Jacob could not wait one week to take her out, furthermore, they both decided to see each other on Saturday. He did not want to tell her where they'd go so the wardrobe options were minimal.
Ultimately, Rose decided to go for a safe choice. A short lavender dress that had been living in the depths of her closet with the only pair of ballet flats she owned; she paired the dress with a casual jean jacket.
The doorbell rang at eight o'clock on the dot. With a smile, she opened the door. Jacob was waiting with a single red rose and mischief in his eyes. "Ready?" He extended the red rose.
Rosalie blushed and accepted the flower "I'll go grab my purse."
She left the red rose on the kitchen table and with her purse in hand, she locked the door.
"So, I brought this for you." Jacob extended a black helmet with pink streaks. "I know you don't like bikes. Figured this would make you feel safer."
"That's sweet. Thank you." Rose said with a small smile as she tried to put the helmet on. She really hated the bike. "What about you?"
"Nah, I don't need it," Jacob smirked and fixed the helmet on her head.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Right."
"Perfect." Jacob inspected his handiwork.
She did feel safer with the helmet on the whole trip, it also helped that she was clutching Jacob's waist like her life depended on it.
They ended up in Port Angeles in a little Italian restaurant. Jacob parked right in front of it and helped her out of the bike, "Hope you like Italian."
The place had a homey feel like she was dining in Italy. The hostess took them to a table in the corner of the restaurant. "I'm Kate, your server today." A blonde waitress put some menus on the table. "Call me when you're ready." The menu had hundreds of options. Names of pasta she could not even pronounce "Have you been here before?" Rose asked as she flipped the menu for the third time.
"A couple of times. I really like Italian." He was not even looking at the menu, "Know what you want to order yet?"
"Not really," Rose said, defeated, as she closed the menu. "What are you going to order? I'll eat what you'll eat."
Jacob ordered for the both of them and with a nod the waitress left. "So, you come here often, yes?" He didn't even look at the menu for Christ's sake.
"Not as much as I would like anyway." He grinned mischievously.
She smiled shyly and her cheeks turned a bright red "Thanks for the flowers, Jake. I loved it all."
He smiled and reached for her hand, "Yeah, that was the plan."
"Where did you find all of those flowers anyway?" Rose narrowed her eyes and leaned into the table.
Jacob mirrored her body and pretended to think about it for a moment only to smirk, "A good magician never reveals his secrets."
Rose giggled and snatched her hand from his hold. "Ugh, I hate you. "The waitress brought their drinks and food afterward. He ordered food for five. A big salad, two different types of kinds of pasta and a lasagna.
"Are we expecting someone else?" Rose laughed disbelievingly. Jake was a big guy, she could bet that he could eat everything alone.
Jake shook his head with a small smile and on a plate served her a bit of everything. "Just try it."
Everything was especially delicious, and she even asked for a second round of that cheese pasta. While she was busy serving herself, he ordered dessert.
"I don't think I can eat anymore."
"Oh, you can."
She could and they both devoured the tiramisu. She'd never heard of this dessert and she was surprised to find that she loved it. After Jake took care of the bill, they walked around the restaurant holding hands. Outside there were other restaurants and bars and some shops that were already closed. "You know I saw your father the other day," Rose said as they passed a closed clothing store, hands dangling.
"He told me." Jacob nodded looking at the blinking lights of the open stores "He really likes you, you know."
"Huh. Our first meeting was a little weird though."
"Yeah?" He furrowed his brows.
"I literally had just woken up when I heard the door open, and it was your dad. I was in my underwear, Jacob. Oh, don't laugh. It's not funny."
"Come one." He continued to laugh so she shook his shoulders in hopes of making him stop. She had no luck whatsoever.
"He was expecting to find you sleeping and instead he found an almost naked girl in your bed"
"Oh, no. He was not expecting me."
"What do you mean?"
"I wake up early every day."
Rose grimaced. "Even on the weekend?"
"Even on weekends." He confirmed that it was the most obvious thing in the world. Rose was not a morning person herself.
"Ew. Why?"
"I like to go for a run and take care of some things around the house. Like cleaning the garage or mowing the grass. That type of stuff. My dad cannot do much of that work."
Right. Rose had never thought about that and the house was squeaky clean. Thanks to Jacob.
"But I really like it. I guess I like the routine aspect of it."
They walked around a little more and then headed home. The ride was silent, and she had to admit that she was growing to be… okay with the rides. Hugging Jacob was something she did like. Jake helped her out of the bike and now it was that time to decide if she was going to invite him in or just say goodbye.
"So…" Jacob said
"So…" She repeated and fidgeted with her house keys.
They both laughed, "Well, thanks for tonight, Jake."
"Thank you for saying yes," Jacob smiled. "I hope you'll let me take you out again."
Rose smiled shyly, "We'll see."
This time when Jacob leaned in to kiss her, she kissed him back on her tiptoes. She sighed into the kiss.
It was a sweet kiss, a kiss without expectations. But all good things must come to an end. She rested her forehead on his and looked up at him. His eyelids were heavy.
"Good night, Jake."
xxx
They had decided to take things slowly. They had all of the time in the world after all; there was no need to rush. Making things public could bring complications. Her mom and his dad knew about them but all of Jacob's friends didn't, not to mention Bella. Rose was still nervous about her reaction, Bella had her own boyfriend, right? Why would she care?
Rose concluded that things must come naturally, people were going to find out when the time was right. In the meantime, they were going to enjoy their time with each other.
Jacob insisted on going out every weekend and talking on the phone every day. Sometimes –like today– they hang out in one of their houses. To watch a movie, order takeout, talk…
They –well, Rose– were watching a rerun of Sabrina –The Harrison Ford version–in his bed. They could have gone to the couch where the TV was bigger, but they liked the privacy his room afforded. Besides, she was avoiding any type of awkward interactions with Billy. He was not there tonight –Thank God– it was game night, so he was at the Clearwater's.
Someone knocked on the door; they had ordered a pizza twenty minutes ago, "I'll go." Jake had been asleep for at least fifteen minutes.
Jacob mumbled, still sleepy "There's money on the coffee table."
Christ, she was starving. With the twenties in her hand, she opened the door expecting to find the pizza guy. In his place, there was Seth with eyes as big as plates.
"Rose?"
She swallowed and blushed at her clothes. Well, lack of clothes. She was wearing one of Jacob's large old shirts and no shorts or shoes.
"What're you doing here?" Seth furrowed his eyebrows and came in.
"Um…"
"Who is it, Rose?" Jake appeared in the living room in all of his sleepy glory. Old grey sweatpants and no shirt. He massaged his face with his hands.
"What's Rose doing here, Jake?"
Jacob opened his heavy eyes and blinked "Seth? I thought it was game night."
"Well, it is," Seth fidgeted at the entrance. "Came to see where you were."
"Why don't you stay for dinner, Seth?" Rose smiled. She had forgotten to tell Seth about Jacob. Now he was going to think she was hiding her relationship or something. "We ordered pizza."
Seth dismissed her invitation "Are any of you going to tell me what's going on?"
Rose swallowed "I–"
"Not much to tell, Seth." Jake came behind Rose to put an arm around her "Rose is my girlfriend."
Rosalie's traitor's heart fluttered at the mention of the word girlfriend. She could not help but blush and look at the floor to try to hide it. This was not the way she had been planning to tell Seth.
"What?" Seth furrowed even deeper. "Thought you hated each other"
"You know what they say," Jake laughed and put her closer to his chest "There is a fine line between love and hate." She laughed as he kissed the crown of her head.
Seth stood there and blinked in surprise. Bet he was not expecting that one.
"Stay for pizza?" Rose hesitated.
"Sure."
When Seth disappeared in the kitchen, Rose whispered hurriedly to Jacob, "Go put on a shirt."
Jake rolled his eyes and left for the bedroom.
"Can you help me set up the table, Seth? I'll be right back."
God forbid she was going to have dinner with Seth with no pants on. Both Jacob and Rose were in the room finding their respective clothing.
When they came back, Seth had just finished setting up the table. And Seth had just received the pizza.
"There's some soda in the fridge."
Seth came back with the soda and finally, they started eating.
"So…" Seth took a sip from his coke "How did this happen?"
Rose took a bite from her slide and looked at Jacob. She could answer Seth but she was mostly curious to hear Jacob's version.
"Well, I have liked Rose since the first moment I saw her."
Rosalie started choking on her pizza and started laughing. "Please, Jake. Be serious for once."
He wiped his mouth with a napkin and rolled his eyes "Well, I am. Don't you remember that party?"
"The Cullen's?"
"That was the first time I ever saw you."
Seth was silently observing both of them.
"Did you go to a different Cullen party? I accidentally bumped into you and the way you looked at me! Like I was trash."
"I was talking with Bella in one of the rooms upstairs and the corner of my eye I saw the hottest blonde on the planet trying discreetly." He used air quotes "Look at me."
She gasped "I was discreet! "
Jake chuckled "No, you weren't."
"I was," Rose repeated this time in Seth's direction. "But anyway you still were an asshole."
"I read you wrong, Rose." Jake said, looking at his hand on the kitchen table, "Bella said horrible things about your friends, I only assumed you were the same."
Huh. That explained the animosity he had had towards her. She could not blame Jacob. If the roles were reversed and Jacob had been –let's say– part of Emmett's friends, he would automatically have been cataloged as a jerk too. How was the saying? A man is judged by the company he keeps.
"And I went to Rose's house to ask her–"
"Demand me–"
"To stay away from you."
Seth raised a brow "I told you to leave it alone."
"I tried but you know me."
"He said some awful stuff."
"And then I saw her in La Push and wanted to apologize but couldn't get the opportunity. Then I saw her discussing it with Emmett and dove right in." Jake clenched his jaw "I wanted to kill that jerk. But if it weren't for his idiocy I wouldn't have landed this hot ass blonde."
"Jake!"
"Hey! It's the truth!"
"Oh my god." Rose blushed and covered her face with her hands. "Please."
The three of them laughed.
"Well, I certainly didn't see it coming but I'm happy you guys are happy." Seth grinned "Does this mean that we can go out together?"
xxx
Weeks had stretched into months. Everything was perfect. It was so perfect that Rosalie was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Billy insisted on having dinner with the three of them. Rose guessed that was a good thing; Jacob could only be serious about them if he was taking her to meet his dad, again. It reassured Rosalie's insecurities about Bella.
Even if they had not touched the Bella topic again, Rose was nervous. How could she not be? Any sane person would. Jake had been in love with that girl since childhood; feelings did not disappear in a few days. Christ, not even a pimple disappeared in just a few days.
"Are you sure it's okay I brought nothing?" Rose asked Jacob as they jumped out of the bike. She was very nervous. She should have brought something.
"For the hundredth time, Rose. It doesn't matter." Jacob huffed.
She was fidgeting in her skirt. Too short. She should have used pants. Besides they were in the middle of March, and it was still very cold on Forks, even if she was using thighs.
Jake reached for her hand to try to calm her "It's going to be fine, Rose. He already likes you."
"Really?" Rose asked.
Jake nodded and squeezed her hand. Hand in hand, they went into the house. Billy was waiting for them in the living room. The book opened in his lap.
"Dad."
"Come on in, Son." He closed his book. He was already smiling at her. "Rose, I'm glad you could make it."
Rose smiled and shook his hand.
"Jake told me you like Lasagna?"
Rose turned to look at Jacob who was just watching her silently. She did like lasagna "I do."
"Perfect. Would you like a drink to start?"
"I don't–"
"Jake tells me you don't drink. Would you like a soda?"
Rose blinked, she never said that she didn't drink –which she didn't– but how curious that Jacob noticed. Her mom always said men noticed nothing.
"Thanks."
Billy and Rose waited in the living room while Jake went for the sodas.
"How's school, Rose?" Billy asked.
"It's good. The semester is almost done."
"Are you in your second year?"
"Yes. This is my last semester as a sophomore."
"Good Good. Jake's going to be a senior this year. Graduation is always exciting. I can still remember when I was a senior."
"Don't start with high school stories, Dad. I beg you."
Both Rosalie and Billy laughed.
"You're right, son. Tonight is not about me." Billy shook his head "I must know the story about how you two met."
Jacob smirked and looked at Rose. Yup, it was her time to tell the story. Should she avoid the parts where they hated and screamed at each other? It didn't seem very father-in-law friendly.
"We met briefly at a party and continued to see each other with Seth's company."
Billy smiled, "Tell me how my son asked you out." Oh, he was enjoying this.
Quite complicated again.
"I–"
"She was having a hard time with another guy –a complete jerk– and figured I could slide in. Knight in shining armor and all of that."
The three of them laughed. A knight in shining armor, he was so dramatic. But he did kind of save her from an unfortunate situation. "He kind of defended my honor and, yes, I couldn't resist."
Jacob winked playfully but Billy's chest was puffed with pride. "I'm very proud to hear that, son."
Dinner was a playful event. Billy started to tell her childhood anecdotes of Jacob. Jake was mortified the whole time.
He had been quite the character as a child. Quite hyperactive too. "He would climb that tall tree outside to avoid going to school."
Rose's stomach hurt from laughing. "That sounds like him."
"It would take him almost an hour to get down from there."
"I can only imagine." Rose was grinning from cheek to cheek, but Jacob was sulking in his seat.
"Go fetch the photo album, Jake."
"That's not happening." Jacob crossed his arms, but after a minute he rose from the chair mumbling something under his breath.
Billy and Rose both laughed at his theatrics.
"I can't believe this day has come. I thought he was going to pine on Charlie's girl forever."
Rose's smile was small. "I thought so too."
"I want you to know," Billy said, "That I've never seen Jake this happy. His eyes shine every time he talks about you."
Rose's heart clenched in her chest. She felt the same. Life got a brand new shine after she got with Jake. "I feel the same, Billy."
"This is the only one I could find."
The album had all sorts of baby pictures of Jake. Newborn Jake, first steps Jake, first day of school Jake.
He was the cutest baby. Her traitorous mind pictured a baby with his hair and her eyes…
Jacob was beyond embarrassed the whole time. Covering his face in irritation every time there were Ahhs and awws.
She loved a particular photo of Billy and Jacob, that he could have been maybe two or three-years old riding a motorcycle. Jake's hair was in all directions and he was smiling blindly at the camera.
After they were done looking at the photos Rose said her goodbyes and while Jacob was not in sight Billy welcomed her to the family. It was a bit soon to consider her a family member, but she appreciated the loving words.
xxx
"I really want to see that Julia Roberts movie, Jake." He rolled his eyes because he loathed Julia Roberts films. They were getting ice cream on Thursday afternoon. Rose liked the chocolate flavor, but Jake made her try his favorite, bubblegum ice cream. It had been disgusting, to say the least.
"You know I hate–"
"Well, I didn't like the bubblegum ice cream and you made me try it!"
They both laughed, "That's different."
"It is not!" Rose gasped and snatched her hand from his, to drive her point home.
"Fine! We'll go tomorrow, okay?"
Rose smiled triumphantly at him while he rolled his eyes. She sweetly kissed his cheek and with a smile, he kissed her on the lips instead. Both of them groaned.
The theater was full of other kids. It was Friday afternoon after all. The line to get food was exceptionally long.
"What do you want to eat?" Jake asked. It was almost their turn. "I think I want to try the new onion popcorn–"
"If you think I'm going to kiss you after that–" Rose cried. She couldn't really understand why he liked such weird food.
"Fine! I'll try the popcorn chicken then."
Rose ordered some regular popcorn and a box full of Skittles.
"I hate that thing," Jake said as they walked to the movie. Mouth full of popcorn.
"The Skittles?"
"Yeah."
Rose laughed, now she was the one with a weird taste in food.
The movie started. Julia Roberts went on a trip to Italy. Jacob looked like he wanted to take a nap and after eating all of his strange snacks, he started to steal Skittles from her palm.
"I thought you hated it," Rose whispered.
With a mouth full of Skittles, he whispered back, "You're not supposed to talk, you know."
Rose rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the movie. When the Skittles disappeared, Jacob resorted to another way to entertain himself.
"We're not supposed to make out, you know."
"Shh." He kissed her again, hand on her neck.
After the movie, they couldn't take their hands off each other. One of Jacob's arms was firmly positioned around her waist.
In the middle of the street, they started to make out. Both of Jacob's arms were around her waist, going lower and lower to the pockets of her old jeans. Rose oncesworethat she would never be one of those couples who made out freely in the middle street. But, oh well…
"Jake?"
It took her a second to identify that it hadn't come for her. Because who would be calling Jake at that very moment? They were making out for Christ's sake.
It took them a good ten seconds for their mouth to separate. Spit still connected them.
Her eyes were still heavy, so it took her a lot of effort to open them when she heard,
"Bella?"
Her heart immediately started to pick up. There she was, Bella and Angela Weber.
"I'll meet you inside." Angela must have sensed the unpleasant atmosphere. She disappeared in the lines for the tickets. Should Rose leave too?
She had assumed Jake had told Bella about them. Bella's unusually pale face said otherwise.
"I thought you said you had a lot of schoolwork?" Bella asked while she watched Jacob clean the spit from his mouth with his palm.
"Yeah, I did. But I have all weekend I guess." Bella blinked at Jake's words. "This is Rose by the way. My girlfriend"
Rose smiled, only because the situation called for it, so it was small and tight. Bella did not spare even a glance at her.
"Can I talk with you for a second, Jacob?"
He looked between the two of them, and Rose nodded. Bella was one of his oldest friends ever, he deserved to straighten up things with her. Even if it was none of Bella's business. After all, she had her own boyfriend.
"I'll be inside."
"Thanks." He mouthed.
Not even three steps away from them when Bella said,
"Your girlfriend?"
Rose just kept walking.
"Why am I just finding out about it now!" Rose couldn't help but listen. Bella was demanding answers from Jacob as he owed it to her. Rose was fuming but understood that it was not her place to intervene.
She waited inside the theater, watching people go in and out. Couples kissing, just like Jacob and Rose were just a minute ago.
She hated to think about losing Jacob. Loathed that her insecurities got the best of her in moments like this. He had been in love with her for years. Could she live with the uncertainty of Jacob's affections? After all, he never had said explicitly that he stopped loving Bella. He only said that he wanted to try things with Rose.
So, when Jake opened the glass door of the theater her heart was certain that this was it. He was going to break up with her. She broke her heart in a million pieces, and it was her fault. Her fault because she let him inside her heart when she knew it was dangerous.
"Jake–"
"Let's go home, okay?" He said nothing else, just took her hands in his and opened one of the big doors. She could not see much of his face. He was looking at the ground, deep in thought.
Bella was nowhere to be seen.
The ride back was full of heavy silence. Her mind was going a mile per second with all of the possibilities.
Jacob only kissed her cheek when she jumped out of the bike. "I'll call you."
Rose watched as Jacob disappeared in the darkness of the street. The first tear fell.
