CHAPTER 5—SOMETHING DIFFERENT

While they walked from a parking lot down the boardwalk to the movie theater, they talked about everything and nothing. Passions, hates, loves, quirks. He cataloged all of the things she said, and found himself on the best first date of his life.

She loved black and white movies and classical music, but she also loved Quentin Tarantino movies and really bad B movies, which he loved to watch for the same reason as she did—they were funny as shit. She loved hiking, but was nervous to try camping because it meant leaving technology behind for an extended period of time. Her family, while irritating at times, was the most important thing to her. She had dated several men before, but never anything long term—apparently, looks were a priority to them, and while she was indeed beyond sexy, she was also smart, funny, and loyal to a tee.

Her favorite singer was a woman from the fifties and sixties named Julie London, who he knew from V for Vendetta because she sang "Cry Me a River." Her new band was called She & Him, and was a two member group. Her favorite color was green, because it went with everything. Her favorite shirt was a vintage AC/DC shirt, and she wore it around the house braless when she didn't give a rat's ass what she looked like.

He told her a lot of the same things, but left out one big thing.

Anything concerning Jessica or his engagement or his past relationship with her was not mentioned. What was he supposed to say? "This is the best date ever, hope my fiancée doesn't find out," probably wouldn't fly. "I really hate my girlfriend and I don't even know why we're engaged," wouldn't work either. So he just didn't bring it up.

He found out that she hadn't ever been in a committed relationship, but that she felt like she was finally ready to give it a try.

He laughed. "Finally?" he asked. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-six," she said, and there was a twinkle in her eye. "Isn't that when a woman is supposed to want to settle down?"

"I don't know," Mike said, feeling a little uncomfortable as he thought of himself, engaged at twenty-three. So small town. "I think you're supposed to want to settle down whenever you feel ready."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." They stood in front of the movie theater now.

"Yes!" She looked really excited. "I haven't been to the cinema in ages!"

"I suppose you don't live near a town?" he asked, holding the door for her to enter.

"Anchorage is not too far," she said, "but it's hard to get there in winter."

"I'd imagine." A thought occurred to him. "You ever get into extreme sports or anything out there?"

"Oh, God, yes!" Tanya burst out laughing. "We do skiing, sledding, snowboarding, and we've got snowmobiles. He like to tie people onto the back of them and race around."

"Doesn't it hurt when you fall off?" he asked.

"I imagine so," she said, lifting her chin a little, "but I've never fallen off."

Tanya didn't want any popcorn, saying she'd had a big dinner with her family, and that was fine with him. They bypassed the concessions altogether and headed straight inside.

"You wanna pick the seat?" he asked, and was pleased when she led him to a seat toward the back, away from the majority of the other patrons.

"It's quieter back here," she said, offering him a smile that was suddenly shy. She was so damn cute when she got all shy. "Away from people whispering, you know."

"Yeah," he said. "Quieter."

Mike wouldn't be able to recall what the movie was about, who was in it, who the characters were, anything. His entire focus was devoted to Tanya. Early on, he crept his arm up to rest it over the back of her seat. She'd grinned, not taking her eyes from the screen, but made no protest when he did so. It felt like sparks were passing between them. She shifted in her seat, and her leg brushed his. It was like a little jolt of electricity, and he didn't even touch her skin.

And there was tension. The only part of the movie Mike really paid attention to was a sex scene, and that was only because he felt Tanya shift again. He glanced at her, and she had her eyes trained on the screen. He looked away before she could turn, and a few seconds later, glanced again. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye, and he winked at her. Her eyes shot forward again, and she looked a little flustered.

She looked… uncomfortable, as the characters on the screen screwed in the way that only characters on screen can.

When the lights came back up, Mike stretched his arms up over his head and smiled at her. "What did you think?" he asked.

She nodded. "It was good," she said, uncertainly.

Mike chuckled, suspicious she'd seen no more of the movie than he had. "Come on," he said, "let's go."

They walked out of the theater in companionable silence until she sighed deeply and smiled. "It's so nice to be out of the house," she said, grinning up at him.

"You don't get out much?" he asked, trying to decide what to do with his hands. Put them in his pocket, or hold hers?

"Not really," she said, and she frowned a little.

A strong feeling washed over him when he saw the frown. He didn't like it. Her eyes were a little sad, and he wanted that frown gone.

"What's the matter?"

She shook her head as they started a slow walk back to the car. "Nothing," she said, and she tried to smile, but it looked off, now.

Mike stopped walking. Was it something he'd done, something he'd said, maybe? "You can tell me, you know," he said quietly, his eyes meeting hers when she stopped and turned to look at him.

She sighed and shook her head. "Not good first date material," she said, smiling, but it was a sad smile.

"This is the best first date I've ever been on," he said quietly, taking a little step toward her. "I mean, I really like you, which doesn't make sense, because I don't even know you that well. But I want to get to know you. So please," he begged, "tell me."

She sighed, hard and fast, crossing her arms. She looked like she was trying not to cry. "I've never told anybody before," she said quietly, and her voice was a little shaky. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It's so stupid."

"I bet it's not as stupid as you think," he said, stepping a little closer.

"I'm just…" She sighed again. "I'm just really lonely." A slightly bitter smile flirted with her lips. "Everywhere I go, there's happy people and happy couples. I go home, and I live with a bunch of people who are happily married, who have someone to share everything with, and…" She shook her head again, suddenly looking years younger.

"And you don't?" he finished. She nodded. Carefully, he reached out and took her tiny hand in his. "Do you want to talk about it?"

What the fuck? He wasn't a talker. He never talked about anything, and now he wanted his date to tell him all about how miserable was?

Yes, his other side said, because he knew once she talked about it, she'd feel better. He wanted her to feel better, to make her happy, and see that beautiful smile again. He wanted her to feel a lot of things with him…

Tanya's eyebrows shot up. "You don't seem like the talking type," she said skeptically.

"I'm not," he admitted, "unless it's a special circumstance."

"I'm a special circumstance?"

"You sure are, baby," he said, grinning, and she finally smiled.

They walked slowly back to the car, and she got a lot of things off her chest. He also learned a lot about her that surprised him a bit.

Like the fact that she'd been around the block a few times. She'd had numerous lovers, just no boyfriends. She'd been the last single one in her family since Edward had gotten married, and she was extremely bitter and a little pissed that he was so blissed out all the time. She hated the sound of sex, when it came from anywhere in her house. It was more the fact that it was her family doing it—it was the love they had.

Commitment was scary to her, simply because it was new.

By the time they got to the car, the dynamics of their date had changed. She seemed to have talked herself out, and Mike still held her hand. He opened the car door for her again, smiling slightly at her. She was shy again, having just exposed herself emotionally, but he really didn't care.

He shouldn't want to be the guy who made commitment an adventure, but he did. He was already committed to Jessica, but that commitment was not, and hadn't really ever been, real. He was starting to realize that, and it scared him.

What the fuck was he going to do?

Back in the car, he held her hand again. She scooted closer and rested her head against his shoulder, her bright eyes staring into the darkness. He glanced over at her and wondered, not for the first time, what the hell she was doing with him.

In the dim light from the dashboard, she looked so beautiful it took his breath away. Her pale face was gentle and content, her eyes bright. Her hair had lost some of its artificial looseness and started to spiral like it normally did. He made a quick mental note to tell her to leave her hair alone—he liked it like it normally was. Her long legs were stretched out, bare from her mid thigh to her black stilettos. He made another mental note to tell her to wear those shoes more often. She sighed softly and snuggled into his shoulder a bit more.

What word would describe what comes after beauty? Looks that were almost inhuman, with an exceptional personality to go along with them?

He pulled into the Cullen house a while later, the drive having passed in silence, and disengaged himself from her to jog around and open her door again. She smiled shyly up at him as he took her hand to help him out.

"I had fun tonight, Mike," she said, her accent tugging and pulling at her words in odd places. He'd started to recognize that the presence of her accent meant something different. Almost like she'd dropped barriers and let loose a little.

"Me, too," he said, knowing it sounded lame. "I mean, I just had the best first date ever."

She finally laughed, and he grinned.

He walked her to the door, trying hard to decide whether or not he wanted to kiss her, or try to stay over. That would be awkward in the morning—come downstairs, and there would be his ex crush and her husband, sipping coffee. And he wasn't sure he wanted to do that so soon…

Without him realizing it, she'd turned at the front door and was staring up at him. He finally met her gaze and smiled at her. Her fingers were still twined with his, and she squeezed them lightly. He gave her hand a tug, and brought her so her body was flush against him. She inhaled sharply, and he swallowed. "Listen," he said, his voice husky with lust, "I really, really wanna come upstairs with you and do unspeakable things to you." She giggled, and he felt a little relief. "But I really like you."

"I really like you, too," she said. "And I really want you to take me up there and do unspeakable things to me, too. But I can wait."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

She started to pull away, but he wasn't having that. Just because he wasn't going to sleep with her didn't mean he couldn't kiss her. Another tug brought her back to him, and he lifted her chin up with his finger. Her eyes were a little glazed as she looked up at him, and he leaned down just slightly to press his lips to hers.

Her lips were cool, like the rest of her body, but it didn't bother him. She gasped slightly when their lips touched, and seemed to be holding her breath as he brushed his closed lips lightly against hers. Then she released her breath and leaned into him to kiss him back. It lasted maybe fifteen seconds.

It was chaste, and very sweet. It also made him feel like his dick was going to explode.

It was the biggest conundrum of a kiss Mike had ever experienced.

Her eyes were still closed when he pulled away, but they opened a few seconds later. She looked a little shocked, and he laughed at the expression, cupping her face in his hands and giving her one more tiny peck on the lips before backing away.

"I'll call you tomorrow," she promised, leaning against the doorframe, a slightly goofy smile slowly crossing her face.

He winked, turned, and walked confidently back to his car. He backed out, drove down the driveway, and turned onto the main road.

"Holy shit!" he screamed, his face erupting in the empty car into the biggest grin he'd ever had.

A few minutes later, he pulled into the town's only bar to kill a little time. While he sat in the mostly empty dive, he started to come back down a little bit. Yes, he had been on the best date of his life, but he also had to go home to his fiancée. His fiancée, who drove him crazy. The same woman he didn't really feel a great deal of love for anymore.

As opposed to Tanya, who he shouldn't feel anything for, but for whom he was starting to feel a great deal of… something.

After a few beers, a game of pool with some random passer-through, and a few good hours, Mike made his way home. The dizzying high had started to wear off a little, but it was still present as he made his way back to his house.

Until he walked in the door to find Jessica sitting in the living room with her friends, pouring over wedding details.

It was the happiest she'd looked in weeks, surrounded by her superficial friends from work, people who liked her mostly because she lived fairly comfortably for her occupation and age. She was so happy and contented when she was looking at wedding magazines, plotting dish sets, seating charts, and other things brides fretted over. What would she be like after, when there was no more wedding to look forward to?

Would there even be a wedding?

When would he tell her? Would he tell her. No. It would be better to leave both of them in the dark until he knew more. Jessica wouldn't find out about Tanya, and Tanya wouldn't know about Jessica. Yet.

He pushed the thoughts away and, after waving to Jessica's friends, made his way to the back bedroom to try to sleep.

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Tanya watched Mike Newton's car drive away, staring blankly out the window after him. It had been easy to forget for a while, while she was with him, how horrible she'd felt lately. He made her feel alive and nervous and sexy and shy all at the same time. Nobody had ever done that before, and now, as this human man drove away from her, her heart broke a little bit more.

What was she supposed to do now?

Then, to top it all off, there was the sex thing. Tanya had expected to have sex tonight. But when they'd arrived home, he'd made it no secret that while he wanted her, he wanted to wait a little bit more. He liked her.

Nobody had ever liked her enough to turn down sex from her. And she'd never given up so easily. It was hard to wrap her head around.

She did everything she could think of to keep herself busy, but after two hours, when the house was spotless from top to bottom except for Jacob's and Renesmee's rooms, she was forced to concede the loss.

If nothing else, she had to bite the bullet and ask the only person who could relate to her situation for advice.

a/n Bet you can guess who that is. Up next, recap of the uncomfortable conversation you never want to have with the guy you used to try to convince to screw you, proper use of camping gear, and a checkup with the other family members. Reviews make me happier than a Tarantino movie on a Tuesday night! Don't you want to make me that happy? Leave love!