Falling for Autumn | Jacob Black

Chapter 9 [edited]

As Jacob and I stared at each other uncertainly, a woman and her two kids came into the bakery. The kids immediately ran over to the doughnuts and began yelling over the other as they picked out what they wanted while the woman gave me an apologetic look before quietly telling them to use their inside voices. Jacob hovered near the counter display as I moved to put their choices into a box, smiling at the kids and telling them which ones I liked when they asked for suggestions.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jacob smile at the sight of me interacting with the kids and my heart sputtered a beat. Cheeks flushed from embarrassment, I rang up the order and waved goodbye as they left the bakery, each kid happily eating a free sample cupcake. Slowly, I turned my attention back to him, unable to stall any longer.

"You wanted to talk?" My voice squeaked, causing me to cough before I grabbed my water bottle from under the counter.

"Yeah," Jacob rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away from me. I motioned him to follow me and I headed for the side parlor.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked him as I slid into a booth in the back corner.

"I wanted to apologize for avoiding you over the summer." He confessed, guilt written across his face. "After what I said to you at the roller rink, I felt horrible. And every time I went to talk to you, I got scared and chickened out. It hurt me to see you at the beach, knowing that I was awful to you."

"You weren't the only one avoiding that conversation. I wasn't sure if I would've yelled at you, or done something wrong." I shrugged at his surprised expression.

"I just wanted you to know that I never intentionally wanted to hurt you." His voice quieted as he dropped his gaze to the table.

"But you don't know how you feel about Bella." I added, causing him to grimace. "Jacob, she's with Edward. Why would you want to put yourself through that, knowing she's with someone else?"

"I don't know." Jacob sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know, I need to figure out what I want. And I will."

"Okay," I said, refusing to acknowledge the sad feeling that settled into my bones. "I have to get back to work."

"Wait." Jacob reached for my hand as I started to get out of the booth. I looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I wanted to ask you... can we start over? As friends? You know, hang out at the beach or at each other's houses. Get to know each other."

"Sure. We can be friends."

"Great." A smile broke across his face. "I'll see you later?"

"Okay." I smiled back at him and he left, waving goodbye to my mom who was putting out fresh cupcakes.

"That went well," Mom said as he disappeared from sight.

"About as well as it could've, I guess." I sighed. "Maybe this is a good thing. After what happened with Reed, I'm definitely not ready for a boyfriend."

"It will happen when the time is right." Mom kissed the top of my head. "Don't rush things."

"I won't," I promised her. "Let's get ready for the parade. It'll be starting soon."

By the time 4 pm rolled around, Mom and I were covered in flour, grinning as we stacked the last boxes on the counter. I wiped my hands on my apron as my friends walked into the bakery, laughing and talking about the parade. Mom handed me a platter of treats that we made especially for my friends, and they happily took the desserts.

"Where's Jessica?" I asked, noticing she was missing from the group.

"She had a makeup test for Biology." Eric answered before stuffing a mini cupcake into his mouth.