Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

Paprika
By : Attitudinal
Category: Twilight Series > Het
Views: 7262 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.
Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Understanding

~

Two hours later found Jacob sitting uncomfortably in the chair. He barely noticed it though, and only rose to re-wet the washcloth he had placed over Charla’s forehead, and get more water to slip between her dry lips. Charla’s fever had gone down considerably, and she was starting to look much less flushed. Pressing a wavering hand to her forehead, Jacob sighed, relieved. The fever had not completely broken yet, but it was close. He felt her stirring underneath his palm, and smiled. He lifted his hand away quickly, and looked down at Charla’s face. Her eyes were closed, the dark lashes resting against her caramel skin. Her dread locks had fallen haphazardly around her face, and Jacob stroked one cheek tiredly. She opened one eye, and coughed loudly. Jacob smiled.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she responded, her voice cracking and husky. “Aren’t you tired?” He shook his head, and yawned. “You should… Get some sleep.” She yawned herself, and pushed herself over to the wall. “You can lay down, if you want…” she said, closing her eyes, and patting the space next to her. “I… trust you.” She hacked again, and Jacob got gently into the bed, peeling back the covers a little. Charla settled against his chest, and sighed. Jake put one arm around her, and looked down at the top of her head. She looked so cute like that, so small, curled up against him. The bed was warm already, almost uncomfortably so for him, and he almost got up, not wanting to overheat her. Charla clutched at his shirt, and groaned.

“If I’m too warm, it could be bad for you, you could overheat,” he said carefully, staring into Charla’s drowsy eyes. She didn’t give him the chance to make the decision, when she wrapped her arms around him, and proceeded to go back to sleep. Jacob sighed. At least her fever was going down. He closed his eyes, and patted the top of her head.

Jacob tried not to fall asleep, but was unsuccessful, and Charla would swear later that his snores shook the bed.

~

Charla woke several hours later, feeling uncomfortably warm. She tried to sit up, but Jake’s arm lay heavily across her stomach, and she grunted with effort trying to move it. Crawling over him, and onto the floor, Charla felt a little dizzy when the world seemed reluctant to situate itself to her vertical position, and she nearly fell back onto the bed. Her throat felt dry and a little sore, but she ignored it as she swallowed come cold medicine, followed by a swig of water to chase away the bitter taste. Grimacing and making a face, she turned back to the bed, where Jacob was snoring loudly. Charla glanced at the clock. It was eleven in the morning. She cursed under her breath. One day, she had wasted being sick… The medication began to work, and Charla felt her head clear. She sat back down on the bed, and leaned her head against her knee. The sweatpants she was wearing were soft against her cheek as she listened to the light sound of her own breathing.

“Are you okay?” She jumped as Jacob grasped her wrist gently. She smiled warmly at him, and nodded.

“Feeling much better, actually.” His grin was a little lopsided, and she smiled back. “Thank you for taking care of me.” His smile widened mischievously.

“You didn’t exactly make it easy.” Charla ducked her head apologetically at his words.

“I’m busy, what can I say?” she laughed, and he hugged her. Charla felt nervous for a nanosecond, but that faded quickly. His fingers accidentally grazed her sides, and she jumped. “Don’t do that!” she said, gasping. Jacob smirked, proud of his discovery.

“What?” he said innocently, digging his fingers into her belly. “This?” Charla shrieked with laughter, and tried tickling him back, but to no avail. “Won’t work,” he said calmly, holding her wriggling body down to the bed, his attack relentless. “Not ticklish.” He continued his assault, poking her sides and stomach incessantly.

“S-stop!” Jacob let up reluctantly, his dark eyes misting over with an emotion Charla couldn’t quite name. Charla was still gasping slightly, more so from the heat pooling in her stomach, than from their intense tickle fight.

“Can I kiss you?” he said huskily, stroking the side of her face. Charla couldn’t find the words to deny him in that moment. In fact, she couldn’t find any words at all, so she simply nodded breathlessly. His heated lips crashed against her own, and all of Charla’s thoughts were swept away by the tide that was Jacob Black; her morning breath, the fact that she severely wanted to take a shower, her coming family, and possibly her impending move; all of this was gone, and all she could think of was getting closer to that hot mouth. Within moments, she found herself straddling his lap, with his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. Still, she found that same feeling creeping up again, the need to be closer, to be a part of him. She pressed her breasts into his chest, and Jacob groaned against her lips. This unbridled passion, this was what had been missing from her life; her drugged out brother, and absent minded father, they could never have brought this to her. And imagine, it had ended up falling right into her lap. (After, of course, being shot twice, and turning out to be a little more than human.)

These thoughts were also rapidly disintegrating as Jake pressed his tongue against her lips, asking for entrance. Charla quickly granted it to him, letting him map every corner of her mouth. Without thinking, she ground down on his leg, and his hands tightened around her.

“Don’t do that,” he panted against her mouth, not willing to break contact just yet. “I can’t… I won’t be able to control myself.”

Charla leaned against him, nodding. His lips were pressed against hers again, and his hands were roaming all over her back, and stomach. Everywhere he touched tingled, and Charla gasped when he palmed her breast, her head falling back, and away from him. He massaged her gently, all the while kissing and biting at her neck, whispering words of love and devotion. Charla arched her back, and gasped. Jacob pulled her back to him, and crashed his lips against her again. A small part of her was muttering that she had to stop, she wasn’t ready yet. Charla was about to silence it for good, and lock it in a cell deep in her mind, when the phone rang. She was dazed for a minute, before realizing that the irritating ringing was her house phone. Lunging off of Jake’s lap, Charla grabbed for the phone, pressing it to her ear. She could tell that her voice sounded husky and out of breath, but Charla tried to sound relatively normal.

“H-Hello?”

“Charlotte! Why did it take you so long to answer the phone?” her father’s voice sounded tired, and worried.

“I was, uh, sleeping.” Charla rolled her eyes, irritated. Of all times for him to try to be an attentive parent… “What’s up?”

“You were sick before, and I wanted to see if you were going to be alright. We were worried about you.” Charla narrowed her eyes at the “we”, and snorted, which, to hide, she turned into a cough. “You don’t sound so well.”

“I’m fine dad,” she said, glancing at Jacob out of the corner of her eye, and wishing he would stop looking at her so… hungrily. “How’s the deal going?”

“It fell through. Dame’s already looking for new prospects. He’s got three lined up now. The client didn’t like our designs. He said they were too extravagant for his billboards.” Charla mouthed a curse, knowing that that would put Damien in a foul mood. “We’re getting on a flight tomorrow.”

“Don’t you want to spend some more time in D.C?” she said, running a hand through her dreads, and toying with one strand nervously. “Take some pictures, see the sights? I mean, how many times do you get to go see Washington D.C., right?” she rambled nervously. She wanted more time alone with Jacob… He was expecting her to make an important decision, and she couldn’t do it on a whim.

“Sweetheart, I worry about you. So does Damien. We didn’t like leaving you there the whole summer, it couldn’t have been very much fun. So we’re coming back early.” Her father’s voice tightened. “And how is this Jacob character?”

“He’s fine. Actually, I have to have a serious talk with you guys when you get back. Do you think you can… avoid Damien, at least, until we’re done?”

“Charla, of course you can talk to me. Is it about him?” he asked, and Charla’s chest constricted.

“Well, yeah, it is.”Charla heard her father gasp.

“Are you pregnant? Because young lady, I raised you better than that!”

“Dad! I’m not pregnant! I just want to talk to you when you get here. Okay? Don’t go jumping to conclusions like that,” she laughed nervously. “Anyway, what do you want for dinner? I’ll make you something special.”

“No need. Don’t go to any trouble to make us anything. Listen, We’ve got to go make sure that our checkout is cleared for tomorrow, okay? I’ll talk to you before the flight. I love you!”

“Love you too, Dad.” The line went dead. Charla’s heart was banging in her chest as she hung up the phone. Jacob pouted sexily on the bed.

“I don’t think we were done kissing,” he said, rising from the bed and stretching.

“I would hardly call that a single kiss.” Charla said impishly, her cheeks reddening as he came ever closer. Jacob kissed the tip of her nose, and grinned at her.

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” she smiled.

“Would you rather I be pliant and easy?”

“No,” he said quickly. “I like you tough and irate.” She stuck her tongue out at him, and Jake smirked. “Why do you have to talk to your father about me, exactly?” he questioned, and Charla took a step back.

“I want to ask him for a plane ticket.” At first, he looked adorably confused, and Charla grinned.

“Where are you going?” he whined, and the smirk faded from her face. He thought she was leaving him. Charla supposed it was time to allay his fears.

“A certain someone offered another certain someone a certain place to visit in Forks, Washington. I hope the offer has not been rescinded?” One moment she was staring teasingly up at him, and the next, she was being swung around the room in circles, above Jake’s head.

“You’ll go? You’ll come home with me?” his grin nearly split his face, and Charla felt his own happiness bubbling up in her chest. He set her down on the rug in her room, and held her close. “I love you,” he murmured into her ear, kissing the shell of it gently. Charla felt the air rush out of her lungs. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t love him yet, but she certainly liked him. A hell of a lot. He seemed to sense her anxiety, and lifted her chin. “You don’t have to answer yet. Just… let me hold you.”

“Okay.” She whispered softly, and hugged him. The hallway clock struck nine, and Charla pushed away from him. “Argh. We still need to finish cleaning the house,” she muttered, rubbing her temples. “Let’s get started.”

~

Jacob felt lightheaded for the rest of the day. After Charla suggested that they begin to clean the house, he kept finding his way to her. Finally, she grew irritated, and practically threw the vacuum cleaner at him, and told him to clean up the den. Jacob complied, making sure to slide his fingers across her back as he passed. Even with the vacuum cleaner roaring in his ears, he could hear her upstairs, puttering around, putting clothes away, and shoving things into different places. He was so content listening to her that he bumped into the couches several times, tripping over the wire from the vacuum cleaner, and his own feet.

She was coming back with him. Jacob heard her cough from the upstairs hallway, and turned off the cleaner. He was up the stairs in half a second, and grabbing the medicine from her room. In another moment, he was behind her, patting her back, and shoving the medicine at her. Charla waved him away, and continued to clean up the guest room. There was little to do here, it seemed—all she had to do was strip the bed, and tidy up the night stand. Jacob remained stoic, holding the meds out in front of him, until Charla snatched them from his hands, and took each pill with a swig of water. Satisfied that he had done his job, Jacob returned to attempting to clean the den, while Charla removed the sheets from the bed. Forcing himself to focus on the task that she had given him, Jacob continued to tidy up the den. When he was done, he practically threw the vacuum cleaner into the closet, and dashed upstairs, nearly crashing into Charla.

“It can’t be medicine time again, can it?” she groaned, tucking a few errant strands of hair behind her ears. The fever flush on her caramel skin was beginning to return, but it had only been two hours since he had last forced her to take some cold medicine, so he knew he’d have to wait it out to make her take more.

“Unfortunately not,” he said, observing the result of her cleaning. It didn’t look much different than it had before, excepting for the freshly cleaned smell. Charla wiped one hand over her forehead, and looked at him, exhaling slowly.

~

“Good. That crap leaves a disgusting aftertaste.” Charla was still very nervous around Jacob; after all, she’d told him that she would try to leave with him. It had been a spur of the moment decision, one that she hadn’t been entirely prepared to make. But if Charla was going to be honest with herself, which seemed to be happening more and more, what was here for her? She hadn’t gone to college, she was living with her father, had a very low paying job, and sometimes got knocked around by her drug abusing sibling. (Not that she didn’t hit back…) It wasn’t that she wasn’t willing to go to Washington, and try to make things work, it was the fact that it required her getting on a plane, and flying across the country, to a place she had never been to before, with a man she’d met only a few days prior. She supposed that for once in her life it was time to be spontaneous, and live a little. If this thing didn’t work out, she could always come back home. Better yet, she didn’t even have to come home. She’d be twenty in three months, more than old enough to eke out a living on her own. She could move to California with her mother, and go to college. Charla smiled lightly. She hadn’t realized there were so many different options for her elsewhere. She rather liked the thought of not having to return to her father’s house.

“Are you okay?” Jacob asked, jarring her out of her thoughts. She nodded, and slid down the wall to sit on the carpeted floor of the hallway. Charla blinked once, and Jacob was beside her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and sighed. She glanced up and down the hallway. Her life here had not been a bad one; there were far more good memories than bad ones. When her brother had been gone, before he’d turned into a dick; those were all good times. And even when he had hit her, her retribution had been swift, a quick hard cuff to the head, a kick aimed sharply for his groin. Charla sighed. There was, at least, one thing she knew she had to do before she left on her little adventure.

She had to tell her father about Damien. Maybe not everything, because even people like her brother deserved a second chance, but she still had to bust him to her dad. There was no way around it. As absentminded as he was, he still deserved to know the truth, though she hated to hurt the man.

She felt Jacob’s fingers lace through her dreds, tugging them gently. She turned her face upward slightly.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, kissing her forehead. She shook her head.

“Not much. Just the things I’m going to miss while I’m gone.”

“What will you miss?”

She sighed.

“My dad, most of all. I’ve gotten rather used to him,” she joked. “So. Tell me about Forks.” Jacob started.

“What do you want to know, exactly?” he hedged. Charla frowned, and thought for a minute.

“Friends, family, where you live, what you do for a living, and what are those other ‘supernatural beings’ that you have to protect people from?” she asked, stringing out all of her current questions.

“Uh, let’s see, my friends are mostly my pack, and the women that they’ve imprinted on; I really don’t socialize much outside that, I guess. I live with my dad,” Charla raised an eyebrow at this. “I’m only twenty!” he said, defending himself. “I fix up cars and motorcycles. I’m pretty good at it.” He paused. “And as for the last one, uh, the only things we know about in those parts are Vampires.”

“Hmm. So vampires exist too?” she asked, looking skeptical. “Any other monsters I should know about before I head east?” Charla groaned, how many other things were real?

“Not that I know of.”

“Is all of that mythology true about them?” she replied, now leaning back to lie over his lap, facing him. “Crosses churches, daylight, garlic, blood?”

“Just the blood, I think. Personally, there are quite a few things that are common misconceptions. Holy things don’t hurt them, it’s got nothing to do with ungodliness on their part; so they say. They walk in daylight, and many of them do drink human blood. There are some, though, that try to sustain themselves on a diet of animal blood.”

“Really? Like, vegetarians?” she asked, truly curious. Jacob scowled.

“I suppose you could call them that, yes.”

“Why do you look so upset?” her next question seemed to catch him off guard, and Charla watched Jacob flounder for words.

“We… have a truce with some… vegetarians, but things can still get a little tense between us.”

“Yes, well, you seem to especially hate them. Did something bad happen?” Charla always prided herself on being a little overly perceptive. She had a feeling that this trait was getting her a little more information than what he was comfortable with telling her.

“I loved a girl who loved a vampire. She chose him. Now she’s one of them.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Even to her, her voice sounded small. Charla sighed. She supposed she could deal with being the rebound girl. He looked down at her, most of the sadness gone from his face. He seemed to see her recoil a little inside herself, and he grasped her chin gently.

“But that has nothing to do with you and me.” He said, letting go of her face to pull her up to sit on his lap.

“Nothing at all. What I felt for her occurred naturally, that’s true, but even though I loved her, it could never have compared to what I may have with you.” Charla felt her face warm at his words, and she smiled. He didn’t ask her permission this time, but she didn’t care. He pressed his lips against hers, and she moaned throatily. Her eyes fluttered shut, and his arms encircled her. Charla boldly opened her mouth against his, and he swept his tongue inside, twisting it around hers, and groaning lightly when he felt her heated center press against the swelling crotch of his pants. Charla barely remembered his previous warning, about not being able to control himself if things went too far, but she couldn’t have cared less. With him, something primal had awakened within her, and with it, a burning ache between her thighs, and she pressed herself against him. He kissed her hungrily, his hands finding their way to her breasts and kneading them through her bra. Charla could feel the heat of his body through her clothes, and her nipples hardened. Jacob smiled against her mouth, and tweaked them playfully. She tore herself away from his mouth, and gasped, her head lolling back as he attached himself to her neck. She didn’t care that there would be a dark purple bruise when he was finished, she only cared that he didn’t stop.

Charla ground down on him again, gasping when he thrust up to meet her hips. She bit her lip, and rocked her hips into his again. Jacob detached his mouth from her neck, and licked the spot that he had been paying so much attention to. Charla arched her breasts into his palms, and continued to rub her throbbing center against his cock. Through both sets of their clothing, she could easily feel his hardness against her, and for some reason, it gave her a sense of power. She had done that; she had made him rock hard with his want of her. Her entire body tightened, and she shuddered. Charla heard a door bang shut, and it startled her out of Jacob’s embrace.

“Hello? Charlotte, my dad got a call from your dad, he wanted me to come check on you!”

It was Rob. Jacob’s arms encircled her protectively, and a low growl emanated from his chest. She hushed him, and tried to speak steadily.

“Everything’s fine, Rob! Just, uh, cleaning!” She tried not to be annoyed at her overprotective father, but it was difficult. Every single time something was happening, someone interrupted them! She supposed it was for the best, she was the one trying to take things slowly.

“How did he get in here?” Jacob asked quietly, so much so, that Charla had to strain to hear him.

“I told you, he’s a family friend, he has a key!” she muttered back, unable to shake the annoyance from her voice. At Jake’s close contact, the pulsing ache between her thighs had returned with a vengeance, and she hadn’t realized she was squirming until Jacob placed a hand on her lower belly to still her. She blushed.

“Oh, you’re upstairs then.” They both heard his footsteps ascending the stairs, and Jacob pulled them both into the hall closet, locking the door behind them. He had turned her so that she was facing him, with her back up against the closed door.

“What the hell are you doing?” she whispered furiously.

“Hiding.”

“But… now it looks like we’re doing something!”

“He doesn’t know I’m in here,” Jake protested, it was completely obvious that he was thoroughly enjoying the feel of her crushed against him completely.

“He’ll note that you are nowhere else in the house. And locking the door, nice touch! You have now ensured that we both look completely guilty—!” He muffled her outrage with his lips, and reached one had up to cradle the back of her head, and Charla lost all train of thought. She opened her mouth to him again, and he swept his tongue inside, creating a gentle pull and push rhythm that did not fail to exponentially increase the burning between her legs. Without thinking, Charla wrapped one of her legs around his, and pressed herself up against his still hard cock. Rob’s voice startled them, as he was just outside the closet.

“Charla? Are you okay? I can’t find you!” he sounded irritated and scared. “Is that Jacob guy hurting you?”

To her surprise, Jacob did not stop rubbing himself against her, and she cried out, immediately clapping a hand over her own mouth. But it was too late.

“Charla?!”

“I-I’m fine, Rob,” she said haltingly, trying to swat Jake’s questing hands away from her breasts. “I was looking for some extra—” his mouth returned to its favorite spot on her neck—“coat hangers, and got locked in here—” he managed to avoid her hands, and palmed one heavy breast triumphantly— “so if you could go into town and find Jacob, that would be really helpful…” she trailed off because his other hand had begun kneading her backside, and he grinned against her neck. She didn’t know he was such a pervert.

“Oh, okay.” Rob sounded disappointed. “Well, I’ll be back as soon as I find him. Anything I can do?” She moaned softly, and thrust her hips toward Jacob.

“N-n-no, I don’t think so! Thanks Rob!” she said hurriedly, clamping her jaw shut, and trying not to make any more noise. When they finally heard his footsteps trailing away from their closet, and down the stairs, Charla punched Jacob. She was unwilling to admit that it hurt her much more than him, but he cradled her hand gently, previous immoral intentions aside. He reached behind her to unlock the door, and they tumbled out. Charla straightened her clothing, and avoided his eyes. Jacob’s face immediately fell, and he grabbed her hand.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly, and she looked up at him confusedly. “I really am. I pushed you too far, and—”

“Shut up, you idiot.” She said, smiling wryly. “I’m not mad. I wonder what Rob will do when he doesn’t find you in the city?” she said, laughing.

“Well, I came back to find you trapped in the closet, and was quite distraught.”

“So much so, that you knocked the doorknob out with the hammer from the garage?”

“Quite,” he said, and pulled the knob out with his bare hands. Charla jumped back at the sound, and gasped when he dropped the discarded knob into her hands.

“I actually wanted you to knock it out with the hammer, not tear the door to pieces, Hercules!” she cried, pointing at the door. Where the knob had been, now, only tattered bits of wood remained, surrounding a hole big enough for Charla to fit her entire arm through. Jacob scratched the back of his head nervously, a slight blush rising on his cheeks.

“Sorry,” he muttered, taking the knob back.

“Don’t worry about it,” she shrugged. “Not much we can do about it now. And my dad’s been wanting to replace that door for a while. It creaks.”

“Hmm. Well, what do you want to do now?” he asked, tossing the knob up and catching it repeatedly.

“I don’t want to sit in the house all day,” she said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. She tried to think of things he’d enjoy doing too. Charla could tell he was the type of person who wouldn’t complain if she was having fun, but she wanted to think of something they could both do together. She got an idea.

“We could go swimming?” she suggested, absently twisting a single dred around her finger, and releasing it. “My neighbors have a pool they barely use.” Jacob looked at her doubtfully.

“You just got over a cold this morning. Do you think the best idea is for you to go get wet again?” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “What other things could we do?”

Charla sighed. She’d gotten rather attached to the idea. She liked swimming.

“Well, you can stay here and think of things to do. I’m going to go swimming.” She darted to her room, and shut the door. She hadn’t been swimming in a couple of weeks, and she was excited. She could always drive up to Lake George if the Kilpatrick’s adamantly refused her request to utilize their pool. As she rifled through her drawers looking for a swimsuit, she glimpsed the string bikini she had bought herself as motivation to lose some weight. Frowning at it, she grabbed the suit next to it, a strappy black one piece. She didn’t have a mirror in her room, so she fled to the bathroom, observing herself from all angles. Sighing, she pinched her belly, wishing it weren’t so prominent. Deciding against it, she returned to her room, closed the door, and found another suit, this one a blue tankini, a two piece.

Upon her return to the bathroom, she decided that the way the top floated away from her body was flattering, she went with it. Charla grabbed a pair of shorts, two towels, and some sweats, just in case it was cold when they got out. Jacob was waiting for her downstairs, and she stopped in front of him.

“Ready to go?” He nodded.

“Yeah.” It was easy to see that he didn’t want to go because he was worried about her, but she assumed that once he got into the water, that he would start having fun.

“Let’s go!” she said excitedly, strolling out into the afternoon sunlight.

~

Once they showed up on her neighbor’s doorstep, Jacob could easily see that they were quite fond of her. The older couple smiled when she thanked them, and they told her that she was to come back any time with her boyfriend. Charla blushed heavily, and the woman told her that there would be snacks just on the patio if they needed them.

Jacob smiled gently at her as she led him around to the back, where the pool was. It wasn’t small. In fact, it was probably one of the biggest pools he’d seen. Though it wasn’t Olympic sized, it was close enough. The water winked in the sunlight, and he turned to Charla only to find she wasn’t there. Where she had been standing, only her shorts and towel remained. He heard the tapping of her footsteps, and turned swiftly to find her on the diving board at the far end of the pool. She waved at him, and his breath caught in his throat. The deep blue of the swimsuit contrasted beautifully with her skin, and she had tied her locks back with a scrunchie. She took a few steps backward, and then ran forward, pausing to jump once, and leapt into the pool. Jacob laughed. She swam over to him, and came up, resting her arms on the side of the pool.

“You getting in or not?” she joked, smirking up at him. He stripped off the sweats he had put on over the swim trunks he’d borrowed from her father’s room upon her instruction. He’d barely stepped out of the pants, and started toward the diving board when he felt her slim fingers wrap around his ankle. “Taking too long,” she laughed, and tugged him back toward the pool. He could have caught himself, but it would have ruined the moment. Jacob let himself fall backward, and hit the water with a huge splash. Turning quickly in the water, he grabbed her kicking legs, and rose to the surface with her held high above his head. He heard her spitting out water, and gasping for air through rampant giggles.

“Jacob Black, don’t you drop me!” she gasped, beating lightly at his arms. Jake smirked. He quickly lowered his arms, and looked her in the eye. They were on the shallow end of the pool, a step away from the drop into the deep end. Charla seemed to get what he was thinking, and shook her head furiously. “No, no, no, Jacob, do not—!” her panicked voice was cut off as Jacob swiftly lowered them both down the slope into the deeper section of the pool. He opened his eyes underwater, and smirked at her. Charla stuck her tongue out at him, and kicked to the surface. They came up at the same time, sputtering. “Jerk!” she gasped out, treading water. Jacob could feel the water moving from her efforts like beats against his legs.

“At least I didn’t drop you,” he said, shrugging.

“Shut up,” Charla replied, pulling a face. She eyed him for a moment, and began swimming to the far end of the pool.

“Race you!” she said, making steady strokes toward the other side. Jacob laughed out loud, and had caught up with her within heartbeats.

“You cheated,” he said, keeping pace with her easily. Charla was obviously a very strong swimmer, though he exerted little to no energy staying beside her.

“Well… you… are… faster, so… it’s not…. Cheating!” she panted, trying to speed up. Jacob smirked. He increased his pace easily, blowing past her, tapping the wall, and racing back to the other, and back to Charla, who had just reached the wall. She was breathing a little heavily, and had her hands on her hips, standing in the shallow end of the pool. “Cheater.” She ground out, splashing water at him, he dodged it quickly, sending a quick return splash her way. She couldn’t dodge this so easily, and she squealed loudly when it hit her. “Foul!” she cried, laughing. She splashed him repeatedly, until she was able to tackle him, and she pushed his head under the water, crowing triumphantly. Jacob smirked, and shifted slightly, then rose from the water, Charla laying over his shoulder.

“Aah!” she cried, trying to push off of him.

“Surrender!” he rumbled, walking toward the deep end. Charla gasped, and slapped his back with her open palms.

“Never!” she yelled, pitching herself forward. Jake’s hands lost purchase on her slippery legs, and she slid easily into the water, swimming quickly away from him. “Let’s play Marco Polo.” She said suddenly, smiling excitedly. “Uh, I like things like this, you know, kid games…” she said, treading steadily.

“One condition.” He said, smiling. “I get to be It.” Charla eyed Jacob narrowly, pressing her lips together in a mock frown.

“No cheating, Superman.” She muttered. Jacob closed his eyes, and tried not to pinpoint the direction that Charla was swimming in. He caught her easily, after giving her five minutes of swimming circles around him. The afternoon had passed quickly, and the sun was setting before they passed through the Kilpatrick’s home, snagging a few snacks, and thanking them for the use of the pool. Charla was wearing the sweats she’d bought for Jacob, because he had insisted that they would be warmer on the walk home than her shorts. She’d rolled her eyes at this, but he had insisted. He wouldn’t have her sick again on his watch if he had anything to do with it. Charla had run upstairs, saying that she was going to rinse off. Jacob changed out of the trunks, and took them outside to the clothing line to dry off. He walked around in only a pair of jean shorts, also purchased by her, waiting for her to get out of the bathroom. When Charla emerged, she had braided her long dreds in a single plait that hung loosely down her back. She was wearing only a loose t-shirt, and a pair of boy-shorts.

“Time?” she yawned, and Jacob looked up at the hall clock. “Please,” she added as an afterthought.

“Six-forty-five.” He said, picking up her braid, and twisting it around his fingers.

“Ah, I just want to relax,” she groaned. The swimming had tired her out. Jacob nodded, and motioned to the den.

“Why don’t we just sit down?” he asked, leading her onto the main couch in the room. They spent the better part of three hours that way, flicking through channels, and chatting idly about random thoughts.

Charla was getting up to do something or other, when the phone rang. Jacob, who had been zoning out to the drone of the television, suddenly snapped to alertness, and Charla nearly dropped the glass she was ferrying to the kitchen. Grabbing the cordless in the den, she answered with a yawn.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Gail. You busy?”

“Oh, no, I can talk,” she replied brightly. Jacob settled back into the chair.

“Great, I can fill you in on the gossip around town,” the other girl said mirthfully. “Rob says you were trapped in the closet today. I see you got out alright,” the voice replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh, uh, yeah, Jacob came back from the store earlier than I thought he was going to, and he pull—knocked the door handle out with a hammer.”

“Wow. Ever the white knight, huh? Rob was freaking out a little while ago that he couldn’t find that Jacob guy all day, and that you were still locked in there. Should we tell him that you’re out?”

“As much as he irks me,” Charla said, running a hand through her hair, her irritation evident in her voice, “And believe me, he does, yeah, tell him I’m fine. Don’t want him barging in anywhere with guns blazing, literally.” They laughed.

“Alright, well, what else has been going on… Oh, right, so, your dad is coming back next week right? We should hang before then.”

“No, he’s coming back early, they were worried about me,” she said, leaning against the wall.

“Oh, okay. Well, when you are free, give me a call. I have to go, though, my bus is here. Have I told you how much I hate buses?”

“Only a lot. I’ll see you?”

“Definitely!”

Jacob heard the line go dead, and Charla hung up the phone. She seemed like she couldn’t remember quite what she was doing, so she plopped down next to him. She couldn’t have known that he heard, so she began recapping her conversation to him.

“That was my friend, Gail,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder, and crossing her legs. “She’s a little out there, but, you know, we love her,” she laughed, which turned into a yawn. Charla snuggled closer to him, and reached over his body to grab a blanket from the other side of the couch. She spread it over them, and closed her eyes.

“I like to sleep.” She said quietly, smiling when he chuckled. “If I sleep through till tomorrow, then wake me up at nine, okay?” she asked, still yawning, and stretching.

“Alright. Is that when the flight gets in?”

“Yeah, it should take around two hours for them to get in to the house, so that leaves me time to look at our plane tickets, and things. I think it might go over a little easier if I have all of the information in front of my dad.”

Jacob watched her sleep for hours, brushing the hair back from her face, and smiling gently down at her, before he himself succumbed to slumber.

~

“Charlotte Pinkett, get up now!” Charla jerked upright, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and staring blankly around the room, Jacob sleepily pulled the blanket back from her , exposing the top half of her body, covered by a rumpled shirt. Her father stood before her, fuming. She blushed, and opened her mouth to explain. He hushed her.

“I cannot believe… I raised you so much better than this. Charlotte, I am sorely disappointed with you! You are the responsible child, you are the sensible one! What is the matter with you?” he was yelling at this point, and Charla noted that Jacob had stopped snoring.

“Dad, nothing happened!” she cried, trying to be heard over him. “I swear! We didn’t do anything!”

“I come in, find you here wrapped in blankets, half naked on the couch with a stranger, and you expect me to believe that nothing happened?” Charla’s face was set in a determined grimace.

“Yes.” Charla jumped as Jacob sat up beside her, the blanket exposing his chest. “We do expect you to believe nothing happened.” He replied, looking down at her father. He was a stout man, barely taller than Charlotte herself, and he was chubby. His shirtsleeves were stained with ink and patterned with eraser shavings, a testament to his line of work. His eyes peered angrily out at him through thick glass frames, and he was balding slightly. He was darker than Charla, her skin was a light caramel, while his was darker, more rich. Despite their obvious height difference, he didn’t seem fazed.

“I take it you are the…man who has been taking up with my daughter.” He responded acidly, looking him up and down. “I would be a bad parent if I said that I hadn’t had my suspicions. Looks like I was right.”

“Dad. We didn’t do anything. We were watching T.V., and we fell asleep. I swear.” Charla’s father regarded her statement stoically, and then turned to Jake.

“You looked after her when she was sick?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I see. Well. Thank you. Where have you been sleeping?”

“The guest room, sir.”

“Dad, he’s a really god guy,” she said, cutting off the inquisition.

“And this is because you have a crush on him? How much do you know about him? Has he been to jail, what is his age, is he married, divorced, does he have children, drug habits—Charlotte, he could be a serial killer for Christ’s sake!” he snapped, hushing her protests. “I am only worried about you.”

“Sir—”

“What?”

“I want to offer my sincere apologies for the circumstances, not only those you found us in this morning, but for the circumstances of my being here as well. I also want to thank you for allowing me to stay in your house.” Mr. Pinkett seemed severely taken aback; he hadn’t been expecting that in the least.

“You’re welcome, young man. I suppose I’ve been a little hasty. You must understand, my only daughter,” he said, motioning to Charla, who stood openmouthed beside him.

Charla was surprised, not only to see them exchanging civil words with one another, but also to see her father move so quickly from one state of mind to another. Well, Jacob was a charmer, and he was obviously good with parents.

“You know, I was quite worried about Charlotte staying in the house by herself all summer, and then you came along; well, you can understand my alarm.” Jacob nodded coolly. Charla sighed.

“Of course…?”

“Gregory.”

“Where’s Damien?” she asked, interrupting their conversation, and stretching her hands above her head. Her arms were still sore from the swimming they had done the night before.

“In town, picking up a few things. I ran into Rob on the way here, the poor boy was going on and on about you being locked in a closet?”

“Crap. Trust Gail to forget something so important… yeah, I got locked in the upstairs hall closet yesterday. Jacob came back, and, uh, knocked the doorknob out with the hammer from the garage.” Her father stared at her.

“This means…?”

“Yes, oh great repairman. You may now replace the door.”

“Good. It was creaking.”

“Excuses excuses. Any chance you get to tinker, dad, you’ll take it.” Charla replied dismissively. Her father sat down on the couch, and Charla dropped, cross-legged, to the ground. Jacob sat beside her, and grasped her hand. She spotted her father eyeing the connection distastefully, but she ignored it.

“Something you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked nodding toward their conjoined hands.

“So. Uh, while you were gone, I had, you know, the chance to get to know Jacob.” She started, choosing to ignore the skeptical looks she got from her father. “And in return for letting him stay here, he wanted to take me back to Forks to visit the reservation he lives on.” She said hurriedly, all of the words coming out in one breath.

“Absolutely not.”

“But dad—”

“No, Charlotte. As your father, I cannot condone this!” he said, crossing his arms and shaking his head resolutely. “I don’t know where this place is, when you are going, when you are getting back, I don’t know any of this information. And why in the world would I let you run off with a random stranger? What kind of parent would I be?” Charla struggled. She had the feeling that the information Jake had shared with her was on a strict need-to-know basis, meaning, that she couldn’t tell her father everything. “Charlotte, you are my only daughter, and I love you, and I always do everything in my power to make you happy. But this, this is a stretch.”

“If I may, Mr. Pinkett… I really care about your daughter, and I… I want her to see part of my culture,” Jacob interjected, grasping Charla’s hand tighter. “I promise that no harm will come to her while she is there.” Gregory seemed to consider it for a moment, and then shook his head.

“Out of the question.”

“Please, dad… It’s really important that I go!” she said, leaning forward to take her father’s hand. “I haven’t done anything all summer, and it isn’t as though we’d be unsupervised, we’d be staying with his dad.” Charla waited with baited breath as her father rolled the options around in his head. She felt a little guilty using the fact that he had barely been back to the house all summer, leaving her to rot in upstate New York.

“I want phone numbers, flight information, and a nightly phone call. If anything goes wrong, I will expect you to be promptly on a plane back home, understood?” he said wearily. Charla was surprised. She’d expected it to take at least three hours more of begging and fighting. He must have felt extremely guilty about leaving her there, then. “I also want you to ask mom about what she thinks of this, okay? I don’t want to send you off somewhere, and then have her on my back.” Charla stood, and hugged him.

“Thanks dad, I really do appreciate it.”

“I expect that I am supposed to give you some kind money to spend while you are there?” Gregory asked, rubbing his temples. He removed his glasses, and wiped them on his shirt, waiting for her answer.

“I… I don’t know.” She said honestly, threading her fingers together in a pleading gesture.

“And I am supposed to let you go, right?” he sighed wearily. “Go call your mother, I want to know what she thinks of all this.” Charla obliged immediately, looking apologetically at Jacob, and left the room to make the phone call. She could hear the low murmur of their voices from the kitchen, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying. After checking the yard for Damien’s car, she dialed her mother, hoping that she was home.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up—”

“Hello?” her mother’s rushed voice filtered through the phone.

“Hi, mom!” Charla said, sounding obviously relieved.

“Oh, Hey, Charla. How is everything going?” she asked, releasing the words with a rush of breath.

“Great, actually. But hey, Uh, I’m going on a little trip…”

“Wonderful! I’ve been telling you to get out of that house for weeks!”

“Yeah, to Forks, Washington.”

“Never heard of it. But, I’m sure you’ll have a good time, no? I mean, who else is going with you? Dad? Your brother?”

“No, neither.”

“Oh, striking it out on your own, hmm?”

“No, uh, I’m going with this guy, Jacob—”

“Finally.”

“Mother!”

“Sorry. But I have been telling you to get out and meet a nice boy for a while now. Is he nice? I wish I could be there, and not on this stupid assignment.” She sighed. Charla nodded, even though her mother was not there to see it. Her mother was a very successful doctor, who had been disappointed when Charla had chosen to take two years off before attending college. Despite that, she had supported her decision, and even landed her a work-study position at her old hospital. Currently, she was in California, having moved out there four months prior, to study under some doctor or another. Charlotte was proud of her mother, but she still missed having her around.

“It’s okay. So, yeah, he’s really great. He invited me out there to stay with his family.”

“Charlotte… are you sure that this is a good idea? I mean, you know who he is now, but when he gets around familiar settings, he could he a completely different person,” she replied, and Charla could picture what she must look like, probably sitting in her apartment, inspecting the wall, while running a hand through her hair. Charla looked almost exactly like her mother; dark skinned, and who liked to rock styled afros. The only difference was, Charla had inherited her grandmother’s fair skin, and discolored eyes. Her dreds were a result of her mother’s skilled hands, though Charla herself was far from skilled at maintaining them. Her mother’s face was creased with laugh lines, and Charla could picture her as though she were standing in front of her.

“I thought about that, Mom. And you know, I still like him, and I want to give this chance,” she responded slowly, twirling some of her hair around her fingers, the way her mother liked to do. “I mean, I don’t really have anything else going right now, you know?”

“I disagree. You are a wonderful artist. Didn’t you get that scholarship for one of those colleges near us?”

“Very descriptive, mother. And yeah, but it wasn’t enough. And you know, I’m enjoying these two years off. I think I’ll take them up on their offer next year, though,” Charla replied thoughtfully, smiling to herself. “Might even come to Cali, you never know.” Her mother laughed.

“That would be great. But, so this trip, how long are you staying in… Where was it again?”

“Forks, Mom. And I’m not sure… I have more than enough time, you know?”

“I suppose. And your father is okay with this? He is the strict one,” she asked.

“He’s really on the fence, so he wanted me to know what you thought about it.”

“You are an adult, Charlotte. You can make your own decisions. If you weighed all the options, and you still want to go, I fully support you. I mean, you can do what you want to at this point. I still can’t see why you haven’t moved out yet.”

“Well, rent is still a problem. The work-study ended a month ago, and I don’t have very much saved and—that is so not the point. The point is, you have approved.”

“You are an adult, you shouldn’t need our approval.”

“Dad’s paying for the plane ticket.”

“Oh, well. Glad to endorse your trip then, dear.” Charla laughed at her mother’s quick turn about, and smiled.

“Thanks, Mom. I promise to call you when I get all the information, okay?”

“Good, you are way ahead of me. Well, I have to go, I think I’m needed.”

“Alright. Miss you, love you!”

“Miss you and love you more.” They hung up their respective phones, and Charla rested against the counter for a moment. Hearing from her mother always put her at ease. She returned to the den, to find her father and Jacob staring silently at one another.

“What did she say?” Gregory asked, eyeing her as she entered the room, and sat down. Charla sat next to Jacob, who was still positioned on the floor.

“Oh, she said that, uh, I was an adult, and if I thought that it was a good idea, and had looked through all of the possible outcomes and still wanted to do it, that it was a good idea.” Her father looked at her skeptically. “Oh, and she said that it was important that you agreed. That too.” He looked a little less scandalized, and nodded.

“Yes. Well. You being an adult is all good and well, as long as you can support yourself. As I am paying for the trip, I expect you to defer to me,” he said, a light smile playing on his lips. Charla nodded vigorously, knowing that would be his response. Her other was much more freewheeling, liking to play up independence and self sufficiency. Her father was more strict; where her mother simply wanted deference, he requested obedience. Though, he still liked her to investigate her own viewpoints and opinions, Charla couldn’t deny that at nineteen, still having to come to him for everything was irritating.

“Yeah, I said you’d say that,” she laughed. “I’m going to go see about tickets and everything.”

“May I use the phone?” Jacob said suddenly, piping up from the floor. “I’m going to call my father.”

~

By no means did Jacob consider himself a wiz with parents, but as soon as Charla let the room, he assumed that he and Gregory would take up a pleasant conversation until she got back.

“I don’t care who you are, or what crap you have backing up your name,” Gregory said softly, as soon as he was sure that Charla was out of hearing range. “But if even one thing is missing from this house, or my daughter is hurt in any way, when I call the police, they’ll have to arrest your cold body.” Jacob was taken aback. This was the same voice he’d used when he was threatening him on the phone regarding Charlotte’s safety. His voice was dead calm, and his eyes were reflected with painful intensity through his glasses. “Charlotte is my only daughter. I love her very much. You seem like a fine young man, there’s no question, but this is my final warning.”

“Sir, I honestly care very much for your daughter, and I would never hurt her. Trust me, if something were to happen, I would kill myself first.”

“Good to know.”

Gregory didn’t say anything else, and simply sat there, his eyes boring into Jacob. He almost shuddered. He got the feeling that Charla was used to this. He was relieved when she bounced back into the room, obviously excited by her mother’s support of her trip. He had heard her clearly on the phone, and easily heard her mother as well. Gregory’s face fell when he heard that her mother agreed that the flight was a good idea, even if she didn’t have a set date to come back. He’d been looking for a way to shoot it down.

“Good, Charlotte, why don’t you catch the next flight out? Before I change my mind?” he grumbled, motioning to the computer in the den. Jacob hadn’t noticed it before, as it was off to the side. It didn’t look dusty, meaning that they probably used it a lot.

“Thanks dad. Really.” Charla seemed to waste no time looking up flight schedules, she was obviously internet savvy. “Okay, so there are some for tomorrow, and two days from now. We’d be flying into Seattle. Times are… 5:30 pm, 9:45pm, and on Monday, they are at 9:00 in the morning, and 1:30. Which do you think are better? I’m liking the 9:00 flight, for Monday.” Her father looked surprised.

“I thought you’d want to take the 5:30 flight for tomorrow.” He said stretching. “I mean, I want you to stay here as long as you can, but I understand you haven’t been anywhere all summer, and you must be eager to leave.” Jacob glanced at Charla out of the corner of his eye. She was sighing. It was obvious even to him that she was sacrificing time with her father, who she had barely seen for a couple of months, to go and spend time with him. “Jacob, can you excuse us?” he asked, and Jacob graciously left the room, and ventured upstairs to the room that had become his. It was still easy for him to hear them downstairs.
“Charlotte, are you alright?”

“Dad, there’s something else I need to talk to you about. And no, for the last time, I am not pregnant!” she exclaimed, and Jacob heard her slap her hands onto her hips.

“Anything. I’m always here. Even if it’s not, well, physically.”

They both laughed a little. It sounded strained.

“So, dad, about Damien.”

a/n: I didn't want them getting to Forks and moving on with the storyline THAT quickly... I suppose it might be another two chapters or so....
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Paprika	By : Attitudinal Category: Twilight Series > Het Views: 7262 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Paprika