Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. And Toby Keith owns "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This".
A/N: I love this song. It makes me think of Jake and Bells. So I sat down to write about them. I hope you like it. This is the first story that I have dared to share, so PLEASE BE GENTLE with me. Yes, I realize the ages of the characters from the book don't jive with the story being set in a bar/club, but let's just go with it, OK!
Back story: Bella went off to college at the University of Washington in Seattle. Jacob stayed home but attended the local community college getting a degree in Business. They keep in touch and are still "just friends". Jake didn't want to hold her back so he wasn't completely honest with her. But all the pack know exactly how he feels, even though he can hold his thoughts back better than the others when phased.
BPOV You know dancing was never my thing. I can barely walk without tripping over my own feet, or nothing at all for that matter. But here I am, sitting at the club on another Saturday night with my friends from LaPush. I love seeing them nearly every weekend. It keeps me connected to "home", and to Jake of course, my best friend.
Jake is a great dancer. We all knew he had rhythm – just from watching him goofing around in the garage when we had the radio on. And we knew that he loved music – all kinds of music. Billy said he got that from his mother. But no one knew what a terrific dancer he was until we started coming here. Even Jake! The club has a huge dance floor with plenty of room for those who loved to two-step around the large room while those who just wished to "shake their money maker", as Quil would say, could do so in the middle of the floor.
Jake was only 9 years old when his mother was killed in the car accident that left his father confined to a wheelchair. One night after dinner in their home, Billy reveled me with stories of how Sarah loved music and dancing, so much so that she would dance around their small home with both himself and Jacob every evening after dinner to whatever music she could find on their small radio. Billy's eyes glistened as he explained how she'd tell Jake "Honey, some day you will sweep a girl off her feet with a slow dance and your big brown eyes. Just like your father did with me." I giggled and Jake blushed under his beautiful copper skin.
She was right. He would definitely do that one day. I could see the girls at the club every Saturday night fighting over one another to get his attention. Many times I laughed and would shove him out of our "regular booth" to his next victim, as he moaned silently and rolled his eyes at me. Hey, what are friends for? I loved watching him dance. Yeah, the guys teased him at first, but once they saw the girls lining up to dance with him, they started asking for pointers. After all, it wasn't like he was as flamboyant as some 'Dancing with the Stars' character, he was all man (and wolf) after all. His masculinity definitely came through – the way he held a woman in his arms, it was obvious that he knew exactly what he was doing and he wouldn't let you trip or look foolish. He oozed a confidence on the dance floor that even I couldn't resist. Thankfully for me, Jake insisted he wasn't looking for a girlfriend right now – just concentrating on his business degree and taking care of his dad and the pack. So I ended up acting as his dance partner most of the time. Most of the regulars at the club knew that we were just friends, but if new girls showed up it helped to keep them from literally attacking him.
QPOV I had had just about enough. We were four months into Bella's second year of college and Jake and Bella have been playing at being "just friends" while she's there. We all knew better. And it was infuriating to watch. I was so blue-balled just watching them for the past year that I thought I was going to explode on the spot every Saturday night we came out to dance – and I couldn't fathom how Jake could send her back to campus every week thinking she wouldn't at some point come back with a boyfriend. Was he crazy? Bella wasn't a Playboy bunny (which were more my type) but she was hot enough that the fact that no one had snapped her up yet blew my mind. I knew tonight was the night that I was going to push them in the right direction whether they liked it or not. Jake had filled his new Ipod with an eclectic mix of music – that's a word right? Eclectic – a mix of stuff from all genres and time periods. Yeah, that sounds about right. But there was one song that he kept playing over and over in the garage when he thought no one was listening, and would skip automatically if we were there – "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This" by Toby Keith. Last call was just announced and I marched right up to the DJ with a 10 spot in my hand and asked him to play it. I knew Bella loved this song too – heck, she just loved slow songs in general – less of a chance to fall down. But this was one of her favorites. Jake on the other hand was probably going to kill me. That is, unless things went as I planned. And I was pretty dang confident they would. But that's just me.
JPOV Out of the corner of my eye, as I danced with this tall leggy blonde who couldn't seem to get the hint tonight, I saw Quil rush up to tonight's DJ as last call was announced and slip him a bill. What the hell is he up to now, I thought. I really wasn't in the mood to be bailing his ass out of yet another argument with some girls boyfriend in the parking lot tonight. I swear, one of these nights he was going to get us kicked out of here for good, and I couldn't have that happen. I had been looking forward to our Saturday night "dance parties" for months. It was the one night where I had Bella in my arms for nearly the entire time without any expectations or worries about the status of our friendship getting in the way.
I finally separated my body from "clingy's" grip when the song ended and her friends waved her down that they were leaving. As she slipped a napkin, undoubtedly with her phone number on it, into the front pocket of my jeans, I thanked her politely for the dance and said good night. I let out a long sigh and slid into our regular booth next to Bella who had been chatting with Emily and Angela, while the boys stood at the bar ordering one more round.
"What's the matter Jakey, that one not to your liking tonight either?" teased Emily. "Yeah, looks like you have another number to add to your collection" giggled Bella. "Funny girls" I groaned, just as Quil set down a cold bottle of beer in front of me. "Thanks man" I said, as I took a long pull of it and he smirked back at me over his. "What?" I questioned gravely. He just continued to grin and right then I knew whatever he had planned with the DJ would probably be getting ME into trouble tonight.
That's when I heard it. The first few notes of a song that I'd been addicted to for weeks. I thought I'd been pretty discreet, but of course, nothing slipped by Quil – at least nothing that he couldn't use against you at some point for his own enjoyment. I glared at him just as the girls all squealed loudly and Bella started pushing me out of the booth. She grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor in a rush. She loved this song as much as I did, but for different reasons - she simply loved Toby Keith and his smooth tenor voice. I loved the words. I connected with them.
I got a funny feeling
The moment that your lips touched mine
We took our usual stance to take a trip around the dance floor. Her right hand in my left, her left hand on my shoulder and my right hand on the small of her back. Fine I thought. It's just the last dance of the evening, I can do this. That is until she put her head on my chest. She was tired, I knew that. But the scent of her strawberry shampoo made me inhale reflexively and do exactly what the song said next.
Something shot right through me
My heart skipped a beat in time
Without thinking it completely through, acting purely on instinct, I kissed the top of her head while we danced. This wasn't unusual, we were very connected physically anyway, always holding hands or comfortable sitting close – like best friends should be. But for some reason, I felt her stiffen for a moment and her heart started beating faster.
There's a different feel about you tonight
It's got me thinkin' lots of crazy things
I even think I saw a flash of light
It felt like electricity
Lately, I had been feeling like this song was written just for me and day dreaming about when I might be able to feel Bella kiss me just the way Toby spoke about in this song. But right now, in this moment, I felt like it had been written for right now. I couldn't stop myself, I knew I should stop, I knew I was taking a risk here. I mean, we'd sung songs that we liked out loud while we danced before, but this song – this hit a little close to home. Strike that – a lot close to home. I was going to KILL Quil if this back-fired on me, but I leaned my head down and started to whisper the words I knew so well into Bella's hair.
You shouldn't kiss me like this
Unless you mean it like that
Cause I'll just close my eyes
And I won't know where I'm at
My emotions were getting the best of me. She smelled so good, and after spending the evening watching her dance and holding her close, all I could think about right now was kissing her and taking her home with me. Just me. Not with the pack or their imprints or their dates. Just her and I. At that thought, I felt my member harden and my pants tighten. And suddenly… I wanted her to know.
I pulled her onto my right thigh roughly and her head popped up off of my chest to look me straight in the eye. My right hand on the small of her back slid gently higher and I steadied her as I let her drift back in a long drawn out dip from left to right. We'd done this before – just showing off, but this time the move was slow, sensual and deliberate. Her long chestnut locks just whisked across the floor as she closed her eyes and leaned into my grasp. I knew she could feel how hard I was for her with her thigh pressed into my crotch.
We'll get lost on this dance floor
Spinnin' around
And around
And around
And around
Expertly I lifted her back up as she kept her eyes closed and I gently rested her head back onto my chest. My heart was pounding. I wondered if she could hear it. The look on her face hadn't given anything away, but then I heard her sigh, letting out a breath she was obviously holding, and her own heart beat quicken. She hadn't pulled away and she hadn't slapped me yet, so I continued to whisper the words in her ear as we swayed around the dance floor.
They're all watchin' us now
They think we're falling in love
They'd never believe we're just friends
When you kiss me like this
I think you mean it like that
If you do baby kiss me again
Another small gasp leaked from her lips, and I could smell her arousal. Werewolf senses being what they were, we were all aware of the smells that permeated the clubs at night, but Bella's was like the sweetest perfume to me. And I was proud to admit that I did that. Bella was always quite reserved when we came out on Saturday nights. She didn't drink much, and didn't dance really with anyone but myself or the girls. Instinctively I pulled her closer to me as I prepared for the next stanza – these lines cut through me each time I'd whispered them when I was alone thinking of Bella and I knew them by heart. My voice was hoarse with emotion.
Everybody swears we make the perfect pair
But dancing is as far as it goes
Girl you've never moved me quite
The way you moved me tonight
I just wanted you to know
I just wanted you to know
Bella's head rose from my chest. Her eyes glistening with tears. Oh god, what had I done? I am definitely going to KILL Quil now. He is a dead man. I'll plead innocence, it was a just a joke – they dared me. No, that would be rude. I'll tell her I had too much to drink – shit, werewolves can't get drunk. That won't work. As my mind panicked and I tried to think of some way to salvage our friendship from the line I had just crossed, the next stanza started and Bella's hand on my shoulder moved to around my neck and started to pull me closer.
I stared at her pink pouty lips as they got closer and closer. I couldn't wait to taste the strawberry lip gloss. I couldn't wait to ….. oh there they are. Heaven. I'm in heaven. Bella is kissing me. Please don't let this moment end.
You shouldn't kiss me like this
Unless you mean it like that
Cause I'll just close my eyes
And I won't know where I'm at
We'll get lost on this dance floor
Spinnin' around
And around
And around
And around
She pulled away gently and we both opened our eyes. I stared into those beautiful brown pools with questions that I knew she probably wouldn't answer tonight. I knew that she'd probably brush this all off to being tired, or getting caught up in the song, but I felt like my heart was about to explode and I didn't want to go down that road of excuses yet again. "Bells" I whispered… just as SHE started to sing ever so quietly along with the song.
They're all watchin' us now
They think we're falling in love
They'd never believe we're just friends
When you kiss me like this
I think you mean it like that
If you do baby kiss me again
Kiss me again
Locked in a smoldering gaze, I stared at her while she finished the last line hoarsely and with more tears glistening in her eyes. Finally a small smile played upon her lips, and I leaned in to do just what she had dared – kiss her again – as the club filled with the hoots and hollers of my pack mates and our friends.