Dazzled

Andante Andante was created by ABBA. (That's kind of an older band, it would make sense that it played in a retirement home... despite its sexual themes. Screw it. I don't know what I'm doing. You've probably already figured that out by now.) The version above is from the musical Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, because I'm a huge musical simp and I like this version best. This is the song that Bella and Jasper dance to in this chapter.

○●○ Dazzled ○●○

"Thank you for driving me, Bella. I'm sure they wouldn't want their newest employee to ride in on a motorbike, and running is becoming suspicious. You've saved me a great deal of trouble." Jasper chuckled, causing me to smile.

"No problem."

"Take a left here." Jasper instructed.

I looked over at the tan building over to the side. I read the small sign out front, Lily's Retirement Home. I looked at Jasper in confusion.

"A retirement home?"

"Yes ma'am." Jasper said with a small smile on his lips.

"Your new job is at the retirement home?" I asked. I never would have expected Jasper to work anywhere like this.

"The elderly.. smell less appealing than younger people do." Jasper explained slowly, like he was embarrassed to tell me this.

"I see. Should I just drop you off over there?" I questioned, pointing to the north side of the parking lot.

"Just park over there, please." He requested, motioning to a parking spot by the front door. I did what he asked and turned to see if he needed anything else.

"Thank you Bella." He said with a grin.

"Don't mention it." I smiled. He nodded his head and a feeling of gratitude washed over me.

He got out of the car, but before I could drive away there was a knock on my window. I jumped in surprise and turned to see Jasper standing there. He moved his hand in a circular motion telling me to roll down my window. I rolled it down and looked at him. What was he doing? He just stood there smirking.

"What if someone saw you? You aren't exactly being inconspicuous." I questioned. He shrugged his shoulders.

"No one saw me."

"Yet." I added. He chuckled and shook his head.

"I was going to ask you something, but if you'd rather keep scolding me then feel free, I suppose." He snickered. I rolled my eyes, and his smirk grew in size.

"Well?" I questioned.

"Well, I was wondering, the residents are having a dance tonight-" He began to say but I cut him off.

"You want me to crash a dance at the retirement home?" I asked in disbelief.

"It would hardly be crashing. Employees can bring whomever they want." He argued in a plain tone.

"I can't dance."

"Doubt that." He stated, his golden eyes locked on mine. I felt my resolve quickly diminishing. "I'm sure you're great." He grinned.

"Trust me, I'm not. You really don't want to see me dance." I chuckled.

"Humor me?" He asked, adding a quick "please" afterwards. I sighed and nodded my head. I knew that he was manipulating me with his gift, but I didn't say anything.

"I swear if you laugh at me..."

"Ah' would neva' dream of it ma'am." He said with his deep southern accent, sending my heart into a fluttering rhythm.

He opened my door, and held his hand out to help me out of my truck. Once I was on the ground I stepped closer to him. Our shoulders were nearly touching and our fingers entangled. This had become our default stance when in public together, it helped calm down Jasper when around blood.

The room was full of elderly people playing checkers, eating, and talking quietly. Jasper grinned as he stepped inside. I immediately noticed that I was underdressed. All of the women were in dresses and the men were in tuxes, except for a few of them in military uniforms. I was in a tan sweater and blue jeans, even Jasper looked more formal than I did. He had a button up shirt and black slacks on.

"Jasper, this damned machine isn't working! We shouldn't be using this stuff anyway! What's wrong with a piano or something?" One of the men complained as soon as he saw Jasper. He was randomly pressing buttons on an old radio.

"The switch turns it on, Ralph." Jasper instructed and walked up to the man. Ralph grunted and continued to push all the buttons, excpet for the on switch.

"Why don't you just play for us Jasper?" The man asked, motioning to the piano sitting in the corner of the room.

"That's a good one Ralph. I don't play. No matter how many times you ask, that isn't going to change." Jasper chuckled. He switched on the radio and played the disk that was already inside. "See the radio is just as good."

"Youth nowadays don't know the importance of live music. Always using their technologies." Ralph grumbled. Jasper chuckled and shook his head. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. Sure Jasper looked like a teenager, but I was certain he had more experience than everyone else in the room. He wasn't a 'youth' by any means.

"Who's this young lady?" Another man asked.

"This is Bella Swan, the chief's daughter. Bella this is Stanley McCormick." Jasper introduced us. The old man smiled at me, his eyes sparkling.

"You look so similar to my granddaughter, sweet girl that one." He smiled. I smiled back and nodded my head. You could tell that the man was a good person. He had a kindness about him. A twinkle in his eye, if you will.

"Well seeing as I got the music going, you should treat her to a dance Stan." Jasper suggested, patting him on the back. He chuckled and walked away. My mouth dropped open.

"Jasper!" I called after him. I couldn't believe that he just walked away after volunteering me for a dance.

"I'm stepping out for a second, I'll be back." He informed me, before walking towards the front door. He stopped outside and I could see him taking deep breaths through the glass. His blood lust must have been too much.

"Well lass, I'm sure you'd rather dance with that Jasper. He's a handsome young man, but would you make this old man's day and take a quick spin around the dance floor?" Stanley asked.

"I guess Jasper didn't warn you. I'm not much of a dancer." I chuckled.

"That's okay, neither was my wife. You'd think that her feet were backwards the way she danced. I miss that woman." He said smiling slightly. He held out his hand and I took it. We swayed to some old song, and other elderly couples and caretakers joined in. I wasn't sure what to say.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was her name?" I asked. I was nervous bringing up the topic, I knew it was probably a sensitive subject.

"Oh, I don't mind at all. Adelaide was her name. She was a stubborn woman, had to be to deal with me." He chuckled. "She was smart as all get out too. She died almost five years ago. Miss her everyday, but I know she's still around, watching out for me." He laughed. "What about you? Has anybody caught your eye? A pretty girl like you must have the whole town interested."

I smiled at him. This was more enjoyable than I thought. I never expected to meet such a nice old man.

Jasper walked in and chuckled when he saw me and Stanley dancing. He leaned against the wall, and I sent him a dirty look, which made him laugh harder. I couldn't help but smile when an elderly woman approached him and they started dancing along with everyone else.

"Uh.. I don't know." I answered Stanley.

I watched as Jasper let the woman spin under his arm slowly. Her tan skin contrasted his making him appear almost ghostly white. He had a warm smile on his lips as he danced. I caught myself grinning at the scene, and I quickly turned my attention back to Stanley.

"Well there's plenty of time for that. I'm sure Chief Swan likes you home anyway." Stanley said.

"Yeah he does." I agreed. "I'm surprised he lasted that long without me. He can't cook." I said. We both chuckled. We chatted until the song ended. Jasper walked up to us and smiled.

"Mind if I cut in?" He asked Stanley.

"By all means." Stanley patted his shoulder, and walked away towards the food table.

"Sweet guy." Jasper said smiling slightly. I nodded my agreement. A song came on the radio that I vaguely knew. Jasper very slowly took my hand in his, and put his other on my waist. I raised one eyebrow at him.

"What, Stanley can have a dance, but I don't get a turn?" He asked with a snicker. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I don't like to dance."

"One more won't hurt, will it?" He questioned. A feeling of willingness hit me, and I knew Jasper was trying to convince me. I sighed and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"One more and then I'm done." I stated.

"Yes ma'am." He chuckled.

We swayed slowly to the music. He helped me spin around, and then we went back to the simple steps. It was easier without a cast on my leg, and it was more enjoyable than prom. Maybe it was because it was less crowded, and Jasper was making me calmer.

"Not so bad?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I grumbled. That just made his smirk grow in size.

We swayed slowly to the song for a while. When I looked up at Jasper's face he smiled, and his butterscotch eyes seemed to glisten under the lights. I grinned back at him. I couldn't bring myself to look away. Butterflies danced around in my stomach, and his skin felt like electricity. I could remember the feeling clearly. I used to feel this way when Edward looked at me like that. What did I used to call it?

Dazzled.

I was dazzled.

I felt my stomach flop. I couldn't feel this way about Jasper, he was married! He was married to my friend! I panicked. I froze. This was wrong! I couldn't do this!

"Bella, what's the matter?" Jasper asked looking at me with concern plain on his face.

He shouldn't be concerned over me! My head screamed.

"What's wrong, darlin'?" He asked. My heart jumped and my face flushed. Why did he call me that? He always called Alice that. He couldn't call me that. Jasper hadn't reacted, he was still waiting for an answer.

"I have to go!" I blurted out and let go of him. I walked away briskly, tripping over my own feet.

"Bella!" He called after me. I ignored him and got into my truck. I glanced at his face while starting my car. He was frowning and still looking concerned. I had a strange urge to go to him. I immediately shook that thought away.

Never. I could never feel that way about Jasper. I was in love with Edward. Edward. The name seemed to hold increasingly less appeal. I shook my head trying to stop myself from thinking about Jasper. We were friends. That's all we would ever be.