It took her four days.
Four days, from the morning that she woke up, thought about what happened the night before and immediately called Jacob and said that she was going back to Port Angeles. Not to run away, at least that was what she said, but to think.
She needed time to think.
It sounded lame even in her head but Jacob didn't comment negatively. He merely wished her a safe drive.
Which, of course made her feel even more guilty and stupid.
It took her four days.
Four days where the solemness, the heat and the certainty of his words echoed inside her head and the feel of his mouth pulsed on her skin. The memory of the kiss shot to the surface of her mind in odd and awkward moments, resulting in more than her usual trademark clumsiness and red faced stuttering that drew speculative looks from Lulu, Tina, Misha and even the usually oblivious Brian.
Damian however, merely looked at her with an amused, indulgent look on his face. Of course, that was how he usually looked at her. Like she was a three year old that did something interesting.
It certainly didn't help.
It was on the fourth day that her accident prone behavior forced Lulu, with something that looked uncomfortably similar to glee on her face for Bella's comfort, to banish her into the kitchen where she sat on a high stool behind one of the tables and, ignoring Damian's amused smirk, hid her face behind the latest fiction about--roll eyes with irony--werewolves.
Oh, if Jacob saw her reading it...
She dimmed the grin on her face when she saw Misha raised a brow and exchanged a smug look with Tina who passed by carrying a load of dirty dishes.
It took her exactly four days to finally notice the added charm on her bracelet and even then, much to her dismay and horror, was because Tina pointed it out to her.
"Hey, " she chirped as she dumped the plates into the kitchen sink. "You finally added a charm. What is it? What is it? Let me see."
It was then, when Tina grabbed her wrist and squinted that she finally saw the tiny yet detailed carving of a dark brown wooden spoon, dangling innocently a few chains away from wolf and sea shell.
She gaped at it and not hearing Tina's offended 'hey!', pulled her hand closer to her face and focused her eyes intently on the spoon and felt her throat clutched with too many jumbled emotions that had her fingers scrambling, digging inside her pocket for her cell phone. Flipping it open, she pressed the number 2 speed dial.
With her eyes still on the charm she waited, her mouth still hanging open, for Jacob to pick up. When he did, he was laughing and the sound of it spilled over the phone to her ear and into her heart, her mouth curving into a wide grin that she couldn't see but everybody else noted.
Lulu was smiling in a satisfied manner while Lulu and Tina sighed, murmuring 'she has him on speed dial' to each other while Brian and Damian rolled their eyes.
"Hello?" His voice, that familiar husky tone of it, made her smile even wider.
"Jake?"
The amusement in his voice stilled but she could sense the smile on his voice. "...Bella?"
She heard something heavy clanged against a solid object and her brow furrowed at the loud, hammering and the voices of people yelling over the general racket.
"Bells, will you wait a sec?"
"OK." She squirmed on her seat, already starting to regret her impulsiveness when he murmured something to somebody. There were a sound of movement and the rustle of clothes and when the sounds lessen, she knew he was walking away from the crowd. She wondered whether she had interrupted something.
When his voice came on again, it was warm and affectionate. "Hey, what's up?"
She scratched her nose in sudden awkwardness, suddenly, the bubbly, golden feeling that whirl inside her earlier on made her feel silly and somewhat shy. "It's not really important. I mean, if you’re busy-"
"Bells, " The tone of his voice was amusedly patient. "Talk to me."
"It's just that I--" A gushing female voice twittered from out of the speaker and she halted. Her voice faded even more when Jake murmured back. "No, honey, don't touch that."
She felt her heart plummet and twist at the low rumble of Jacob's chuckle, murmuring yet again in that tone of voice that made her heart ache. His words didn't register because her mind was ruthlessly honing onto the point that Jacob had called the nameless and faceless girl; honey...as in honey...as in the special way Jacob used to call her and only her.
From the sound of her voice, Bella knew that the girl was standing awfully close to Jacob and that Jacob was letting her, she must be practically on his lap. She bit her lip through the haze of disbelief, the prickles of pain and the sharp pinch of jealousy.
Jacob did mention that he hadn't stay chaste, and why would he? And considering their history, she wasn't in the position to expect it of him but...after last night....Her mind flinched at how her imagination supplied her with the picture of Jacob wrapped around numerous faceless woman even though how much she berated herself that she knew better.
It was obvious that Jacob wasn't the type of man who'd lack female companionship, and she could barely blame her sex for being attracted to him when she of all people should know what the attraction was.
It wasn't just looks, even though his looks were spectacular and then some, without being perfect or intimidating to the female senses. It was the...the...he was just so...Bella scowled at her phone and was barely able to keep her fingers from twitching and 'accidentally' hang up on him.
The girl spoke with a lisp, for God's sake. And was probably simpering and batting her eyelashes at him. She bet a lot of guys thought the lisp sexy. Stupid men and their hormones...
She didn't realize that Lulu saw the dark expression on her face and sent an inquisitive look to Tina who mouthed "Jacob" to her, she was too busy fanning the fire that was rapidly rising inside and thankfully, swallowing up all of her hurt.
It was just four days ago that he asked her, in such a sweet and sincere manner that warmed her heart, to give her a chance and already, he was flirting with another girl, right in front of her! Well, through a phone but still...
Fueled with self righteous anger she was about to hang up on him since it seemed he'd forgotten about her anyway but before she ram her finger on the button, Jacob cut his little conversation short.
"Sorry, honey. I'm a little busy here."
She couldn't help but gape at the phone at the dismissive tone in his voice. She pulled away the phone from her ear and stared at it like it had suddenly growled at her. Who was this condescending jerk? Where was her Jacob who was kind, respectful and warm hearted?
"Give me a kiss before you run along." He heard him laugh, the loud sound of a kiss.
Give me a kiss before you run along?, Bella choked with indignation that was speared with something uncomfortably akin to jealousy, not that she would admit it. That burning twist in her stomach was anger. Really.
She blinked and only return the phone back to her ear when she heard him call her name. "Sorry about that Bells, she was--"
The last thing she wanted was to talk about another girl who kissed him. Especially when he was the one who asked her to do it. "How can you talk to her like that?" She barked at to the phone.
"What?"
Oh, listen to him. What, was she? Deaf? Didn't he expect her to be able to listen to that? Was that intentional?
"How can you talk to her like that? You can't talk to a girl like that? And really, Jake. I expected more from you. You used to know how to treat girls with more respect-"
"Wait. What? Her? You mean Katie?"
Katie. Hah. She's probably blond with big boobs.
"I don't know, Jake. Have you been kissing a lot of girls lately that you can't remember their names?" She wanted to bite her tongue when she saw Damian and Lulu whirled toward her, half grinning, eyes glinting with interest.
"Excuse me?"
Listen to him. He sounds so calm. Not even flustered that she caught him.
"Kiss me before you run along? Before you run a-long? What is she? 10?"
"Actually, she's eight."
"You can't talk a girl like-what?"
"Katie. She's eight."
Bella could hear the grin in his voice and she closed her eyes in embarrassment, not even bothering to fight the blush that heated up her face.
"She likes chocolate milk and piggy back rides which was what she was trying to guilt me into doing for the third time."
"Oh." Her voice sounded unnaturally high.
Bella passed a hand on her hot face and opened one eye when he sighed into the phone.
"I was afraid of this, Bells."
"What-what do you mean?"
"I should have known really, I mean, I thought you'll be like this..."
Her heart clenched at the somber tone of his voice. "What?"
"You know, that you're gonna be one of those."
Her brow wrinkled but waited for him to continue.
"A jealous girlfriend."
She sucked in a breath when his laugh reverberated into her ear. “I am not-I was not-”
“But really, she's only eight, Bells-”
She gritted her teeth, her embarrassment was slowly giving way to irritation. “Jake-”
“Besides, can you really blame her for finding me ruggedly handsome and strong when you yourself cannot resist me my astounding good looks?”
“Jake, my finger is on the end button.” She told him and tried really, really hard not to smile when he laughed.
“Really, Bells.” He chided her softly. “Why would I want someone else when I have you?”
Her eyes shifted to some old sticker that was stuck on the wall no matter what she did to pull it off, her fingers fretting at its edges.
“So? Did you call me for a reason rather than just because you miss me?”
She opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again and watched the light glitter on her bracelet. “Thanks for the charm.” She said softly.
“Ah.” There was amusement in his voice; sweet and thick like candy. “I was wondering when you would notice. Thought it would be sooner though.”
She winced and poked even harder at the sticker. “The store's been a little crazy and it's just always there and...” She bit her lips. “It's beautiful, Jake. Really. I love it.”
“...your welcome, Bells.”
For a long minute, Bella contented herself smiling into the distance while she basked in the warm welcoming feeling that she always sensed from him. Enjoying the feeling that he was there with her even though he was miles away. This was what she missed most and she has it now and if she wanted, it could be hers, always.
Something stuck in her throat. Maybe it was the word. Always. She remembered saying it to another boy, to another love.
“Jake?”
“Mm?”
Tell me that you love me. That me you'll never leave me. That it's all going to be alright.
“Is there...is there going to be more?”
“Do you want more?”
“No, of course not.”
“You don't want more?”
“No. Yes. Wait-”
“You need time to think about it?” He teased.
“Oh, shut up, Jake. You know what I mean.”
“...don't you like them, Bells?”
She could hear the hesitation in his voice and felt her chest tighten. “Of course I do. How can I not?”
“So you like them?”
“Jake, I love them. They’re beautiful and so...” She sighed as her fingers fiddled with the little charms, before she always worry that she would lose them, that they would break away, or wither away every time she touched them. “You've always got such talented hands.”
She frowned when she heard a choking sound from behind her, a look over her shoulder showed that Tina, Lulu, Misha each had a hand on Brian's mouth while Damien was grinning wickedly at her. “Aren't you guys suppose to be working?” She asked scathingly, trying not to pout when she heard Jacob chuckle.
“Are they listening in?”
“Not anymore.” She glared the snickering girls (Lulu included), eyed the unrepentant Damien, ignored Brian's impish grin and squirmed on the stool she was sitting on and gave them her back.
She heard another bang and someone shout something inaudible from the phone. “Are you busy?”
“I can spare a few minutes to talk. A minute.” She heard a rustle. “Kyle, if I see you do that one more time, I'll hang you from a tree by your toes. Sky, get that saw away from there.” His voice lowered and she could hear the sound of childish laughter in the background. “Sorry. Kids nowadays, think they know everything.”
“Where are you?”
“At the elementary school. The storm blew a tree into one of the classrooms and blew the hell out of some of the windows. There's gonna be a bit of fixing up to be done.”
She nodded to no one in particular, remembering her conversation with her dad just that morning. “Charlie did mention that you're up and about helping out around the reservation.”
She heard the sound of clothes rustling. “Yeah, you know how it is, most of the houses are made of wood older than my grandfather.” He chuckled.
Again, Bella was struck by how selfless he was sometimes. Was it a tribe thing or a Jacob thing? Was he raised or was he born this way?
“What about your work?”
She could almost see him shrug. “The beauty of owning your own business, Bells. Besides, it's not like we have to do this all day. Most of us already know how to pound a nail or reframe a window, I'm just here to supervise.” He added with a cocky note in his voice.
“Don't do that.” She said softly. “It's really great what you're doing, Jake. Not everybody will stop what they're doing because their neighbors are having a hard time. What you and the guys are doing is—I'm really proud of you, Jake.”
“...thanks.” She heard the emotion in his voice, how it changed from smooth to raspy and felt her warmed.
She smiled. “You're welcome.”
“Bells?”
She caught an ink stain on one of the counters and scowled at it, noting it mentally and deciding to tackle it later. “Hm?”
“I'm proud of you, too.”
Her heart jumped up her throat.
“It's not easy, what you've done. What you're still doing.”
Her eyes heated and stung. She had a feeling that he wasn't talking about her business. She never imagine of him acknowledging that part of her life, much less thought it was something that he would be proud of. She never expected for her to need him to be proud of her but from the loosening sensation in her heart, she now knew that she did.
As if he knew, his voice lowered even more, softening. “I mean it, Bells. I know it wasn't easy, still isn't but you're dealing with it and you're doing great. I am very, very proud of you, Bella Swan.”
Her breath hitched and she took a shuddering breath to keep herself from bawling. She swallowed and tried to clear her throat. “Thanks. Thanks, Jake. That means a lot to me.”
She wiped a hand on her wet eyes and wallowed in the comfortable silence that she always had with Jacob.
“So,” Jacob started, his voice returned to his usual teasing note. “What have you been doing?”
She coughed. “I'm at the shop, uh, I told you that we have books coming in and as usual, we're busy with displays and well, reading them.”
“Owning a book store is just you, Bells.”
She managed a laugh. “It's part of our 'give better service' actually. Each of us have several popular books to read so we can give advice on what works best for who.”
“Hey, that's a good idea. I hate it when you go into a book store and they just go 'huh?'.”
She smirked. “You read?”
“Ha, Bells. Actually, I've been looking for this one book to complete my collection.”
She blinked. Jacob does read, a lot. More than her in some areas but he wasn't the type to collect books. It pained her the way he treated books. “Wow, really? What is it?”
“Dr. Seuss-Sleep book.”
Bella stared at the spot on a wall as if she was staring at Jacob's face. “You're kidding.”
“No, I'm not. I have everything of Dr. Seuss but that.”
She wanted to think he was joking but he sounded so serious, which was why she wasn't laughing her ass off. “Why?”
“It was one of the books my mom read to me, she taught me how to read with it.”
“Oh.” Now what she was going to say? And of course, Jacob would do something so sweet. To collect something that reminded him of his mom. “That's the only one you don't have?”
“Yeah.” He heard him sigh. “I probably can get it from the internet but I don't want to get it that way, you know. I want to touch it with my hands. Feel its weight on my fingers.”
“Yeah. I understand.”
She heard him laugh. “I figured. Hey, so, what are you reading?”
Glad to have evaded that sensitive land mind, primarily because she didn't know what to say, the answer almost leaped onto her lips before she manage to clamp down on it. “Um. Nothing special.”
She winced at her attempt on a nonchalant answer, she could practically hear his interest perking up.
“Bella,” His voice liquid chocolate; smooth, delicious and succulent. “ Are you reading Erotica?”
“No. Of course not.” She wasn't exactly lying, her latest steamy novel was hidden beneath her laundry.
“Oh, don't tell me. Thou art readeth classical literatura.”
She smiled. “No. And that sentence doesn't make any sense.”
“Regency romances.”
“Nope.”
“Books that I won't even try reading their titles out loud that all ends with somebody dead and someone vowing revenge.”
Bella winced, am I really that boring?
“No, I'm-” She rolled her eyes. “I'm reading crime books with a supernatural bent.”
“Supernatural?”
She sighed and muttered. “Werewolves.”
All right, Jacob didn't actually die with glee...he howled...with laughter. And to her eternal embarrassment, she heard another all too familiar voice. “What's the joke?”
“Embry, hear this. Bella's reading about werewolves.”
“I'm not reading about werewolves par se. They're just a gimmick.”
She groaned when another familiar voice entered the conversation. She should have known really.
“Who's reading werewolf books?” Quil nosed in.
“Bella.” Embry gasped out. She sighed into the phone that was filled with their hilarity. She glanced at Damien who was looking at her with interest when she pulled her cell a few inches away from her ear, then quickly put it close to her ear and hunched her shoulders.
“Why do you bother, Bella? If you want to know about werewolves, you could just ask.”
“It wasn't like I picked the books, we had a lottery.” She pouted.
Jacob chuckled. “All right, all right. Both of you go away.” She heard a thump, a scuffle and Jacob's snicker.
“Hey, you heading here tonight?”
“What?”
“It's Friday, Bells. Come on.”
Her fingers fidgeted with her bracelet. “I don't know.”
“I'm not asking you because of....that. Whenever you're ready, Bells.”
She heaved a quiet, relieved breath.
“I do want to see you, though.” He continued. “There's a new moon tonight.”
“And?”
“We have this tradition.”
A trickle of anxiety weaved through her heart. “Uh huh. What kind of tradition?”
“You'll see when you get here.”
“Can't you just tell me what it is?”
“Nope.”
“Not even if I say please?”
“Nope.”
“Not even if I bring you sweet potato pies?”
She giggled when she heard him suck in a breath. “That's a low blow, Bells.”
“Come on, Jake. Why can't you just tell me?”
“It'll ruin the surprise.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You know I hate surprises.”
“Yup.”
“Why do always do this to me?”
“Because it's fun.”
“I could just stay here.”
“Won't do yo any good. I'll just come get you.”
She made a noise. “I forgot that about you.”
His voice was all amusement. “What's that?”
“That your so pushy.”
“And yet, you love me anyway.”
“Mmm.” She sighed. “Is this one of those traditions that requires me to wear knee pads and a helmet?”
His laughter made her mouth quirk up. “You'll be with me, Bells. I'm all you need.”
Bella caught her reflection on one of the ovens and watched happiness flirt on her face. I'm starting to get that impression. She sighed. “All right.”
“All right. Wait, you're not going to wait until you closed down right? Cut out early.”
“Yes, mom.”
“Ha.”
Bella smiled then played with the sticker again when the silence between them stretched. “So, I better pack.”
“Okay.”
“You should probably get back to work.”
“Probably. Call me when you get here.”
“I will.”
“Drive safely.”
“I will.” She smiled. “Don't get too enthusiastic and you know, hammer down a building, all right?”
He snorted. “You should see what Quil did to one of the doors.”
“It was an accident!” Quil yelled at them.
She joined him in laughter that faded away into a smile and she knew, knew that he was smiling too and it made her feel all warm inside.
“All right.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, look.” Bella jolted at the sound of Tina's voice that was too close for comfort from where she was sitting. She straightened to see them and scowled when she saw Tina and Misha smiled sickening sweet at her. “They're going to do the 'you hang up' 'no you hang up' routine.”
Misha sighed and batted her eyelashes. “That is so sweet.”
“I have to go kill my employees and stuff their bodies in the dumpster, Jake.”
Jacob's voice was filled with smiles. “If you have to bleed them, bleed them on the tiles, Bells. Easier to clean up after.”
“Good idea. Bye.”
“See you tonight.”
She flipped close her cell and slid down the stool. “I’m going to pack.” She declared, sniffed and pivoted to do an exit that would make Lulu proud. But in true Bella style, she stubbed her foot on a nearby table leg. She glared with watery eyes at Misha and Tina who maintained their too sweet smile and Damien's interested eyes, before she swept out the kitchen.
Four days, from the morning that she woke up, thought about what happened the night before and immediately called Jacob and said that she was going back to Port Angeles. Not to run away, at least that was what she said, but to think.
She needed time to think.
It sounded lame even in her head but Jacob didn't comment negatively. He merely wished her a safe drive.
Which, of course made her feel even more guilty and stupid.
It took her four days.
Four days where the solemness, the heat and the certainty of his words echoed inside her head and the feel of his mouth pulsed on her skin. The memory of the kiss shot to the surface of her mind in odd and awkward moments, resulting in more than her usual trademark clumsiness and red faced stuttering that drew speculative looks from Lulu, Tina, Misha and even the usually oblivious Brian.
Damian however, merely looked at her with an amused, indulgent look on his face. Of course, that was how he usually looked at her. Like she was a three year old that did something interesting.
It certainly didn't help.
It was on the fourth day that her accident prone behavior forced Lulu, with something that looked uncomfortably similar to glee on her face for Bella's comfort, to banish her into the kitchen where she sat on a high stool behind one of the tables and, ignoring Damian's amused smirk, hid her face behind the latest fiction about--roll eyes with irony--werewolves.
Oh, if Jacob saw her reading it...
She dimmed the grin on her face when she saw Misha raised a brow and exchanged a smug look with Tina who passed by carrying a load of dirty dishes.
It took her exactly four days to finally notice the added charm on her bracelet and even then, much to her dismay and horror, was because Tina pointed it out to her.
"Hey, " she chirped as she dumped the plates into the kitchen sink. "You finally added a charm. What is it? What is it? Let me see."
It was then, when Tina grabbed her wrist and squinted that she finally saw the tiny yet detailed carving of a dark brown wooden spoon, dangling innocently a few chains away from wolf and sea shell.
She gaped at it and not hearing Tina's offended 'hey!', pulled her hand closer to her face and focused her eyes intently on the spoon and felt her throat clutched with too many jumbled emotions that had her fingers scrambling, digging inside her pocket for her cell phone. Flipping it open, she pressed the number 2 speed dial.
With her eyes still on the charm she waited, her mouth still hanging open, for Jacob to pick up. When he did, he was laughing and the sound of it spilled over the phone to her ear and into her heart, her mouth curving into a wide grin that she couldn't see but everybody else noted.
Lulu was smiling in a satisfied manner while Lulu and Tina sighed, murmuring 'she has him on speed dial' to each other while Brian and Damian rolled their eyes.
"Hello?" His voice, that familiar husky tone of it, made her smile even wider.
"Jake?"
The amusement in his voice stilled but she could sense the smile on his voice. "...Bella?"
She heard something heavy clanged against a solid object and her brow furrowed at the loud, hammering and the voices of people yelling over the general racket.
"Bells, will you wait a sec?"
"OK." She squirmed on her seat, already starting to regret her impulsiveness when he murmured something to somebody. There were a sound of movement and the rustle of clothes and when the sounds lessen, she knew he was walking away from the crowd. She wondered whether she had interrupted something.
When his voice came on again, it was warm and affectionate. "Hey, what's up?"
She scratched her nose in sudden awkwardness, suddenly, the bubbly, golden feeling that whirl inside her earlier on made her feel silly and somewhat shy. "It's not really important. I mean, if you’re busy-"
"Bells, " The tone of his voice was amusedly patient. "Talk to me."
"It's just that I--" A gushing female voice twittered from out of the speaker and she halted. Her voice faded even more when Jake murmured back. "No, honey, don't touch that."
She felt her heart plummet and twist at the low rumble of Jacob's chuckle, murmuring yet again in that tone of voice that made her heart ache. His words didn't register because her mind was ruthlessly honing onto the point that Jacob had called the nameless and faceless girl; honey...as in honey...as in the special way Jacob used to call her and only her.
From the sound of her voice, Bella knew that the girl was standing awfully close to Jacob and that Jacob was letting her, she must be practically on his lap. She bit her lip through the haze of disbelief, the prickles of pain and the sharp pinch of jealousy.
Jacob did mention that he hadn't stay chaste, and why would he? And considering their history, she wasn't in the position to expect it of him but...after last night....Her mind flinched at how her imagination supplied her with the picture of Jacob wrapped around numerous faceless woman even though how much she berated herself that she knew better.
It was obvious that Jacob wasn't the type of man who'd lack female companionship, and she could barely blame her sex for being attracted to him when she of all people should know what the attraction was.
It wasn't just looks, even though his looks were spectacular and then some, without being perfect or intimidating to the female senses. It was the...the...he was just so...Bella scowled at her phone and was barely able to keep her fingers from twitching and 'accidentally' hang up on him.
The girl spoke with a lisp, for God's sake. And was probably simpering and batting her eyelashes at him. She bet a lot of guys thought the lisp sexy. Stupid men and their hormones...
She didn't realize that Lulu saw the dark expression on her face and sent an inquisitive look to Tina who mouthed "Jacob" to her, she was too busy fanning the fire that was rapidly rising inside and thankfully, swallowing up all of her hurt.
It was just four days ago that he asked her, in such a sweet and sincere manner that warmed her heart, to give her a chance and already, he was flirting with another girl, right in front of her! Well, through a phone but still...
Fueled with self righteous anger she was about to hang up on him since it seemed he'd forgotten about her anyway but before she ram her finger on the button, Jacob cut his little conversation short.
"Sorry, honey. I'm a little busy here."
She couldn't help but gape at the phone at the dismissive tone in his voice. She pulled away the phone from her ear and stared at it like it had suddenly growled at her. Who was this condescending jerk? Where was her Jacob who was kind, respectful and warm hearted?
"Give me a kiss before you run along." He heard him laugh, the loud sound of a kiss.
Give me a kiss before you run along?, Bella choked with indignation that was speared with something uncomfortably akin to jealousy, not that she would admit it. That burning twist in her stomach was anger. Really.
She blinked and only return the phone back to her ear when she heard him call her name. "Sorry about that Bells, she was--"
The last thing she wanted was to talk about another girl who kissed him. Especially when he was the one who asked her to do it. "How can you talk to her like that?" She barked at to the phone.
"What?"
Oh, listen to him. What, was she? Deaf? Didn't he expect her to be able to listen to that? Was that intentional?
"How can you talk to her like that? You can't talk to a girl like that? And really, Jake. I expected more from you. You used to know how to treat girls with more respect-"
"Wait. What? Her? You mean Katie?"
Katie. Hah. She's probably blond with big boobs.
"I don't know, Jake. Have you been kissing a lot of girls lately that you can't remember their names?" She wanted to bite her tongue when she saw Damian and Lulu whirled toward her, half grinning, eyes glinting with interest.
"Excuse me?"
Listen to him. He sounds so calm. Not even flustered that she caught him.
"Kiss me before you run along? Before you run a-long? What is she? 10?"
"Actually, she's eight."
"You can't talk a girl like-what?"
"Katie. She's eight."
Bella could hear the grin in his voice and she closed her eyes in embarrassment, not even bothering to fight the blush that heated up her face.
"She likes chocolate milk and piggy back rides which was what she was trying to guilt me into doing for the third time."
"Oh." Her voice sounded unnaturally high.
Bella passed a hand on her hot face and opened one eye when he sighed into the phone.
"I was afraid of this, Bells."
"What-what do you mean?"
"I should have known really, I mean, I thought you'll be like this..."
Her heart clenched at the somber tone of his voice. "What?"
"You know, that you're gonna be one of those."
Her brow wrinkled but waited for him to continue.
"A jealous girlfriend."
She sucked in a breath when his laugh reverberated into her ear. “I am not-I was not-”
“But really, she's only eight, Bells-”
She gritted her teeth, her embarrassment was slowly giving way to irritation. “Jake-”
“Besides, can you really blame her for finding me ruggedly handsome and strong when you yourself cannot resist me my astounding good looks?”
“Jake, my finger is on the end button.” She told him and tried really, really hard not to smile when he laughed.
“Really, Bells.” He chided her softly. “Why would I want someone else when I have you?”
Her eyes shifted to some old sticker that was stuck on the wall no matter what she did to pull it off, her fingers fretting at its edges.
“So? Did you call me for a reason rather than just because you miss me?”
She opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again and watched the light glitter on her bracelet. “Thanks for the charm.” She said softly.
“Ah.” There was amusement in his voice; sweet and thick like candy. “I was wondering when you would notice. Thought it would be sooner though.”
She winced and poked even harder at the sticker. “The store's been a little crazy and it's just always there and...” She bit her lips. “It's beautiful, Jake. Really. I love it.”
“...your welcome, Bells.”
For a long minute, Bella contented herself smiling into the distance while she basked in the warm welcoming feeling that she always sensed from him. Enjoying the feeling that he was there with her even though he was miles away. This was what she missed most and she has it now and if she wanted, it could be hers, always.
Something stuck in her throat. Maybe it was the word. Always. She remembered saying it to another boy, to another love.
“Jake?”
“Mm?”
Tell me that you love me. That me you'll never leave me. That it's all going to be alright.
“Is there...is there going to be more?”
“Do you want more?”
“No, of course not.”
“You don't want more?”
“No. Yes. Wait-”
“You need time to think about it?” He teased.
“Oh, shut up, Jake. You know what I mean.”
“...don't you like them, Bells?”
She could hear the hesitation in his voice and felt her chest tighten. “Of course I do. How can I not?”
“So you like them?”
“Jake, I love them. They’re beautiful and so...” She sighed as her fingers fiddled with the little charms, before she always worry that she would lose them, that they would break away, or wither away every time she touched them. “You've always got such talented hands.”
She frowned when she heard a choking sound from behind her, a look over her shoulder showed that Tina, Lulu, Misha each had a hand on Brian's mouth while Damien was grinning wickedly at her. “Aren't you guys suppose to be working?” She asked scathingly, trying not to pout when she heard Jacob chuckle.
“Are they listening in?”
“Not anymore.” She glared the snickering girls (Lulu included), eyed the unrepentant Damien, ignored Brian's impish grin and squirmed on the stool she was sitting on and gave them her back.
She heard another bang and someone shout something inaudible from the phone. “Are you busy?”
“I can spare a few minutes to talk. A minute.” She heard a rustle. “Kyle, if I see you do that one more time, I'll hang you from a tree by your toes. Sky, get that saw away from there.” His voice lowered and she could hear the sound of childish laughter in the background. “Sorry. Kids nowadays, think they know everything.”
“Where are you?”
“At the elementary school. The storm blew a tree into one of the classrooms and blew the hell out of some of the windows. There's gonna be a bit of fixing up to be done.”
She nodded to no one in particular, remembering her conversation with her dad just that morning. “Charlie did mention that you're up and about helping out around the reservation.”
She heard the sound of clothes rustling. “Yeah, you know how it is, most of the houses are made of wood older than my grandfather.” He chuckled.
Again, Bella was struck by how selfless he was sometimes. Was it a tribe thing or a Jacob thing? Was he raised or was he born this way?
“What about your work?”
She could almost see him shrug. “The beauty of owning your own business, Bells. Besides, it's not like we have to do this all day. Most of us already know how to pound a nail or reframe a window, I'm just here to supervise.” He added with a cocky note in his voice.
“Don't do that.” She said softly. “It's really great what you're doing, Jake. Not everybody will stop what they're doing because their neighbors are having a hard time. What you and the guys are doing is—I'm really proud of you, Jake.”
“...thanks.” She heard the emotion in his voice, how it changed from smooth to raspy and felt her warmed.
She smiled. “You're welcome.”
“Bells?”
She caught an ink stain on one of the counters and scowled at it, noting it mentally and deciding to tackle it later. “Hm?”
“I'm proud of you, too.”
Her heart jumped up her throat.
“It's not easy, what you've done. What you're still doing.”
Her eyes heated and stung. She had a feeling that he wasn't talking about her business. She never imagine of him acknowledging that part of her life, much less thought it was something that he would be proud of. She never expected for her to need him to be proud of her but from the loosening sensation in her heart, she now knew that she did.
As if he knew, his voice lowered even more, softening. “I mean it, Bells. I know it wasn't easy, still isn't but you're dealing with it and you're doing great. I am very, very proud of you, Bella Swan.”
Her breath hitched and she took a shuddering breath to keep herself from bawling. She swallowed and tried to clear her throat. “Thanks. Thanks, Jake. That means a lot to me.”
She wiped a hand on her wet eyes and wallowed in the comfortable silence that she always had with Jacob.
“So,” Jacob started, his voice returned to his usual teasing note. “What have you been doing?”
She coughed. “I'm at the shop, uh, I told you that we have books coming in and as usual, we're busy with displays and well, reading them.”
“Owning a book store is just you, Bells.”
She managed a laugh. “It's part of our 'give better service' actually. Each of us have several popular books to read so we can give advice on what works best for who.”
“Hey, that's a good idea. I hate it when you go into a book store and they just go 'huh?'.”
She smirked. “You read?”
“Ha, Bells. Actually, I've been looking for this one book to complete my collection.”
She blinked. Jacob does read, a lot. More than her in some areas but he wasn't the type to collect books. It pained her the way he treated books. “Wow, really? What is it?”
“Dr. Seuss-Sleep book.”
Bella stared at the spot on a wall as if she was staring at Jacob's face. “You're kidding.”
“No, I'm not. I have everything of Dr. Seuss but that.”
She wanted to think he was joking but he sounded so serious, which was why she wasn't laughing her ass off. “Why?”
“It was one of the books my mom read to me, she taught me how to read with it.”
“Oh.” Now what she was going to say? And of course, Jacob would do something so sweet. To collect something that reminded him of his mom. “That's the only one you don't have?”
“Yeah.” He heard him sigh. “I probably can get it from the internet but I don't want to get it that way, you know. I want to touch it with my hands. Feel its weight on my fingers.”
“Yeah. I understand.”
She heard him laugh. “I figured. Hey, so, what are you reading?”
Glad to have evaded that sensitive land mind, primarily because she didn't know what to say, the answer almost leaped onto her lips before she manage to clamp down on it. “Um. Nothing special.”
She winced at her attempt on a nonchalant answer, she could practically hear his interest perking up.
“Bella,” His voice liquid chocolate; smooth, delicious and succulent. “ Are you reading Erotica?”
“No. Of course not.” She wasn't exactly lying, her latest steamy novel was hidden beneath her laundry.
“Oh, don't tell me. Thou art readeth classical literatura.”
She smiled. “No. And that sentence doesn't make any sense.”
“Regency romances.”
“Nope.”
“Books that I won't even try reading their titles out loud that all ends with somebody dead and someone vowing revenge.”
Bella winced, am I really that boring?
“No, I'm-” She rolled her eyes. “I'm reading crime books with a supernatural bent.”
“Supernatural?”
She sighed and muttered. “Werewolves.”
All right, Jacob didn't actually die with glee...he howled...with laughter. And to her eternal embarrassment, she heard another all too familiar voice. “What's the joke?”
“Embry, hear this. Bella's reading about werewolves.”
“I'm not reading about werewolves par se. They're just a gimmick.”
She groaned when another familiar voice entered the conversation. She should have known really.
“Who's reading werewolf books?” Quil nosed in.
“Bella.” Embry gasped out. She sighed into the phone that was filled with their hilarity. She glanced at Damien who was looking at her with interest when she pulled her cell a few inches away from her ear, then quickly put it close to her ear and hunched her shoulders.
“Why do you bother, Bella? If you want to know about werewolves, you could just ask.”
“It wasn't like I picked the books, we had a lottery.” She pouted.
Jacob chuckled. “All right, all right. Both of you go away.” She heard a thump, a scuffle and Jacob's snicker.
“Hey, you heading here tonight?”
“What?”
“It's Friday, Bells. Come on.”
Her fingers fidgeted with her bracelet. “I don't know.”
“I'm not asking you because of....that. Whenever you're ready, Bells.”
She heaved a quiet, relieved breath.
“I do want to see you, though.” He continued. “There's a new moon tonight.”
“And?”
“We have this tradition.”
A trickle of anxiety weaved through her heart. “Uh huh. What kind of tradition?”
“You'll see when you get here.”
“Can't you just tell me what it is?”
“Nope.”
“Not even if I say please?”
“Nope.”
“Not even if I bring you sweet potato pies?”
She giggled when she heard him suck in a breath. “That's a low blow, Bells.”
“Come on, Jake. Why can't you just tell me?”
“It'll ruin the surprise.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You know I hate surprises.”
“Yup.”
“Why do always do this to me?”
“Because it's fun.”
“I could just stay here.”
“Won't do yo any good. I'll just come get you.”
She made a noise. “I forgot that about you.”
His voice was all amusement. “What's that?”
“That your so pushy.”
“And yet, you love me anyway.”
“Mmm.” She sighed. “Is this one of those traditions that requires me to wear knee pads and a helmet?”
His laughter made her mouth quirk up. “You'll be with me, Bells. I'm all you need.”
Bella caught her reflection on one of the ovens and watched happiness flirt on her face. I'm starting to get that impression. She sighed. “All right.”
“All right. Wait, you're not going to wait until you closed down right? Cut out early.”
“Yes, mom.”
“Ha.”
Bella smiled then played with the sticker again when the silence between them stretched. “So, I better pack.”
“Okay.”
“You should probably get back to work.”
“Probably. Call me when you get here.”
“I will.”
“Drive safely.”
“I will.” She smiled. “Don't get too enthusiastic and you know, hammer down a building, all right?”
He snorted. “You should see what Quil did to one of the doors.”
“It was an accident!” Quil yelled at them.
She joined him in laughter that faded away into a smile and she knew, knew that he was smiling too and it made her feel all warm inside.
“All right.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, look.” Bella jolted at the sound of Tina's voice that was too close for comfort from where she was sitting. She straightened to see them and scowled when she saw Tina and Misha smiled sickening sweet at her. “They're going to do the 'you hang up' 'no you hang up' routine.”
Misha sighed and batted her eyelashes. “That is so sweet.”
“I have to go kill my employees and stuff their bodies in the dumpster, Jake.”
Jacob's voice was filled with smiles. “If you have to bleed them, bleed them on the tiles, Bells. Easier to clean up after.”
“Good idea. Bye.”
“See you tonight.”
She flipped close her cell and slid down the stool. “I’m going to pack.” She declared, sniffed and pivoted to do an exit that would make Lulu proud. But in true Bella style, she stubbed her foot on a nearby table leg. She glared with watery eyes at Misha and Tina who maintained their too sweet smile and Damien's interested eyes, before she swept out the kitchen.
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