Hopeless Devotion ~ A Jasper Hale Story

Chapter 17 - A Suprise Date

Friday, January 23th

I wasn't expecting him.

I had just returned from a day of classes and sitting at the library doing assignments and studying.

One second I was kicking off my boots in the entryway, ready to head upstairs and change into some sweats and check if Bella had come back from Jacob's garage, and the next—I felt him. The familiar shift in the air. A humming in my chest that hadn't left me alone since September. The kind that only happened when he was near.

Then came a knock at the door. Two short, one soft. Just as always.

I open the door holding my breath, swearing up and down that I'm crazy, he would have told me he was coming right?

But there he was.

Jasper Hale.

Dressed in a leather jacket, tousled honey-blond curls that were barely tamed, and golden eyes the lit up the moment he saw me. Like I was the only star in the sky. His smile was crooked, shy but certain. He'd been waiting just as long as I had.

"Surprise," he said, his voice velvet-wrapped steel.

I blinked. "You're real."

"Last time I checked." He chuckled, stepping inside before the cold swallowed him. "I had to see you. Got Charlie's okay and everything."

I stared. "You... asked my dad?"

He shrugged, almost bashful. "Told him I'd be around this weekend, and asked if I could take you to Port Angeles. Just for a few hours. He grumbled about curfews and pepper spray, but he didn't say no."

I gaped. "You—you got permission. Like some kind of... Southern vampire gentleman."

He grinned. "Exactly that."

Port Angeles

He didn't take me to a chain restaurant or a crowded movie theater. Jasper had found this little tucked-away cafe, hidden between a record shop and a florist. Warm, dim lighting. Old jazz humming through the speakers. It felt like stepping into a dream.

I ordered hot cocoa. He didn't order anything, of course. But he watched me like I was the sun and he hadn't seen daylight in months.

"Why Port Angeles?" I asked, fingers wrapped around my cup.

He reached across the table, brushing his fingers over mine. "Because you love an opportunity to get out. And bookstores. And once, when you didn't know I was listening, you said you wanted one night where everything stopped hurting."

My throat tightened. "That sounds like a line."

He leaned in closer. "It's not. But if you want me to be smooth, I can try."

I bit my lip. "You already are."

He kissed me. Soft and slow. Like he had all the time in the world. Like kissing me was breathing.

I kissed him back like I might never get another chance.

The Drive Home

He held my hand the entire way back.

Jasper would brush kisses to my knuckles, every few miles, like he couldn't help himself. Like he was making up for every moment we'd spent apart. For every phone call cut short. For every ache he couldn't touch through the static.

"So," he said, glancing at me with that smirk, "that thing you said about the wolf last time... remind me?"

I grinned. "Puppy Boy? Oh, just that he sheds, drools, and has no taste in women."

Jasper chuckled. "You're vicious."

"He flirted with Bella right in front of me. He's lucky I didn't throw a wrench at him."

"You're jealous."

I scoffed. "Of Jacob Black? Please. I have a Southern vampire who calls my dad sir and takes me on secret dates."

He laughed. "I did like the way Charlie glared at me. Made me feel like a proper gentleman."

We quieted for a moment. The trees grew more familiar. The ache in my chest returned.

"I don't want to go yet," I whispered.

His hand squeezed mine. "I know. But I'll call tomorrow. Five minutes. Ten if I steal Rosalie's phone."

"You're ridiculous."

"I'm in love."

I froze. He didn't take it back.

Outside the House

We parked around the corner. Alice had sent the warning minutes ago: Bella was on her way home. We only had seconds left.

He touched my face. "You're everything to me, Tiffany. Even if we have to do this in secret for now."

I nodded, throat tight.

His lips met mine, slow and deep. He kissed me like he meant it. Like I was the only thing he'd ever needed.

And then he was gone.

But the humming in my chest remained.

He was still mine. Even if the world didn't know it yet.