To Love and To Be Loved (A Jasper Hale/ Whitlock Love Story)

Surprise

"Relax," I insisted. "Lay down." I motioned to the soft grass, and he lay back. I sat beside him. "Close your eyes," I murmured, and he did. "You ready?" I asked.

"Whenever you are, ma'am," he gave a little smirk, and I chuckled, placing my fingers against his temples. Another breath. Energy.

I could see little bundles of pent-up energy all through him, pockets of energy that were stuck, not letting him utilize his own energy as he should've. But they'd take time to unravel.

"Just think about something that makes you happy," I told him quietly. "Imagine being somewhere where you feel safe and at peace. Relax everything, your neck, your shoulders, your arms, your stomach, your legs and ankles and feet..." He relaxed further, and I smiled, watching as his energy began flowing again. "Where are you?" I asked, and he took a deep breath.

"The beach," I smiled. I loved the beach. I could stay there for centuries, and never get tired. It was the only place before now that I felt like I could call home.

"Smell the air," I coached. "What does it smell like?"

"You." I would've blushed. I could've sworn I was blushing. "Like the salty sea air, the sun and the breeze, and coconut and citrus. Sweet like hibiscus and lilies... Like cocoa butter and aloe..."

For almost an hour, I sat there, and we were in a comfortable silence. It was almost like he was sleeping. I wasn't finished with all the little bundles of energy-not even close. But I figured maybe it'd be nice to do it again sometime, to watch as Jasper slowly relaxed, as he breathed like he was human, imagining that he was somewhere he loved.

He opened his eyes, and he grinned at me.

"Can vampires sleep?" I laughed as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Cause I'm pretty sure I just did."

"No," I insisted. "You've still got plenty of little knots in there, but... I got a good few out."

"Feels like I was just given a massage." He stretched.

"Well, I guess you could say technically this was a massage... By vampire standards." It was his turn to laugh. We just sat there looking at each other for a moment before Jasper spoke up.

"Eleanor," he began, and I smiled at him lightly. "I talked with Carlisle..." My brow immediately furrowed. He talked to father? About what? "He told me the story of when you went to the theatre with him and your mother." I smiled.

The memory was vague, but it was one of the best memories I had. I was only four, and they brought me to see the dancers from France. Ballerinas, they were called. At the time, I'd never heard of such things. Most of the world hadn't.

It was my first and only trip to the theatre in my entire life. And it was wonderful.

We all got dressed into our best clothes, and we walked into the large building. It was beautiful, and my eyes were wide and observing. Father had to hold my hand to make sure I didn't lose myself in the decorum.

And then... when the music began... magic. I was sure it was magic, it had to be, no one could move like that unless they were magic.

That was the day I decided I wanted to be a ballerina like them.

And since then, my intrigue had only seemed to grow as their talents and the complexities grew. More women joined, and then toe shoes came about, and modern and other types of dance evolved, but my love would always stay with ballet.

But I grew older, and my curiosity over the world and the things that surrounded me almost won-out. Especially since that was what I had been surrounded with, all the books and the learning materials. So I just... never even tried.