Chapter 2 - Imprint

Jacob

I watched her go. Vanessa and her dog Dracula. My heart was pounding against my chest. Had that really just happened? Had I imprinted on someone after all this time? It hadn't been like I thought it would be. Perhaps because I was not the young man that the others had been when they had imprinted. Perhaps it was because there was no danger of vamps to fuel the adrenaline rush that was supposed to come with the imprinting. It had come on so slow. One moment, I heard that thrumming — like hummingbird wings. A heart rate even faster than my own. I was concerned for the woman, wondering if she was going into cardiac arrest or something. But even through my concern I was struck by her. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. Surely it was not just a side-effect of the imprinting, either. Other men and women were staring at her also. She had a pale heart shaped face, framed by reddish-brown curls. Although I'd really tried not to stare, her body was, well, sexy. Perfect in every curve. But it was her eyes that had taken me aback. They were chocolate brown. Exactly like… well, I didn't want to think about that. But, I reasoned with myself, wouldn't it make sense for me to imprint on someone who looked like she had looked? Perhaps that's why I'd been so freakishly in love with her in the first place. I had been looking for this face, but it hadn't been born yet.

Yet, there was something different about this woman. Vanessa. The heart rate. Her body temperature. I had never met anyone outside of the pack who had a body temperature that high. Then, I wondered, could she be one of us? Obviously with that pale face she wasn't a Quileute native, but who said that Quileutes were the only ones who could shape-shift? If the magic existed in one place, perhaps it existed in another. Certainly Vanessa had noticed my body temperature, too. Perhaps she was interested in finding out more and that was why she had invited me to dinner.

Or, a hopeful voice chimed in my head, maybe she wants you like you want her. Maybe she wants to go to dinner and she's hoping you take her back to your place and…

I shook my head, trying to clear it. I was driving home, trying to focus on the road. But the feeling of her hand in mine was still fresh, burning. But I had no idea why, really, Vanessa had asked me to dinner. So the thought of what the rest of her skin would feel like against mine had to be pushed down.

I quickly fed Luna, who was looking at me in a concerned sort of way — as though she knew that I was currently losing my head thinking about this stranger I'd met in the park. Then, I took a look in the cracked bathroom mirror of my tiny apartment bathroom. How did I look? I didn't know. My hair was long-ish, past my ears. I didn't have grease stains on me, so I figured that was a plus. Otherwise, how should I look? I didn't know. I had given up on dating so long ago, I wasn't sure how I might appear to women. I dated a couple women when I first moved to the city 15 years ago. When the danger had passed, I still had been unable to stop transforming and my constant age was becoming strange to the people of the tribe who did not believe the legends. Sam was the first to stop phasing, approximately two years after the bloodsuckers had left. Then Leah, with all the hard work and effort of 7 years. The best part of that had been when she got pregnant with her husband Finn, a Forks native. Then, Embry and Quil stopped. Even Paul had stopped within the first 20 years. Seth was last, approximately 18 years ago. Now, all of my friends looked like senior citizens and I still looked 25, at most. I knew it was time to make a change if I was ever going to stop phasing.

But, I thought to myself as I shaved with trembling hands, was this the reason why I hadn't? The magic had known the right girl was out there for me and was trying to matchmake? Well, after my luck with romance it would be a nice break.

I finally left the apartment, feeling so giddy I was almost light-headed. Reminding myself that I was technically sixty-four years old and not sixteen, I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate solely on driving the whole way to the restaurant. I arrived early, but so had she. We met awkwardly by the hostess stand, but even still my happiness couldn't be deflated. She was breath-taking in a deep blue dress that fell only halfway up her thigh. Any normal woman would probably feel cold on this rainy Seattle day in March, but clearly she wasn't.

"Two," we said at the same time to the hostess, then smiled awkwardly at each other. I felt like I was getting a second chance at attempting all the awkwardness of high school romance and it made me want to laugh out loud.

We sat and stared at the menu for a while, but I couldn't read a word of it. I kept glancing up at her, unable to take my eyes off her. Vanessa. She had pulled her hair back slightly to reveal her beautiful face which was practically glowing under the fluorescent lights of the restaurant. Still, there was that trilling of her heart. What was with that?

"What can I get you?" the waitress asked

"Burrito," I said, simply, closing my menu.

"Carnitas tacos," said Vanessa. "If the steak could be closer to rare, that would be great, thanks.

"To drink?" asked the waitress.

"Mezcal margarita," she said.

"Beer is fine. Whatever you have on tap," I said, eager for the waitress to go away.

The waitress walked away and Vanessa looked back at him.

"Thank you for coming out to dinner so last notice," she said awkwardly.

"You couldn't have given me more notice since we just met two hours ago," I said, smiling at her. "But I promise the only plans you were interrupting was me microwaving a frozen dinner and falling asleep on the couch at 9pm."

She laughed. It was a beautiful sound.

"Well, I just felt like we, um, had a connection," she said.

"I felt the same way, Vanessa," I said.

"Call me Nessie," she said quickly. "That's what my family and friends call me."

"Okay, Nessie," I said. "Does your family live around here?"

"No," she shook her head. "They live in Canada. Yukon area."

"Jeez, they must like it cold," I said.

"They really do," laughed Nessie, as though at a private joke. "How about your family?"

"My parents are both dead," I said. "My sisters — I have two — live in Hawaii with their husbands."

No need to mention their children and grandchildren too.

"Is that where you grew up?" asked Nessie.

"No, no, we — my siblings and I — grew up here. On the Quileute reservation. I was the one who stayed, for a while. Then I moved out to the city for a change of scenery and a better job."

"Where do you work?" she asked.

"Downtown Automotive," I said. "Good salary, although it comes with the cost of living in the city."

I realized then how boring I must sound and tried to change the subject back to her.

"So when did you decide to make the move to the States?" I asked.

"Oh, a while ago," I said. "I was technically born in America. Then I came down for medical school and I'm a doctor now at UW Northwest Medical Center."

"You don't look old enough to be a doctor," I said. "How old are you?"

"28," she said.

"Me too," I replied, knowing I would have mirrored any age she was.

Our food came, but neither of us ate much, pushing the food around our plate and shooting each other furtive glances. I noticed she had drained the margarita. Finally, Nessie spoke again.

"Wanna get out of here?" she asked, rather heatedly.

"Yes," I said automatically, wanting only to be where she was. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Back to my place?" she said. "More private… for talking."

I laughed, I couldn't help it. It was such a lame excuse for getting me back to her apartment. My laughing seemed to ease the tension a bit.

"Shut up," she said, rolling her eyes. "I do want to talk to you in private. What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing's wrong with talking," I said, making my eyes go wide in mock innocence. "As long as that's all we're doing. No funny business, here."

Nessie stood up, grabbing her raincoat and keys.

"I live at the Morrow Apartments on Palatine Ave," she said to him as she walked by. "And, I never said that's all we're doing."