AN: Hey peeps! So this is my new story...anyone up for some hot Doctorward and Heroella? That's what I thought. This chapter is just a taster, more of a chapterette – kinda cute and small...I just want to pet it; anyway there is a little bit more written but I wanted to stop this chapter here before it became a huge mofo of a Chapter with a capital C!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, if I did I wouldn't need to have three jobs whilst at uni...I do own a really cool, deflated birthday balloon with colourful flowers on!
"Hey Bella!"
I groaned internally as I walked up the ramp to the blue and yellow Lifeguard tower.
"Hey Mike; been busy today?"
He looked up at me from the desk we all shared, currently lost under a stack of paperwork and equipment.
"Not really; a couple of jelly fish stings, a few lost children – 'bout it."
I smiled back at him in answer before making my way across to the locker room at the back of the tower; the blinds were drawn in here causing the temperature to drop a fraction and the room to be lost in semi-darkness. Being careful to skirt around the sofa that I knew was next to the door and the table in front of it, I edged over to the opposite wall where a stack of lockers occupied the space next to the large window. After twiddling the pole on the blinds to let in an ounce more light, I could finally distinguish the dial on my locker at the top.
I swear the guys gave me this locker on purpose, my 5"4" stature meant I couldn't see in properly unless I was on tiptoes – causing my entire body to stretch, which I'm sure they knew. I could almost feel Mike's eyes on my bum as I dumped anything valuable out of my bag and into my locker; car keys, purse, iPod, leaving only a spare tank top, towel, notepad and my latest book in the bottom.
Shuffling in the next room and the sound of someone clearing their throat made me turn round; Mike was leaning on the door to the staff room looking in at me. He looked down at his feet before meeting my gaze.
"So, I was wondering if you wanted to come for that drink tonight after you finished your shift? I get off at the same time and I know this really great bar not far from here. What d'you think?" He looked so hopeful I almost forgot it was Mike I was speaking too.
"Umm, sorry Mike, Jasper gets home from his trip today so I was going to make him a special 'Welcome Home' type meal." I cringed as he visibly drooped; seriously, you think he'd get the hint after so many excuses that I just wasn't interested. He looked genuinely upset and a wave of pity and guilt washed through me; "Maybe another time, yeah?"
His shoulders straightened and he flashed a very white grin in my direction at my last sentence; "I'll hold you to that!" he purred in an attempt at a seductive tone, it took all I had to repress the shudder that threatened to rip through my body.
'I bet you will' I couldn't help but think grumpily.
It wasn't that he was 'bad' looking or a complete creep; I just wasn't interested in Mike. In fact, he was quite handsome, if you go for that whole 'surfer-boy-next-door-golden-Labrador-look'. His blonde hair was just an inch too long to be called short and his blue eyes were rather sweet; but even though his body had obviously benefitted from the workout that is life for any lifeguard, his face still had that boyish roundness which was extended with the light dusting of freckles across his straight nose. I'm sure that to many women he would be irresistable, but for me – no. There was no spark, no attraction (at least on my part) and even though I turned him down at least once every day, I knew he could and did get over me quickly enough by flirting and doing god-knows-what-else with Jessica.
A glance at the clock in the office made me realise I was nearly late to sign in.
"I'll see you later, is Jake out by the chair?" He nodded so I slung my bag over my shoulder and made my way back out to the sand, waving goodbye as I went.
As I meandered over to the other side of the beach I had to dodge several groups of squealing children and the many picnic areas that were beginning to sprout up everywhere – I could tell that the weather forecaster's promise of sun today had not gone unnoticed. Sun such as this was a rarity for most of the year in Seattle; so when the temperature finally rose enough to be worthy of the title 'hot', everyone, and I mean everyone, took advantage of it. I was going to be working extra hard this afternoon if the beach continued to fill up this way.
The sight of the large, raised chair, bright white against the golden sand and looming towards me, broke me from my thoughts. Without thinking about it consciously, my eyes roved to the large, tan figure at the top.
Reaching the bottom of the ladder, I cleared my throat, drawing the attention of the well muscled man. Upon seeing me his face broke into a grin before he half climbed, half jumped down (an act which caused a flash of jealousy to rip through me as I realised that never in a million years would I be able to do that without face planting into the sand – I was so clumsy I was practically disabled).
"Bells! Glad you could make it! I thought I was going to have to rescue you again." His voice was deep and manly, but his eyes (brown, like the rest of him) sparkled like a little boy's.
"Hi Jake! I'm not that late am I?"
He laughed, "Only five minutes but I know you, you're never late and I also know that five minutes alone with Mike is about as long as you can take without giving into the urge to roundhouse kick him."
I swatted his arm playfully, but couldn't stop the giggle that escaped as the image of me kicking the 6"0" Mike flashed through my mind.
"You do know that I would never kick him don't you? Or anyone else really for that matter?"
"Yeah," Jake sighed dejectedly, "but I can always hope, right?" He smirked at me, before scrambling back up the ladder to pull his rucksack out of the cubby hole beneath the seat.
Jacob Black was one of my best friends. I'd first met him six years ago on my first day as the new lifeguard for Seattle Beach. It was only meant to be a part-time job whilst I was in college, but even when I'd finished my degree in English Literature and the time came for me to quit, I just couldn't do it. My reasoning being that the hours were flexible, the money was good, I enjoyed it and it gave me the space I needed to write without the pressure of bills that I couldn't pay.
Jake had been my first friend at the beach; when I joined the team, the other guys were sceptical that someone as small and as 'delicate looking' as me could actually save someone – but halfway through my introduction talk I'd spotted a man in trouble. I had been a lifeguard since my Sophomore year in Forks – working weekends at the pool in Port Angeles, so without thinking, I grabbed the nearest rescue can and ran into the water.
It was the furthest I'd ever gone to get to someone and the cramp that I had from dragging the heavy plastic floatation device was almost crippling. But I refused to give up – I wanted to show Mike and Eric I could cope and anyway, this man's life was at risk.
Looping his arm through the belt, I made sure he was holding on tight before turning to the shore.
By this point, I was also having doubts on my ability, but the sight of Mike up to his waist in the water and Eric being held back by a tanned man at the edge, gave me the adrenaline burst I craved and I sped back to the beach.
A crowd had gathered eager to see the action and any excitement that followed. They erupted in cheers as Mike helped me pull the exhausted man ashore.
As he and Eric bent over the man checking for injuries, I rose on unsteady feet and swayed for a second, until the man who had been restraining my colleagues wrapped a strong arm around my waist and led me into the tower.
"And that boys," he called happily over his shoulder, "is how it's done!"
After making me a cup of strong, sweet tea and finding me a towel and an oversized T-shirt with 'Lifeguard' written across the chest in bright red, the strange man had sat me down and introduced himself as Jacob Black – Head Lifeguard for Seattle Beach.
He begun by saying how impressed he was that I hadn't seemed put off by the guys' assumptions that I was too much of a girl to be any use. Apparently, this was their normal reaction to anyone less muscled than themselves and already this week, they had deterred three other potential lifeguards from the position. I made sure to smile and laugh in all the right places as he described some of the boys' wilder attempts at weeding out the weak candidates; and thanked God that they trusted too much that I was scared to break a nail or the like, and didn't try anything on me.
After a while, I found myself to be genuinely enjoying his company and when Eric and Mike had returned at the end of their shift and apologised for doubting me I was so happy that I didn't think twice before accepting the position on a trial basis.
Over the three years of college I spent most of my time studying but any free time I found would be spent at the beach. I loved the feel of the sun on my skin (even though, annoyingly, it never seemed to get any less pearly white), and the rush you get as you swim out to someone in trouble is a feeling I haven't yet managed to replicate with anything else. So I carried on, I finished my course, graduated, found a house only a few minutes' walk from the beach and stayed put. I can't think of anywhere else I've been happier.
Of course, my Mum was upset that I hadn't moved to Jacksonville with her and Phil after college, and Dad was sad that I hadn't returned to Forks – but Renee was much too flighty to honestly remember that I wasn't there most of the time and Charlie was only a few hours' drive away from Seattle.
The thud of Jake's bag as it hit the sand focused my attention on him once again as he descended the ladder (this time, much more sedately), to fill my vision.
Raising my hand to shield my eyes from the blinding sun, I looked up at him.
"Jees, Jake, have you always been that tall?" His low, husky laugh shook his entire six foot five frame and his eyes danced.
"Sure have squirt. Anyway, I'd best be off, Nessie's parents are coming round for dinner and I'm meant to be picking up the drink on my way home. Don't forget to sign in when you get up there, and watch out for the kids – there's bound to be trouble today." Folding himself almost in half, Jake bent down and gave me a quick squeeze before snatching his bag off the floor and hoisting it across his broad shoulders. With a final wave, and a smile on my part, I watched as he turned round and surrendered himself to the endless flow of people milling around and made his way back to the tower.
Readjusting the strap on my shoulder I made my way up the ladder, stowing my bag in the cubby hole as I went, before settling myself in my seat. Reaching to my right, I unhooked the flipchart on the side of the seat and filled in the time next to my name, then proceeded to check the equipment around me. I slid the whistle on its long cord around my neck, made sure the megaphone was strapped securely to the arm rest and that the rescue can was attached to the other arm for easy access (there's nothing worse than getting stuck halfway down the ladder with the lead in a mess and someone waiting in the water). Pulling a pair of super-visibility binoculars out of my bag and being satisfied with my safety checks, I leant back and let my mind drift slightly as I continuously scanned the beach and the water.
Jake and Nessie were possibly the cutest couple I'd seen since my high school friends, Ben and Angela. Nessie had been my first roommate at college and surprisingly, we got on brilliantly. In an attempt to get me to stay at home, Charlie and his friends had been telling me horror stories of their college roommates and needless to say, when Nessie walked into our room on induction day, her wild red curls blowing manically in the breeze from the window and her porcelain skin positively glowing with energy, I had a fleeting desire to run for the hills, but the smile she proceeded to grace me with and the friendly hello soon calmed me down and we'd been close friends ever since.
Even Charlie liked her, and that was saying something, as he regarded anything even remotely linked to Seattle as being the reason his only daughter was no longer at home.
I'd been working at the beach for about 2 months when Nessie had deemed it upon herself to come and pick me up after a particularly long shift; and when she arrived, in my batted, red Chevy, I made a point about introducing her to Jake. I'd had my suspicions since meeting him, and after that first look he gave her, everything I had begun to think seemed undoubtedly solid. I knew she was beautiful, and she was just as smart with a wit that could cut, but the look Jake gave her was similar, in my view, to how a dying man would look at a glass of water. I was certain she felt the same, as she did a thing rarely seen in her case; she giggled – properly giggled, a full out, girly, fluffy pink, meringue-type giggle.
I only just managed to contain my excitement at my own match-making capabilities.
Since then, I'd rarely seen one without the other, except for those times on duty when Nessie had been unable to think of a reason to drop by.
I fully expect Jake to propose any day now – they've been a 'couple' for five and a hald years now and anyone with eyes can see that they are made for each other.
A squeal below me shifted my awareness to a large group of children, ranging vastly in ages, who were chasing each other round the bottom of my chair. Blowing my whistle to get their attention I explained that it was dangerous to run around the chair like that and that they could quite easily get in the way in an emergency; after making them promise to steer clear of this area, and giving a quick warning about going in the sea without an adult, I left them to their play.
The beach was definitely filling up and my eyes followed the group as they made their way, shrieking across the sand, towards several large groups of families. One little boy, quite clearly the youngest by a long way, must only have been about four and I couldn't stop the smile that split my face as I watched him trail behind the others, desperately trying to keep up, his brown curls dancing in the wind.
Fingering the cord on the whistle, I scrutinized the now packed swimming area.
'Yes', I thought, 'today is going to be interesting.'
AN: Ok, so there we are...and I promise – the drama is on the way *Mwahaha* Oh! And Edward too ;) Loves me some Edward...
Anyhoo, reviews are better than hugs from Jake so leave me some lovin' and make me happy!