A/N: Heya chickadees (and chickadudes possibly?)! Sorry this took so long. Have I mentioned that work kills the brain? I have? okay I won't go into that then. This chapter is a little more on the romantic side thanks to my listening to Norah Jones and Secondhand Serenade on repeat. ^_^ I hope you guys like it! OH! And I encourage all of you to go listen to "Pray at the Moon" by Anek. It is so Jacob it's not even funny. Like seriously. I've been listening to it on repeat for the past two hours while I typed, swooning uncontrollably because it's just one of those songs you want your future husband to sing to you while you're lying in bed one morning watching the sun come up. Or something. It's just a really good, Jacob-esque song that I have fallen in love with. It was a little hard for me to write this chapter at first because Alex Meraz has made me fall in love with his character, Paul, and I almost thought of switching this to a Paul love story but decided you guys might hate me for it. I will write one eventually! A friend of mine and her mother are reading this, so I'm a little nervous (Hi Mamma G! -wave wave-). But anyway, please review if you'd like, I would love to hear from you! Thank you guys so much for all of the favorites and alerts and reviews!
Chapter 6
"Paul what are we going to do for two hours exactly?" I frowned, sitting cross legged in his bedroom floor. Fortunately his mother wasn't home, or else she might have had a heart attack at the sight of me dressed up for a hot date. A hot date with Paul, she would probably think, and then I would have to go through the trouble of correcting her which would hurt her feelings and…let's just say that it is fortunate that she isn't home.
Paul grinned and stuck a hand under his bed, pulling out a large flat box. He shoved it over to me and leaned back against his bed, crossing his arms with an evil smirk on his face. I was afraid to look inside the box but opened it anyway. My fear was correct. Inside were several pairs of undergarments that definitely were not the comfortable cotton things I normally wore. I lifted up a lacey black thong with one finger and said, "Really Paul?" He looked at me innocently.
"What? I didn't pick them out. I commissioned that girl you work with to go find you some new underwear, seeing as your weren't really much to look at," he grumbled, pretending to clean his fingernails.
"You looked in my panty drawer? Paul you pervert you said you wouldn't do anything!" I yelled, throwing the thong in his face and getting up to leave. Date or not, I was not about to spend another minute surrounded by butt floss and lace.
He grabbed my leg before I could escape the confines of his room, looking up at me with pouted lips.
"I only looked at the sizes. Natalie said that it is important for a girl to have pretty underwear even if no one else will see it because it boosts her confidence and makes her feel beautiful," he whined. Exactly how much had he been hanging out with the girl? What was she, the Dr. Phil of Victoria's Secret? And who exactly is Victoria and what secrets does she have for crying out loud?
I tried to shake him off but he wouldn't budge, and just kept staring at me with puppy dog eyes and pouting.
"Look," he finally sighed, "maybe I had an ulterior motive behind this at first, but I really do want you to feel your best on your date with Jake, and any other time. I thought that livening up your underwear might make you see and feel how beautiful you really are."
"Right," I said, rolling my eyes. Suddenly I was on my back and Paul was straddling my hips, his face mere inches from my own.
"You are beautiful, Ina. The way you look and your personality and how you don't take crap from anyone. If you don't believe me, ask that precious Jacob of yours and see what he says," he hissed.
"He's not 'my precious,' Paul. I don't even know the guy. I'm just going on this stupid date with him because you're making me. It's not like I actually like him," I grumbled. 'You lie!' my heart hissed at me, giving a random thump against my ribcage. I winced and he sighed, his eyes growing soft.
"You do like him, love him actually, you just don't know it yet."
He rolled off of me and sat with his head in his hands, trembling slightly. He shoved the box of personal material toward me and stood up.
"Just pick out some of the things you might like and get dressed. I'll go take a walk around the block so just text me when you're done," he said over his shoulder before walking out. I waited until I heard the front door close, then gingerly sifted through the box. Not all of it was scary like the black thong. I picked out a few things, blushing when I found something extremely scandalous and quickly throwing it aside. I had to give Natalie credit for picking out this stuff for me by herself, she sure was bold. I finished and put all the 'bad' things back into the box for Natalie to take back, then found the bag from the boutique in Port Angeles that held my date outfit. I quickly skimmed Paul's room for some sort of camera or other recording devices before quickly stripping down. I paused and glanced at the underwear hidden in my bag, searching for my favorite of the box. I plucked it out and put it on, my face as red as a tomato when I looked in the mirror. The white bra was made almost entirely of lace, but it didn't look trashy like some of the others. I cut the tag off and quickly pulled the ruffled shirt over my head and buttoned it up, yanking the jeans over my legs afterward. I guess Natalie was right, I did feel really pretty all of a sudden. My face was practically glowing with renewed vigor. Maybe it was called confidence?
After I finished dressing, I texted Paul and told him I was ready. The front door opened a little while later and Paul entered cheerily, looking like his old self again. He peeked at the box on the floor and frowned.
"You left all the good stuff," he whined. I rolled my eyes and glanced at the clock. 5:45.
"What now?" I asked. He thought for a moment for walking into the living room and flipping the television on.
"I was thinking maybe you would like play a little something I like to call, Ninja Overlord?"
He pulled out a square shaped video game and I grabbed it out of his hand and jammed it into the game console, grabbing the first player controller.
"Oh it is so on," I grunted. He sat down beside me and smirked. We quickly picked our favorite characters and soon were lost in an endless epic battle of ninja clan rivalry. Ninja Overlord was our favorite game when we were younger. Countless summer days were spent fighting in the country sides of Japan, attacking and protecting villages, stealing valuables from nobles, and more or less just trying to beat the crap out of each other. We clicked buttons furiously, eyes glued to the screen and butts to the carpeted brown floor. Eventually Paul paused the game to get us some drinks and snacks, so in between triple combo kicks and katana slashing we stuffed our faces with chips, just like old times. It seemed we had only been playing for five minutes when a car honked outside and brought us back to our senses. I frowned, remembering I had to leave to go on a date with Jake.
"Nooo," I moaned, "I was just about to kick your tail…for the fifth time in a row!"
"Psh, whatever!" Paul scoffed, shoving my shoulder. A knock sounded at the door and I got up to answer it, nerves immediately kicking back in. "Paul, I'm scared," I whispered, wide eyed. He patted my shoulder, although the look in his eyes wasn't exactly reassuring. "Don't be, it'll be as natural as breathing," he whispered back, his lips forming a tight smile. He swatted me on the butt and said, "go get 'em, tiger!" I nodded and gulped, then opened the door.
Apparently it had been raining. A lot.
Jacob stood on the porch dripping with water, but smiling as always. "Hey beautiful," he said, holding his hand out. "Hey, um, Jacob," I stammered, waving goodbye to Paul before stepping out. Paul gave a halfhearted wave and slumped back against the couch, and I heard him say, "this sucks," before I closed the door. I was a little sad that I had to leave since we had been getting along so well (for once), but I was excited about my date. Jacob's warm hand closed around mine as he held an umbrella over my head, and Paul was right. Suddenly my nerves were gone and being with Jake felt as natural as taking another breath.
Soon we were enclosed safely within his car, the rain pounding heavily on the roof. Jake took my hand and kissed it, his warm lips making my skin tingle where they had touched it.
"You look beautiful today, Ina," he smiled. "I suppose I'll have to thank Embry later, huh?" I blushed and rolled my eyes.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," I scoffed, giving him a sly glance out of the corner of my eye. His smile was so sweet I almost couldn't take it. The boy was absolutely beautiful in every way, making it hard for me to keep my heart beat under control. He kissed my hand again and sighed, watching the rain drizzle down the windshield.
"Well I did have a romantic date on the beach all planned out, but it looks like it wasn't meant to be," he said sadly. "But I do think we can still have some fun and get to know each a little better back at my house. My dad is out in Forks visiting a friend, so we won't be bothered."
My jaw dropped open and I'm sure the color of my face was equivalent to that of a ripe tomato.
"N-not like that!" he stammered. A slight pink tinged his dark cheeks and I giggled. He scratched his head nervously, his cheeks dimpling cutely as he smiled. Could this kid be any more beautiful?
The answer to that is freaking yes.
We reached his house in a short amount of time since it was surprisingly not far from my own. I kicked my heels off and we sprinted up the steps to his house, feet splashing in muddy puddles along the way. He opened the door and smiled that sweet smile of his, letting me go in first. I waited at the door while he went to retrieve some towels. The Black family's house was small and rustic, but as soon as you walked in you immediately felt at home. The walls were paneled in dark wood and decorated simply with family photos and a few landscape paintings here and there. I looked at one of them, a scene of First Beach on a rare sunny day. The colors were exquisite and the waves looked like they were rolling across the beach, sunlight fracturing off of the water and bursting into sparkles all across the ocean. The world suddenly went dark and smelled of laundry detergent as a towel was thrown over my head. I pulled it off and turned around to see Jake behind me, scrubbing at his wet hair vigorously with a fluffy white towel.
"My mom did that a long time ago. That's her there," he said, pointing to a picture on the bookshelf. I picked it up and wiped the dust away to reveal a photo of a young couple surrounded by small children in bathing suits, two girls and one boy that I could immediately tell was Jake by the smile on his face. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, with long dark hair that twisted around her shoulders and almond shaped eyes so like Jake's.
"She's beautiful," I whispered.
"She died a long time ago," he said quietly, his voice solemn. I looked at him, shocked. He shook his head and gave me a small smile, taking the picture from me and putting it back on the shelf.
"Don't be sorry about it. She was a good person, an awesome mom. I miss her sometimes when I get lonely but I know she's still in here," he tapped on his chest above his heart, "and always will be."
He walked into the kitchen, but I lingered a bit longer to look at the picture more. I suddenly felt very thankful to her even though I had never known her. I nodded at her smiling face before following Jake into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.
"So," he said, his face brightening, "would you like something to drink? We've got soda, tea, water, and this slushy peach juice stuff." He brought a can of juice out of the freezer and held it up. My eyes widened.
"Dr. Phizz's Phantastical Peach Puree? I love this stuff!" I gasped, taking the can and cradling it against my chest. "Peach it is," Jake smiled, opening the can and dumping the contents into a blender along with some ice, and also stuck some pizza rolls in the microwave. He ordered me to wait on the couch while he went to go get something out of his room. While he was gone I rolled the legs of my pants up to get rid of the annoying wet jeans feeling on my legs, happy that I had remembered to shave them this morning. Soon Jake returned with two glasses of the delicious peachy concoction that I did not hesitate to chug mercilessly, the pizza rolls, and a pack of cards. He had also changed into a pair of perfectly fitted jeans and a dark green shirt that set off his skin tone well. I had to force myself not to stare (too much), which was not easy. Believe me.
He pulled the cards out of the box and shuffled them a few times before dividing the deck between us.
"Ever heard of slapjack?" he asked, a twinkle in his eyes. Oh yeah, I had heard of it. Another game that Paul and I had used as an excuse to savagely beat each other as kids.
"Maybe," I answered back, grinning evilly.
"Let's get started then. Whoever slaps down last has to tell the other something about themselves, favorite color, favorite tv show, favorite thing about the other person, etcetera. Ready?"
I nodded, hand poised above my half of the deck.
"Go!"
The game was on. Both of us were more than a little competitive. When we hit the first double I quickly smacked my hand down over it, but ended up hitting soft flesh instead. Wow he was fast. I thought for a moment before starting out with something small.
"Um," I mumbled, "my favorite color is green." Especially on him.
We played for a few more seconds when he flipped over a jack. My hand was nearest, but somehow he managed to snake his hand under mine before I could get to it. Darn, had to think of something else.
"I love it when it storms. Like all out storms, not just this drizzling weather, although it is nice too," I finally said.
"Really? I always sleep better when it storms for some reason," Jake replied.
"Whoa me too!" I said excitedly. Gasp, we had something in common! He chuckled and waved for me to flip over my next card. He flipped over his five of hearts to match my five of spades, but I was too busy daydreaming to notice and he smacked his hand down, looking at me with an expectant grin.
"This is just not right!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in the air.
"Oh don't be a sore loser. Tell me something you like about me this time," he said, smiling. I liked that.
"I like…" don't give in to the enemy! rang through my head and I gulped. Oh yeah, I was supposed to not be having fun so he would leave me alone. He looked at me with his head resting on his palm, leaning forward with his legs crossed. Darn his cuteness! I tried to think of something mean to say but failed when faced with those big brown eyes, so I decided to just be honest. What could it hurt? Except my pride, but that wasn't really important anyway.
"You like…?" he questioned, his eyes sparkling playfully. I bit my lip and said, "I like the way you're always smiling. It makes me feel happy." I blushed and glanced at him, and he smiled even wider. We began again and finally, finally after fifty million fails on my part, I somehow managed to beat him.
"Ah! I win!" I shouted. I leaned forward waiting for his answer. He thought for a moment.
"I like how you blush when I do this." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead before I could back away. I blinked a few times in surprise and felt my face heating up. I covered my cheeks with my hands and scowled at him.
"Don't do that!" he groaned, pulling on my hands. "You look adorable when you blush."
Me? Adorable? Ah, wait, he has not yet been exposed to Ina-being-a-bum-around-the-house. Sure, I'll let him think that while he can. Wait, did that mean that I wanted him to be around long enough to see that mess? I was at war with myself and it was not a very fun experience. A part of me said that this was wrong, that he was just another of Paul's dumb friends (wait…they were now my dumb friends too…) and that he would dump me once a prettier girl came along. But another part of me that I had not realized had existed yearned to be with him, to always see that beautiful sweet smile of his spread across his face, to feel his warm arms around me like they had been the night I had kicked him out. I had been trying so hard not to like him that I wouldn't even recognize the feelings I had for him all along. Paul's words came floating back to my mind and suddenly I realized what he had been saying. I did like Jake, a lot, but I didn't know it because I wouldn't let myself know it.
"What are you thinking about?" Jake's voice suddenly brought me out of my thoughts and I jumped, realizing I had spaced out for who knows how long.
"Uh, n-nothing," I stammered. His face was gentle, his head cocked to the side in curiosity. He stared at me for a while longer until I squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze.
"Come on, you can tell me. Was it about me?" he asked, poking my leg with a hopeful smile on his face.
"Not…exactly?"
He smirked and leaned forward on his knees. "So it was about me?"
I scrambled backwards as he crawled closer to me.
"What was it? Were you thinking about how handsome I am?" he questioned. I scoffed but it turned into a squeak as I hit the wall behind me. I was trapped. I stared at him wide eyed as he got closer and put his hands on both sides of my head. I could feel the heat literally radiating off of his body and I gulped, my heart thumping hard against my chest. He stopped mere inches from my face, his eyes flickering between my lips and eyes.
"Were you thinking about how much you actually like me?" he whispered, biting his lip. He had that look again, like he really wanted to tell me something but was afraid to. He leaned forward a little more and turned his head slightly to the right, eyes asking me for permission. I just sat there, frozen as he moved a little closer, close enough for me to feel his breath drifting across my lips. I closed my eyes and awaited my fate with certainty.
White flashed across my eyelids and thunder boomed loud enough to shake the house. I suddenly found myself wrapped around Jake, holding him tightly. Lightning flashed again and I jumped as the lights in the house flickered and went out.
"I thought you liked storms?" he teased, squeezing me gently.
"I do," I replied with a shaky breath, "that just startled me is all."
He laughed and patted my back, mumbling, "stupid lights," as he led me over to the couch.
"Watch your foot, your glass is right next to it," he said. I felt my way around the glass and somehow made it to the couch. "How on earth can you see?" I asked in disbelief to the patch of darkness in front of me that I assumed was Jacob. "I'm over here," his voice chuckled to my right. I waved my hands around uselessly and tried to find him. He took them gently and placed them on his shoulders, leaving his hands on top of mine. His lovely, warm,muscled shoulders, I thought, shivering slightly.
"Cold?" his disembodied voice asked. His hands slid up my arms to my shoulders and gently pulled me against him. My face flushed as he cradled me against his chest, but it felt right somehow.
"Jacob?" I questioned.
"Call me Jake. You only call me Jacob when you're nervous or mad, and you have no reason to be nervous around me. I hope you're not mad," he chuckled. I suppose he is right.
"Um, Jake?"
"Yes, Ina?" he said quietly. I could hear the smile in his voice. I skimmed my hand up his chest and onto the bare skin on his neck, touching my fingertips to it softly. It was extremely warm, but not uncomfortably so.
"Why is your skin so hot?" I asked. He chuckled and cupped my hand against his cheek, kissing my palm.
"That's just how it is," he replied.
Something told me I should have been worried. I was alone in a dark house with a guy I barely knew who was a lot bigger than I was, and a little affectionate to say the least. He hummed quietly in my ear and stroked my hair as another flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Strangely, I wasn't worried. I could only describe the feeling I had as right. It felt perfectly natural to be held by Jake, as if I had already placed my complete trust in him before it had registered in my mind at that moment.
"You doing okay?" he asked. I nodded and used his shoulder as leverage to push myself up a little. He kept his arms tight around my waist to hold me up while I traced the outline of his face with my fingertips. His jaw was square and hard, so unlike my soft rounded face, but I felt the pull of his skin as his lips formed into a smile.
"What are you doing?" he laughed. "That tickles."
"Memorizing," I answered simply. I traced over his forehead and down his nose, feeling his long eyelashes flutter closed as my fingers found their way to his lips. Just like I thought, they were soft and warm, the bottom lip slightly fuller than the top. They smiled and my heartbeat kicked up a notch. It was hard to see in the dark but I leaned in a little until I bumped against my fingers. He knew was I was doing and moved my hands to the side of his face, leaning in ever so slightly so that his lips just barely grazed mine. I leaned in closer and closed the distance between us.
The kiss was soft and sweet, our lips pressing against each other in a warm embrace. They met once, twice, three times before he leaned against my forehead and pulled my hand down to his chest. He pressed it against him and I could feel his heart beating rapidly under his skin.
"Thank you," he breathed, kissing me again. So slow and gentle, I felt like I was melting against those sweet, heated lips.
I jumped as my phone vibrated against my leg and the first part of "Crazy Train" started playing loudly.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, regretfully flipping my phone open.
"Yes M-Mom?" I questioned, stuttering as Jake placed a gentle kiss against my jaw and moved my free hand to his shoulder.
"Honey where are you? It's storming like crazy, don't tell me you're still outside!" she panicked.
"No Mom, I'm at one of Paul's friend's house to wait it out."
I sucked in a breath as I felt Jake's lips against my neck.
"Okay, well come home as soon as it calms down! I don't want you out there in the middle of nowhere while this storm is going on."
"Yes Mom. Bye," I said quickly, snapping my phone shut. Jake nuzzled his face against my neck and sighed.
"You have to go home?" he asked, his breath tickling my skin.
"Unfortunately," I mumbled.
"Kay."
He kissed my cheek before getting up off the couch, leaving me blind in the total darkness. I winced as a light flashed in my direction, then was turned around to show Jake's face as he handed me a flashlight. His face was quite literally glowing with happiness, his cheeks flushed and his eyes dark with something I couldn't quite recognize. He ran a hand through his short dark hair, making it stand up in all directions.
"You ready?"
He looked a little irritated but smiled nonetheless. I nodded and he grabbed our glasses from the floor, draining the remnants and putting the glasses in the sink before grabbing his jacket off of the rack and wrapping it around me.
"Don't get wet," he joked, laughing at me wrapped in his oversized jacket. I nodded and we headed onto the porch while he locked the door, then ran to his car. He opened my door for me first then splashed his way over to the driver's side and got in, shaking the water out of his hair. He started up the car and we rode in companionable silence. I rested my head against the window and drew his jacket closer around me, smiling at the familiar scent it held. I felt his hand close around mine and looked over to see him smiling as he drove. He squeezed my hand lightly.
"Shouldn't you have both hands on the steering wheel since it's, you know, dark and raining?" I teased. He swiveled his head to face me and smirked. "I think I can manage."
We reached my house all too soon, and just sat there holding hands for a few minutes. I was happy that I had given up my vendetta against him. If I had not, I wouldn't be as blissfully happy as I was now. We waited until the pounding on the roof slowed to a persistent knocking.
"I think this is the most fun I've had in a while," he mused, leaning his head back against the seat as he looked at me. I nodded in agreement and gave him my best smile, although I probably just looked like a drowned rat. He glanced back at my house then back to me and leaned in a little, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and his eyes half closed. I rolled my eyes and pushed him away, giggling as I opened the door and got out. He crawled out of his side and held his arms out in disbelief.
"What was that? I never knew you were such a cold person, Ina," he said, voice raised a little over the pounding of the rain. "Well anyone is cold compared to you," I joked, grinning. He ran to one side and I quickly retreated to the other as he chased me around the car a few times before sliding across the hood and capturing me in his arms.
"You cheated!" I gasped, thumping a hand against his solid chest.
"All is fair in love and war," he smiled. I scowled at him and held my hands over his head in an attempt to protect him from the rain. His shirt was already almost black from water saturation, as were the visible part of my jeans. He glanced at my raised hands before snaking his arms around my waist inside the jacket. "Let me in there with you!" he teased, sticking his face inside the hood of his jacket to place a wet kiss on my lips. He drew back and gazed at me with an uncommon tenderness in his eyes.
"Ina, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.
There was no turning back, it was now or never. Abandoning the shreds of pride and dignity I had left, I reached up to peck him on the cheek before smiling and saying, "Yes of course."
After a few more sweet kisses I ran up to the door and waved at him before opening it. My mom was sitting on the couch watching the news. She cocked an eyebrow at my drenched clothes and euphoric expression before asking, "What happened to you?" I danced over to the couch and she gasped as I gave her a watery hug, then danced in place for a few more moments, flinging water droplets everywhere.
"I've got a boyfriend!" I sang. She was shocked at first but then got up and danced with me. She grabbed my hands and asked, "What's the date?"
"What date?" I replied, confused.
"The wedding date, silly!"
"MOM! I'm not getting married yet I just started dating the guy!" I gasped in exasperation.
"Who is it? Paul?"
I snorted and she looked confused.
"No, it's actually Jacob."
"I knew it!" she shouted, throwing her fist in the air before crossing her arms. "I saw it when he brought you home that night, that boy is head over heels for you."
I smiled and shook my head. "I don't know about that," I giggled, hiding my face with my hands.
She suddenly grew serious and motioned for me to sit down on the couch.
"Now I know how it is between you young people but I want to make sure you're safe," she said. Oh boy, I knew where this was going and I did not want it to go there. I squaked and retreated to the bathroom as she yelled, "Make sure to use protection honey!" down the hall. I rolled my eyes and locked the door, stripping my clothes off so I could take a hot shower to warm up. I wrapped a towel around myself when I was done and darted across the hall to my room, shutting the door behind me. I put my pajamas on and snuggled under the covers on my bed in an attempt to settle down and sleep. However, it was a fruitless attempt, so I squealed and kicked my legs against the bed in excitement. It was a while before I was tired enough to drift off to sleep with a smile on my face and Jake's peach flavored kiss still tingling on my lips.