make the wait unbearable? I'll try to be ready as soon as you get there next time," she said so quickly I almost didn't catch any of it. Was that what she had been so quiet about? Worrying about me and how long she had made me wait? I smiled at the thought.

"No. It wasn't too terrible."

"Are you sure? When I opened my door I thought I could cut the air with a knife."

"Well, that is part of the normal experience your parents want us to have. They are pretty good at it, huh?"

She smiled and relaxed a little. "Yeah, I'm beginning to wonder if they actually aren't supernatural after all."

"Well, if we slip-up tonight and your dad hears our thoughts, we will be swiftly reminded that he is in fact supernatural."

"True. It may just be worth it though." A seductive smile crept across her lips. I was bound to get in trouble with this one and I'm sure I wouldn't have it any other way.

I cleared my throat and adjusted my tie. "Have you settled on anything?"

"Just your body pressed hard against mine, but beyond that, I'm up for anything," she let out a soft sigh and looked intently at the menu, as if she were already bored.

After about five seconds I close my mouth and whispered, "I meant on the menu."

"Oh...right. The , the pancetta baked chicken sounds pretty good. What about you." She was cool, calm, collected, while I was in serious danger of exploding from my desires. Not fair. Not at all.