First Beach Fiasco

By Lady of Spain

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight. I own a RAV4.

Summertime and the living is easy—"da, dee, dee da,da . . ." Maybe—but not for me. I was still tryin' to get Ms. Clueless to admit that she loved me. I didn't get it. I was just right for her, so why did she always have to be out in left field.

My new plan for today was to take her swimming at First Beach. That would ensure that the sparkly creature would have to hide out under his own roof. Ha!

She said she wanted to go cliff diving, only this time she would be with a lifeguard at her side. Yep—you got it—yours truly. Who else would be dumb enough to tempt fate?

Anyhow, I revved up the Rabbit and drove on down to Forks to pick up the love of my life. Sure, it would be much easier for her to meet me there, but then it would be easier for her to escape back to that pasty parasite, too. What did she see in him anyway? So he was a musician—big freakin' deal; he could play an instrument. Well, I played with an instrument—it's called a wrench. I could make a car's motor sing like a soprano. Now if only I could get Bella to sing for me like that. Sigh . . .

Bells was all ready to head out to the beach when I got to her house. She had one of those big tote bags full of beach stuff—you know, straw hat, sun block, towels, snacks, water, book . . . wait a minute— a book, seriously? What made her think I was gonna let her stick her nose in a book, when I was sitting next to her looking as irresistible as hell. So I was a little needy . . . I couldn't help it; I was nuts about her. I was definitely gonna have to see about that book. Maybe I could make that paperback mysteriously disappear.

I was astounded by all the junk she had stowed in there. "Jeez, Bells, you'd think you were packing for the weekend." Wishful thinking, huh?

"Well, smarty pants, I like to be prepared for Murphy's Law. I don't happen to have a cord to wrap around my ankle, so I have to stow it all in a bag."

"If I had to carry around that much junk, I'd need a dog sled," I laughed. Bella glared at me, I guessed she didn't seem to find that very funny. Smooth, Black— real smooth.

Okay, so it was probably a girl thing to bring every freakin' household item with you wherever you went, but ten to one, she would need the one essential that she forgot. And guess who was gonna be the one to have to fetch it for her? Uh huh, you guessed it—good ol' dependable Jacob Black. Damn, I sounded like such a jerk. I knew I'd die for her if it came to that though, and in my heart I was pretty sure she knew it too.

I walked her to the Rabbit; it was a good excuse to put my arm around her. Just that little contact was enough to send me into orbit. I tried without success—I might add—to still my heart. It was pounding in my chest. Having her sitting next to me in the small space didn't help matters much either.

Focusing on the road ahead, I launched into a conversation. "You got any other plans for the weekend?" I asked, trying hard to act nonchalant.

"Not really, I'll be at Edward's all of tomorrow, just hanging out." She turned and glanced in my direction. I was sure she noticed the look of revulsion on my face.

Geesh, I had to ask. It was like a sucker punch to my heart whenever she spoke his name, not to mention it triggered my gag reflex. Ugh! I tried not to let it get to me, but I just couldn't help being jealous. She was just it . . . she just was. You heard of the It girl of the twenties— well Bells was it for me. If I lived to be 100, I would never find a girl that rang my chimes like she did. And what really hurts is that she knew it. Sometimes I felt like banging my head on a wall.

I didn't want to spoil our day, so I didn't comment about her other plans—that sadly didn't include me. Changing the subject seemed like a good idea. "How's your mom? Do you think she'll be visiting anytime soon?"

That cut through the ice, and suddenly we were Jake and Bells again all the way to First Beach.

After I got the Rabbit parked, we got out and Bells removed her mid thigh cover–up. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Instead of her usual one piece with the polka dots, she was wearing a bright yellow bikini with tiny little strings at her neck and back. She looked like a million bucks, but I didn't like the idea of the rest of the wolves trying their best to stick their hands in the till, if you know what I mean. I was frozen where I stood and I'm sure my mouth was hanging open, too.

"What's the matter?" she asked nervously. "It's too much, isn't it?" Was that a blush rising up on those cheeks?

"Uh, yeah. I think it's gonna cause a stir among the wolves, including me. Where's your other suit? Why didn't you wear it?" I was desperately attempting to keep my eyes trained on her face.

She lowered her eyes and confessed, "I put it away, and then couldn't find the darn thing. This was the only other suit I own—a gift from Alice. You know how she is. She somehow manages to find clothes with the least amount of fabric in them."

"Where does she shop—Frederick's of Hollywood?" Was that store even in existence any more?

"Oh c'mon, Jake, it's not that bad, is it?" She was definitely blushing scarlet now.

"I'm just sayin' you better get that towel on before the big bad wolf eats you up, 'cuz I'm already huffing and puffing." Thank god the water was always cold, 'cuz I really needed to cool down in a hurry. How could she do this to me?

She pulled a towel out of the bag and wrapped it around herself. Then she went rummaging through that heaping bag of stuff. She finally found what she was looking for—the sun block. Placing the tube in my hand, she asked me to spread the cream on her back. Damn, there went my heart thumping again.

Torture—that's what it was—sweet torture. She was letting me touch her—well not technically—I was just the means to spread the sun block, but still . . . The feel of her velvet skin under my hands was going to replay in my brain over and over keeping me awake tonight. "Girl, you're killing me softly, bit by bit," I thought.

After I finished her massage, Bells put the tube back in the bag, grabbed her hat and the water and threw the bag back on the seat of the Rabbit.

Confused, I asked, "Aren't you bringing that tote with you?"

She rolled her eyes and stared at me like I was crazy. "No, silly, I'm going to leave it in the car; I don't want to get any sand and pebbles in it."

Like I said, when she needed something out of that bag, you know who will be fetching it for her.

"I'm ready now; let's go! Lead the way."

I jerked slightly as she took my hand. I was usually the one to initiate any contact, so it was a pleasant surprise—for once.

We hiked up to the lower jump off point at the cliff.

"Do you want to jump with me?" Hey, trying to be helpful here . . . I figured baby steps, you know.

"Don't coddle me. I want to do this on my own," she retorted.

Peeking over the edge, she seemed to be having second thoughts 'cuz she stepped back. "You go first," she squeaked.

"Okay, Chicken Little, watch and learn." Walking away from the edge a few paces, I took a running jump off the cliff. "Geronimo!"

I was in freefall for a few seconds and then the ocean met me, spraying like a geyser into the air. Flicking the water out of my hair, I shouted up to Bells, "Come on in, the water's fine!"

She yelled back. "That's easy for you to say; you could be floating next to an iceberg, and you still wouldn't feel the cold!"

"C'mon, Bells, you wanted to do this—so jump already!"

"Okay, okay, give me a minute!"

She took more than a minute, and I was getting a little impatient. "If it'll make you feel any better, I can catch you—you know, the way Tarzan used to catch Jane when she dove down from the tree house. Me, Tarzan; you, Jane!" I gave my best imitation of the Tarzan yell—"ah- a ah a ah- a ah a ah!"

"Okay, okay, give me a minute!" She was stalling—again.

"You already said that. Hurry up; I'm getting all pruny here." I gave her my most dazzling smile. Could she see it from way up there?

Bells threw her hat and the bottled water on the ground and finally removed her towel. I closed my eyes for a second—no sense in sending my hormones into overdrive. I heard her shriek, as I opened them again. I got ready to catch her as she fell—and she landed right into my outstretched arms.

Bella sputtered as the cold water splashed in her face. "Gah! This water is like ice. But holy crow that was amazing! What a rush. Can we do it again?"

I couldn't believe my ears. Fragile little Bella Swan wanted to dive off the cliff for the second time? "Sure, sure."

I carried her closer to shore and asked, "You gonna try a swan dive now?"

She ignored my little jibe, and holding my hand, pulled me out of the water and led me up the path this time. Before we got to the cliff, I noticed the tie at her neck was a little loose.

"The string around your neck is loose. You want me to tighten it for you?"

Stopping for a moment, she let me retie the string. "Ow, that's too tight." She squawked. "Here—I'll do it myself."

Re-knotting the tie, she started up the path again.

The sound of a dog barking got our attention. As we reached our destination, we could see the culprit ripping and chewing at Bella's towel. Her straw hat was destroyed, the pieces littering the ground; the bottle of water was crushed. When the dog saw us coming toward him, he took off, dragging the towel with him.

"My hat!" Bella exclaimed. "Just look at it. Doesn't his owner feed him enough? There went my water, too." She sighed loudly.

"You want me to go chase him down?" Stupid dog! That was not on my list of favorite things to do, but what the hell . . ."

"Oh well, don't worry about it. It was an old towel anyway, and besides, you're doing a better job of keeping me warm. Let him have it."

We turned our attention back to our task at hand and repeated our maneuvers. Just like before, Bells wound up in my arms again. She snuggled up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Wow, you're so warm." She moved against me, getting closer. "Oh, you feel sooo good." Yeah—my sentiments exactly.

"You wanna go again?" I was pretty sure that the adrenaline junkie would give me an affirmative on that one.

"Yeah, but let's go to the top for the next jump. And don't catch me; I want to take the plunge on my own, okay?"

On our way heading up the path, we walked into Quil. His girl wasn't with him, so I guessed something was up. He grinned when he saw me, and stopped us. "Hey, Jake, can I borrow the Rabbit to take Claire home? She doesn't feel too well."

"Sure, sure. I won't need it for a while. Just drop it off when you're done with it."

"Thanks, I shouldn't be more than two hours—tops." He tore his eyes away from me, and looked Bella over. Those same eyes widened in what could only be referred to as appreciation. "Whoa . . . nice suit!"

I elbowed him in the ribs and his eyes zipped back to me. He noticed the scowl on my face and remarked, "Hey, don't be like that, I'm just sayin'."

I folded my arms across my chest, sending out a message loud and clear.

"Oookaaay, see ya' later." He got the point.

We got to the high point of the cliff and jumped. Bells landed several feet away from me. "Jake," she yelled, "Get over here. I'm freezing to death."

I dove under the water, and as I did, I felt something lightly brush against my shoulder. It floated away with the rapid current. Tuning my head, I thought I actually caught a glimpse of yellow. Swimming up to her, I pulled her over to my chest. That was when I felt reality press up against me; this was no fantasy. Uh-oh, was that what I thought it was? As I reached my arms around to her back, I noticed that I couldn't feel the ties. Oh, boy, my suspicions were confirmed. The top of Bella's bathing suit had parted company with her. It must have slipped off when she hit the water.

I pulled away from her as fast as I could, not wanting to embarrass her.

"Hey," she complained, "where are you going? Come back, I need my personal space heater."

Coming closer to her, I carefully put my arms around her back once more, but kept a safe distance between us. Before I could say anything, Bella sensed my hesitation.

"What's the matter with you?" Her chocolate eyes peered into mine, concerned.

"Uh, Bells . . . I don't know how to tell you this, but when I hugged you a couple of minutes ago, I don't think there was anything . . .uh . . . separating your chest from mine."

Immediately her hands searched her neck for the ties—which were now, obviously missing. Her mouth opened in horror. In a panic, she wailed, "Oh my gosh . . . oh my gosh, what am I going to do? I can't get out of the water like this! Jake, do you think you could find my top? It's got to be here somewhere."

I knew it—this was one essential that I had to go fetch. "I'll try my best, but it's probably long gone." Yeah, on its way to Alaska no doubt. Hey, maybe I should milk this for all it's worth. Nah, I wouldn't hurt her that way.

Great—it would be so nice, if just once I could spend the day with Bells without all this drama. Dammit!

I dove deep into the briny depths looking for the elusive spot of yellow. I tried again and again—no dice. That little swatch of fabric was well on its way to the land of the lost Bikinis.

"Good grief, I can't stay here forever. Do you have any ideas how to get me out of this mess?"

"We could wait 'til dark, but then you'd be all purple and waterlogged. Or . . . I could go right now and borrow a towel for you."

Her eyes widened in terror. "Oh no—if I came out of the water with a towel across my chest, everyone on the beach would know. I'd never live it down, besides, I don't want you to leave me—I'm cold."

"Okay . . . I only have one idea left, and you're not gonna like it."

"Well, give it to me quick—my lips are turning blue." And not a very pretty shade either, I might add.

"I could always warm them up for ya'." I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"Jacob Black!" She frowned at me.

"Yeah, all right. I could carry you out of here, and take you over to my house. You'd have to put your arms around my neck and wrap your legs at my waist. If you're self conscious about touching me without a suit on, place one of your arms across your chest."

"You're right—I don't like it. But this is an emergency, so okay, let's do it!"

Bella climbed aboard so to speak, and believe me, it was a lot easier to accomplish the maneuver since we were in the water. I could just imagine her trying this on land; it would've been a trip to the emergency room for sure. I carried my adorable bundle—of nerves—to the shoreline and from there to my house. Miraculously, no one seemed to notice, huh . . .

I got ready to set her down in my bedroom when she yelled, "Don't you dare put me down 'til you close those hungry eyes of yours first!"

"Oh, c'mon Bells, you know I'd never do that to you." Or would I? No, no, no . . . Well, maybe just a peek. God, I was such a guy! Ugh—no, I was a good boy, I couldn't do that. I would never forgive myself, plus the image of her naked from the waist up would play on a loop in my head forever, driving me even more insane.

I closed my eyes tightly and moved in the general direction of my dresser. Ow—I banged into it, stubbing one of my big toes. I opened my eyes so I could see the clothes in the drawer, and pulled out a tee shirt. I walked backward 'til I felt her hand grab it. I stood with my back to her, and waited 'til she announced, "Okay, you can turn around now."

How anyone could look so damn sexy standing there shivering in an oversized tee is beyond me. I stopped ogling her, and led her by the hand to the dilapidated couch in my living room. There was a blanket thrown over one of the arms, I wrapped her up in it, and pulled her towards me. Her shivering began to subside as my heat slowly penetrated her skin.

"Mmn . . . you're so warm," she cooed. Bella looked up from her comfortable spot on my shoulder. She was almost too close for comfort. Those—blue—lips were calling to me.

Staring at me with a look of utter sincerity, she remarked, "I'm so glad I was with you when that happened. Any other guy would have taken advantage of the situation. You're so good to me, Jake. I owe you."

She continued gazing at me thoughtfully, and I nearly fell off the couch when she spoke the words I was dying to hear.

"Would you mind warming up my lips; you said you wanted to? I think they're still a little blue."

A little blue? How 'bout a lot blue. Wait a minute—did she just say to warm up her lips?

"What did you just say?" I wanted to make no mistake about it.

"I'm asking you to kiss me, stupid! Geesh, sometimes you can be so den—"

Bella swallowed her last word as my lips came crashing down on hers. I knew I should have started out slowly, but damn, I couldn't help myself. I'd been waiting so long for this opportunity, and I couldn't ignore the knocking now.

And like lightning—it struck. I was so busy warming up her lips that I didn't notice how Bells was warming up to me! Jeez, all of a sudden, she was nearly sucking my face off, not that I was complaining, mind you. My conscience got the better of me though, and our kissing session came to a screeching halt. I practically had to peel her off of me. One hand was clenching the roots of my hair, the other strangling my neck. For such a little thing she sure had the persistence of a badger. Her tiny face reflected her disappointment and her lips pursed in a childlike pout. There was a big why in her chocolate brown eyes. Good question . . .

"I'm gonna hate myself for this, but aren't you still with Cullen? How's he gonna feel about you kissing me—and I mean KISSING me. Isn't this like cheating on him or something?" I rubbed the side of my face nervously, waiting for her answer.

She spoke like this was an everyday occurrence. "I don't really want to talk about Edward right now. He and I had a fight, and I don't really feel warm and fuzzy about him. Maybe it would do him some good to know I was kissing someone else for a change. Anyway, he's all right with it. Edward knows I'm not committed, yet. I just wanted to compare, that's all. It's not like I was going to bed with you or anything." Damn, even I hadn't thought that far ahead, yet.

"Well then, tell me something. How did I compare?" And please be gentle.

Bella gave me a mischievous smile. "I don't know yet, I didn't get to sample enough of the menu."

Pressing her lips to mine, she got my heart pumping a mile a minute for the second time today. I swear, I was gonna die of heart failure.

And then, Quil came barging into the living room—without knocking, as usual.

"Hey, buddy, your car's parked out in— Oops! Sorry, man, I didn't know you had company."

The rickety couch squeaked as Bella turned toward him. "It's okay, Quil, I probably should be heading home anyway. It's getting late."

Damn that Quil—he had the worst timing. I waved goodbye to him begrudgingly as he beat it out the door.

I separated quickly from Bella and went out to the Rabbit to get her tote bag so she could change.

She walked into the bathroom with the bag, but when she came out, she seemed different somehow. Something about her had changed and I didn't mean her clothes either.

I took her home and the day ended with a goodnight kiss—a long, lingering, passionate, goodnight kiss. I couldn't help but wonder how many more times our lips would meet—or if they ever would again. Jeez, that was a depressing thought.

The next day I called the pixie—yeah, I mean Alice. I asked her about the bathing suit, the size etc. When I got off the phone, I headed straight for Juniors R Us and bought Bella a nice one piece swim suit. It was lavender with white trim and a simple white belt. I took it home and placed it in my dresser. The next time we went cliff diving, I would be prepared.

Sure enough, three days later Bella was asking me to go out to the cliff with her. This time I made her drive to La Push. She arrived at my place with all her junk in tow, including a new hat. I had to know what she was wearing under her cover up, so I asked her politely. She flashed me a red bikini with black bows at the hips.

I dragged her by the arm into my bedroom and pulled the bathing suit out of the drawer. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Wouldn't this suit you better?" I taunted.

She gasped in surprise; her eyes taking in the view. Suddenly, her shocked expression turned to outrage. "You had another girl in here? That's Ann's suit. She was wearing it at Jessica's last pool party. You were there—you saw her. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"Whaaat? No! I bought this—for you. Cost me a pretty penny, too."

"Yeah, right—and it just happened to wind up in your dresser drawer. How convenient!"

Jeez, she didn't have to get so mad—over nothing apparently. But wait—did that mean she was jealous? Sweeeet!

"It's the truth, you've gotta believe me. I didn't want you to misplace it like your other one."

Bella folded her arms across her chest and scowled at me. "I don't believe a word you're saying. I'm going home." She stomped out the door to the Chevy.

Great—more drama. An idea popped into my head as her truck drove off. "I think I'll go jump off a cliff. Anybody out there wanna join me?"