Jacob's POV
I woke up the next morning feeling rested yet jittery. I slept soundly, my heart feeling at peace for the first time in ages. But I was already antsy to see her again, wondering how quickly that could be. At that moment, I realized my massive error from the night before.
"Well shit," I groaned to the ceiling. I didn't get her number. How could I be so stupid? I blamed the werewolf thing. Sometimes I forgot about normal human things, like exchanging cell phone numbers. It had been ages that I needed to get a hold of someone who I didn't share a pack mind link with. I guess I did have Charlie's home phone number, but that felt too weird to use without her knowing the full story here. I immediately rolled over to my phone, texting Seth.
I'm an idiot. I totally forgot to get Renesmee's number last night. Assuming you have it?
I worried he would go all 'big brother' on me and act like he was protecting her by not handing out her number so easily. Worst case, I could wrestle his phone away from him at work today.
You are an idiot. I thought Jake would be Mr. Smooth Move. I do have her number. Assuming you want me to send it to you?
I rolled my eyes, not at all surprised that the kid was making me work for it.
I do, yes. Would you still like a job at my garage?
I held my breath, knowing I was being a bit dramatic, but wanting quick answers from him.
Easy tiger. Don't go firing me just yet. Sounds like this may not be the last time you need my romance expertise, Casanova.
Before my head could explode, another text followed with her number. I nearly clicked to call her that second but stopped myself, realizing the time. It was quite early. I decided to get ready and call her on my way to work instead. Unsurprisingly, that thought had me jumping out of bed to get my day started.
Soon enough I was backing out of my driveway. I opted to drive my car over the bike today, knowing it made for the better scenario to call her from. I also hoped, if my call went well, I would need the best vehicle to pick someone up for dinner. Before I lost my nerve, I pressed the call button, set the phone on speaker, and placed it on the middle console.
"Hello?" Her sweet voice answered after a few rings. She sounded politely confused, as expected with a call from an unknown number.
"Hey Renesmee! It's Jacob from last night." I held my breath, anxious for her response. Will she be glad I called or freaked out?
"Oh, hi!" I exhaled with relief, her tone sounded pleasantly surprised to me.
"Hey." I realized I'd already said that once and hurried to continue talking. "I totally blanked out and forgot to ask for your number last night. I asked Seth for it, I hope that's okay."
Mentioning Seth, I panicked. I hadn't thought through what she would make of that connection. She could easily assume now that I was also a part of the pack. Before I spiraled too far, I held out hope that this could be a good thing. Maybe, if she did have that thought, easing her into the news would be better than taking her by complete surprise.
"Ye-Yes," she stuttered. "That's for sure okay." She sounded so nervous and I couldn't help but smile. I was glad I wasn't the only one.
"Great," I steeled myself to continue. "So, I was calling because I had a fun time last night."
"Me too," She hurried to reassure me, which boosted my confidence.
"I wanted to ask if you'd like to get together again, just you and me. Are you free tonight? There's a fun pizza place downtown." I mentally crossed all my fingers and toes.
"Oh!" Her tone was the same as when she realized who called, which I was hopefully reading correctly. But, she hesitated. It felt like hours, rather than seconds until she spoke again. "I'd like that. I just need to check with my," she stuttered again. "My family, the ones I'm staying with, and make sure they don't have plans for us tonight."
Knowing the truth, it was funny to realize she stuttered over talking about Charlie. I assumed the general public wasn't supposed to know him as her grandfather, as she looked to be the same age as his daughter.
"Can I talk to them and let you know in a little while?"
"For sure!" I nearly shouted, so relieved she seemed to want to go to dinner with me. "You can text or call. I'll be at work but will have my phone on me."
"Sounds good. And Jacob?" My heart stuttered when she said my name. "Can I ask for your last name? My family may be nosy to know who I will be out with."
Well, here goes nothing. If we were wrong about her knowing who I was, this was one way to test it.
"Uh, yeah, it's Black. Jacob Black." I felt like my stomach was in one hundred knots while I waited.
"No way!" She sounded happy, but the recognition in her voice scared me. "Billy's son, right?" Well, I wasn't expecting that.
"Yep, that's my dad." If she knew my dad, did she know everything?
"And you're friends with Seth? I bet he'll have no issues with me going. I'll text you later to confirm." If she's asking Charlie? Yeah, she's probably right. But if she's asking Edward? Forget about it.
"Sure thing," I tried to keep my voice calm even though I would be a nervous wreck until I heard from her again. I also was a bit curious about something, and now seemed a fair enough time to ask. "And your last name is?" Surely she wouldn't say Cullen. Would she say Swan or a made up name?
"Right, of course." A nervous giggle traveled out of the phone. "It's Masen."
So, a new name for the cover story. I knew I should come clean soon so she could drop the pretenses. Hopefully tonight.
"I've gotta get to work. But I hope I see you later, Renesmee." I was reluctant to let her go.
"Me too, Jacob. I'll text you later." I forced myself to hang up before I gave away too much over the phone.
In my eagerness that morning, I was even earlier than usual. I slowly opened up the shop, unlocking doors and turning on lights, trying to enjoy the quiet. Once those tasks were done, I jumped back into the customers lined up from the day before. I was determined to get lost in my work just like any other morning. It worked; I was nearly finished with the oil change for Embry's mom when a whooping voice rang out through the garage.
"My boy is finally a man! Bring it in Jakey," Seth rushed over, arms wide.
"Geez, Seth, warn a guy!" I tried to shrug off his hug but he gripped me tighter.
"Oh, come on man, let me have my moment. I couldn't hug you in wolf form! Do you realize how happy I am to not have to filter my Cullen thoughts with you?" I saw his point, the past decade had been pretty hard on the guy, putting him in the middle of it all. I stopped fighting it and let him have his moment.
"You've got me there," I agreed. He let me go and stepped back.
"Did you call her yet?" He waggled his eyebrows at me.
"Yes, I did. If you must know, I asked her out for tonight. She's supposed to check and text me later."
"Uh-oh. Is she asking Charlie or Daddy for permission tonight?" Seth was barely holding in his laughter. I wanted to be annoyed, but I did owe him for my surliness these last many years.
"She didn't specify, just said 'family' so I really hope she's only asking Charlie right now or I am screwed." I hung my head, anxious all over again.
"And does she know who is taking her out tonight?" He suddenly gave me a stern look and I held both my hands up in innocence.
"I told her my full name. She just knew me as Billy's son and she knows we're friends. I'm hoping she will start to put the pieces together and won't be totally blindsided when I tell her the full story tonight." At that, Seth let his stern mask fall away.
"Sounds like a plan, brother." He patted me on the back and moved towards the wall of client folders. "I guess we've got some work to keep us occupied in the meantime." Seth grabbed the paperwork for the next customer and we both started working in an easy rhythm. I only lasted 15 minutes before I voiced some of my burning questions.
"Tell me about the things I missed out on, all the things I refused to let you tell me before." I nearly begged. Thankfully, Seth took me seriously rather than laughing in my face.
"I wasn't just trying to mend fences when I said Renesmee was worth getting to know. She's so fun to be around, she always has been. Somehow she's even more stubborn than Bella was and can be feisty when she stands up for what she believes in. She has every last person in that family wrapped around her finger, especially Edward which is hilarious to see." I had to laugh under my breath at the thought; that arrogant bloodsucker humbled by his daughter.
"She's ridiculously smart. Her memory is basically as good as a vampire's and she was able to learn from such a young age. She's super adventurous. I think her being around young adult vampires and werewolves her whole life, helped her be down to join in any type of fun. To me, that's one of her biggest differences from Bella and even Edward, they're both much more reserved. If she didn't need to tread lightly to keep her supernatural secrets under wraps, she would be friends with everyone in town."
"And what about the half-vampire thing? How much is she like a vampire?"
"Some things you probably already caught on to. She doesn't have the icy vampire scent, her skin is not as pale, it's actually warm like ours. She has a heartbeat. She sleeps and can eat human food. She also drinks animal blood, but her eyes don't change color. She grew ridiculously fast. Each visit, she grew multiple years in one. It was wild to see. She stopped growing a few years ago and hasn't changed physically since." I listened to every detail, enraptured. I couldn't wait to both be in wolf form again and ask him to show me some of his memories.
"The few times she has hurt herself, she seems to heal quickly, like us. We had tons of races and competitions growing up, testing her speed and strength: me, Edward, Bella, and even Leah sometimes. Speed wise, Renesmee can keep pace with us but would definitely tire out eventually. When she really pushed herself she outran me a few times, and Bella, once she lost her newborn speed. But Edward and Leah are the fastest, they smoked us all. Strength, she can definitely hold her own but not quite up to par with any of us. I've been told the only person she ever beat in an arm wrestling match was Esme, and she very well could have let her win."
Seth spoke about her life so casually, I had to admit I was jealous. I wanted to know her that way, if she'd let me. It also felt so strange, after all this time, to suddenly hear the names of all the Cullens again. I thought about these stories of her life, over and over, trying to soak it all in. But then, I realized something that hadn't occurred to me until that moment.
"Shit, Seth." I froze, dropping the tool in my hand. It clattered loudly on the concrete floor.
"What?" He peeked his head out from the car hood where he was working.
"Am I going about this all wrong? Before I knew who she was, I saw a young woman. And I've asked her out on a date, again assuming she was a young woman near my age. But, she was actually only born nine years ago? Should I treat her differently?" My mind was spiraling in panic.
"This is something you should talk with her about more, once all the truths are out for both of you. But, I think you're good. My family and hers have treated her as a young woman the past few years. Well, her parents may still see her as younger, but that's what parents do. Emotionally and physically that seems to be where she is, somewhere in her twenties." He paused to sternly point his finger at me. "But take it slow. Be a gentleman and get all the truth out there before going any further."
"Of course, Seth. Come on, you know me better than that." He seemed to believe me, but before we could talk more my phone chimed from my pocket. I nearly tore my jeans trying to reach it.
I'm in for dinner tonight! What time?
Great! Pick you up at 6:30?
Sounds good :)
"Well from the look on your face, I'm assuming she said yes." Seth laughed and dipped back into the car to continue his work. "We've got quite a few hours until dinner, boss. Best get back to work."
I rolled my eyes, but dutifully tucked my phone away. This was about to be the longest work day yet.