Thank you all for reading. I really appreciate the reviews and whatnot. So there was something I wanted to add before posting this chapter. Usually when I write I have to have music going to play as my muse. I find that typically a song will draw me in and ill use that as an inspiration for the chapter. I decided that in the chapters I'll add what song(s) I listened to most when writing. Just something a little extra to check out. Thanks again and enjoy!
Chapter two song: Glad You Came, The Wanted.
Somebody that I Used to Know, Gotye
"Bella! You almost ready up there?" Charlie yelled at me from the bottom of the stairs. "These fish aren't going to catch themselves you know."
"Be right down."
My night had been a restless one. Living in Seattle I had gotten used to hearing noise outside my windows at all hours of the night. Being in Forks, everything was so quiet I had found it disturbing. My thoughts kept wandering without the distraction. Once I had fallen asleep my dreams allowed me little rest.
I would wake up breathing heavy, myself and my sheets damp with sweat. I had no idea that dreams could be so intense.
In my dreams Jacob had come to me, sneaking through my window late at night. He wouldn't utter a single word as he aroused me by climbing into my bed, wrapping me in his large arms. He felt warms as I leaned into his hard chest. I ran my hands through his hair as he grabbed my hips, pulling me in closer. I could feel myself start to ache for him and his touch. "Bella, I want you, I need you, so bad." The sound of his deep voice caused me to let out a small moan as I pulled back to kiss his soft lips. He had stopped me though by rolling us over. I could feel his hard erection press into my inner thigh. His hands skimmed up my sides before he took both of my breasts, playing with my hard nipples in between his fingers. My back arched, leaning in to his touch I could only think about how I wanted him to keep touching me, exploring my body. "Bella," his breathing was quick and his words short. "Bella… it's time to wake up."
This is where I had woken up every time. My subconscious was really being unfair. I was about to go spend the day with Jacob and the only thing I would be able to think about is him half naked in my bedroom. It felt like I barely knew this guy but there was something about him that I just couldn't deny.
Shaking my head I pulled on a plain t-shirt and picked out a pair of old jeans. Looking outside I noticed that there were dark clouds in the distance. "Great." I muttered, grabbing my maroon hoodie and throwing it on. Walking over to my desk I looked at a few of my study books trying to decide what would distract me best at Jakes. I hadn't noticed it last night, but I had stacked them on top of a tattered old book. Pulling it out I realized that it was my old copy of Wuthering Heights. I brushed it off and started flipping through the pages.
I could picture previous summer nights, sitting on the porch swing, reading this book for the hundredth time. I'd be outside with my blanket and every now and then I could see the blinds gently peel back from Charlie checking in on me. I would always wait for the sliver of light to vanish before I let out a smile. He thought he was being stealthy so I never let on that I knew he checked on me almost every 30 minutes.
I decided that I would skip my studying today and just take this along with me instead. It had been years since I last read it and I knew it would serve as a good distraction once I entered the world of Emily Brontë.
Downstairs I could hear Charlie pace back down the hallway. I quickly grabbed a few more things to pack with me before hurrying out.
As my foot hit the bottom stair I could feel my stomach do an anxious flip. Today was only just beginning.
Once we were on the reservation, it was only another ten minutes before we pulled up to Billy's house. It was a small place with peeling red paint on the outside. I remembered the place being in slightly better condition the last time I was here, but it was as if nothing really changed. Before the truck was in park Billy came wheeling outside with his tackle box on his lap.
"I thought you'd never show up Swan." He called out at Charlie as we were getting out of my truck. "Bella? Jacob was right; you sure have grown up a lot. It's great to see you again."
"Hey Billy, it's good to see you again also. It's been awhile."
"Your dad here has been talking about you coming back for a few weeks now. It sure must be nice to be home for the summer… get away from that damned city!" He ended enthusiastically.
"Yeah yeah Billy. Come on, let's get down to the dock before there's no more space." Charlie said getting some gear from the back of my truck.
"Hold on just a second Charlie... Jake!" Billy yelled half turning to the house. "Jake! I need you outside boy!"
I looked down and pretended to dig for my bag for something. As the screen door swung open I could feel my breathing quicken and my right foot started tapping the ground. Chapstick, yes... I had chapstick somewhere in this bag that I could be digging for.
"Jake, Charlie and I are going to take your Jeep out to the lake since you both are going to take a look at Bella's truck today."
"Yeah Dad, I'll help you up into up into it." As he walked by me he gently grabbed a strand of hair that fell into my face and gave it a small tug. "Good morning, sunshine."
Shyly I looked up and just flashed him a smile then brushed my hair away from my face. He looked back giving me a wink before his lips curled up into a smirk. I continued to dig through my bag aimlessly to distract myself as scenes from last night's sex dreams danced through my head. I was brought back by Charlie's hand on my shoulder.
"We probably won't be home before dark tonight Bells. It's hard to get this old man away from the lake once he hits park. You'll be at the house tonight when I get home?"
"Of course Dad, where else would I be?"
He quickly glanced up at Jake. "I don't know, I was just asking. I'll see you when I get home then. You two have fun today."
"Yeah, thanks."
"Hey," Charlie said turning around on his way to the Jeep. "I didn't hear anything wrong with your truck on the way over here. Was it just when you were free way driving?"
Great. "Uhm, I think so… I don't really remember."
"Well make sure you tell Jake that!"
As if he can't hear you, I thought to myself. "Alright."
While Jake helped load the rest of their tackle into the truck I went over and sat on the bumper of my truck. Throwing my bag onto the hood of the truck I pulled out my cell phone to send Ang a quick text.
Me: ANG! I miss you and Jess so much. What's it like in Seattle right now? How's the planning going? Oh please keep me posted!
"So, you just couldn't stay away huh sweetheart" His voice made me jump and I almost dropped my phone.
"Charlie called you, not me. Besides, I think my truck is fine. It only made a noise for a few miles then stopped. My dad's just being paranoid."
"Eh, either way I'll take a look." Turning around he started walking back towards the house. "So are you going to come inside? I still have a few things to do before we head into town."
"Sure" I said picking up my bag and following him inside.
The inside of the house was eclectic but very cozy. The space was small with low ceilings so Jacob seemed even taller when we went inside. Around the house there were pieces of tribal art and carvings that seemed very fitting in their surroundings. The couches were a woven brown that matched most of the carpet throughout. I remembered back to sitting on the smaller one, reading the same book that was in my bag, while Charlie and Billy argued sports and made dinner.
"I'm going to jump in the shower. You're more than welcome to watch TV or…"
"I brought a book." I said, cutting him off and pointing to the bag hanging off my shoulder.
He smiled then leaned up against the wall with his elbow, running his hand through his hair. "I was going to say OR you could join me."
"Excuse me!" I spatted. "What makes you think that I would ever…"
"Alright, you like things a little slower, I get that."
I stood there speechless and out of remarks while he just stared at me. After what seemed like a few minutes he let out a deep laugh, lifting up his shirt and rubbing his stomach. I couldn't help but notice his perfect river lines that fluently ran into the low sitting band of his gym shorts.
"Bella! I am just kidding with you! Calm down… red definitely isn't your color."
"Whatever." I mumbled walking into the living room.
Sitting on the couch I started digging through my bag but was shortly interrupted by jakes wadded up shirt hitting my hands. I looked up at him still in the hall but shirtless. The soft yet defined curves of his muscles were perfectly accented by his tan skin. I dug my finger nails into my palms to distract my thoughts.
"Really?" I asked sarcastically as he turned to go into the bathroom.
Leaning back into the couch I threw the shirt into the bathroom door. It made a thud before sliding down onto the floor. I pulled out my book flipping to the first page. It only felt like a few quick moments before Jacob came out of the bathroom. His hair was wet and pulled back into a low pony tail. He had changed into a plain white tee and black pants. Even in a simple outfit I made note of how good he made it look.
"Alright sweetheart, let's get into town and see what's up with your ride." He said grabbing his keys and wallet from the counter.
Walking out to the truck he made his way to the driver's side door then motioned for the keys.
"What? You think that you're going to drive my truck?"
"Bella, I'm a mechanic and for me to diagnose what the hell is wrong I need to drive. Don't worry, the shops only like 15 minutes away."
Hesitantly I threw him the keys then climbed in the passenger side door. Being as how Jake was much taller than I it took us a few minutes of adjusting the seat before we could leave.
"You do have your license right?" I asked looking out the window as we made our way into town.
Jakob let out a single laugh. "Yes! We are the same age, why wouldn't I have it."
"Well I don't know, I was just checking. One can never be too safe." I glanced back towards him. "And how do you remember that we're the same age?"
"Jesus Bella, for a smart girl your memory sucks. I don't know, I just remember… and obviously I remember a lot more than you do."
"Well, like you said, I spent most of the time at your house reading. I do remember you though. You never really came inside. You were either off on your bike or out in the garage I think. It's not like we hung around each other much." I said running my fingers through my hair then pulling it back into a pony tail.
He took one hand off the steering wheel and held it to his chest. "I couldn't help I was shy and had a major crush on my father's best friend's daughter!" He flashed me one of his smirks taking his eyes off the road for a second.
"Pay attention to what you're doing!" I exclaimed righting myself in the passenger seat. "And a crush? Hmph! You never talked to me, barely at least. Everything I know about you now I have pretty much heard from Charlie."
"Ask me anything… by all means. I wouldn't want you feeling like you're hanging out with a complete stranger, so get to know me."
"Alright then," I said turning in my seat so I was facing him with my head rested in my hand. "Favorite color?"
"Are you serious?" He said looking over at me with a large grin.
"Hey, you said to get to know you as more than the awkward kid that I would occasionally see SOME summers."
He kept smiling but looked back at the road. I could see the muscles in his arms tense as he squeezed the steering wheel. "Red."
"Sport?"
"Uh, football I guess."
"Food?"
"Italian." This one he said with a grin looking right at me.
"Eyes back on the road." I said hoping he wouldn't notice me blush. "Music?"
"Alternative stuff probably… or classic rock."
"Work out much?" Oops… I had meant to only think that one.
"Uh, only a few times a week. I don't always have time with the shop and all."
"Whatever." I muttered. "What do you do for fun?"
"Well, right now I work a lot since my dad's not able to go in all that much. Besides that hang out on the res with my friends riding bikes or going out the cliffs to dive." He shrugged his shoulder coolly. "Just your typical stuff I guess."
"Do you like working at the shop?"
"Yeah, it's alright."
"Just alright?"
"Well, I like it… working with my friends makes it easier. I just didn't think that I would be running the shop by now. But it is what it is." He said, slowing down as we entered the small town of La Push.
"Hmm, so what I got is that you like red, maybe football, working at the shop it alright and your friends obviously are a lot to you. I would say that you're not a stranger anymore." I said smiling and turning back around in my seat.
"Bella, we go way back, I was never a stranger. So your car hasn't made a noise the entire way here… are you sure it was a knocking noise the car was making?"
"Knocking, rattle… clunking, I really have no idea. Like I said, it didn't last long, just for a few minutes on the way here. I'm sure it's just Charlie overreacting to me saying something insignificant."
It was only a few more miles through town before we pulled into the shop. The front doors were open and I could see a few guys inside working and yelling across the floor to each other. As Jacob pulled up in front of one of the doors he threw the car in park then turned to me.
"Look… these guys, my friends, they're great. But they can be a little... outspoken. Just don't worry about what they say."
"Jake… you're scaring me here." I said grabbing my bag from the floor.
"They're not that bad, they can just be loud sometimes… not mean, just loud." He repeated.
"I'm a big girl, I'm sure I'll be fine."
As we both got out of the truck I could hear the music lower and some of the yelling quieted down. I followed Jake inside where we were quickly greeted by three other guys. They all had the soft beautiful russet skin and long lean muscles that Jacob had. Unlike him though, they all kept their hair short.
"Hey guys, this is Bella. Bella, this is Embry, Quil and Paul." He said introducing them from left to right.
"Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter?" Paul asked.
"Hey." I said shyly waving at them.
Jake shoved his hands into his front pockets. "Bella has the summer off from college and is staying with Charlie in Forks."
"I can understand why you wasted no time offering to show her around." His friend Quil said, punching him in the shoulder. He turned towards me with a large smile. "So Bella, how do you know this here knucklehead…"
Paul interrupted with a large sigh. "Jake, dude…. we have four jobs to get out by the end of today. Instead of helping you've been out chasing her?"
"Make that five jobs Paul. Bella's truck here needs a quick look at, just a routine run through." Jacob said glaring at Paul.
"Man! That's it. Jake, I'll show Bella a good time, you can do the check." Quil said throwing his rag onto the nearest work bench before crossing the shop. When he got to me he grabbed my hand and pretended to drag me out of the shop.
"Quil!" Jacob's voice sounded more like a warning.
"Fine, it's too bad Bella." He said looking at me and giving my hand a squeeze. "This could have been fun."
"Yeah, well from what I hear they always have a fun time with Jake." Paul muttered from under the hood of a nearby car.
I looked over at Jake who had a slightly distressed look on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Warned you." He mouthed to me.
"Come on Paul." Embry yelled out. "It's not every day that Jacob brings 'em back to the shop… don't scare her off."
I went to say something when I felt Quil's arm stretch around my shoulders, pulling me into him. "Don't mind them princess. Jake did warn you about us right?"
I smiled and tucked a few stray pieces of hair behind my ear. "His exact words were that you guys were great… but outspoken."
"Ah… outspoken. He must be feeling generous today. Don't mind Paul." He said leaning in closer. "It's been awhile since he got laid and he's only jealous."
"Well that sounds like his problem," I said taking his arm from around my neck and placing it back down by his side. "not mine."
Quil let out a laugh as he turned to Jacob. "Hey, I like her! Why don't you invite her to the party tonight? I bet she's fun when she loosens up."
"I doubt she wants to go out with all of you guys tonight." He said looking though a few pieces of paper that were lying on the desk. "I'm not even sure if I want to be around you guys tonight."
"Awe, come on. You can come as my date Bella." Quil said looking at me.
Jacob shoved the papers in the top drawer then started making his way towards us. "Quil, no."
"I believe that was an invitation for me, Jacob Black." I said trying to seem offended. "What if I want to go?"
"Trust me, you don't." Paul said still working on a car.
I turned towards him. "Why's that?"
"Ashley." Embry said giving Jake a smirk.
"Come on guys!" Paul interrupted. "Five jobs, anyone remember?"
"Alright!" Quil swooped me up into his arms lifting me off the floor. I couldn't help but let out a small giggle at his sudden display of affection. "When Jake here becomes an idiot, you know where to find me."
"Come on lover boy!" Embry called after Quil. "Jake, pull the truck around and I'll take a look at it really fast."
"Thanks." Jake gently placed his hand on my lower back and guided me over to his desk. "I'm going to pull your truck into the stall then I have to talk to Embry for a second. Just hang out here for a few minutes then we'll go somewhere, ok?"
"Sure."
I checked my cell phone but saw that Ang hadn't messaged me back yet. I made the mental note to call her later today. Spinning in the chair I thought about some of the comments that Paul had made. I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic with me or not, Jake had warned me. What did is mean that they all have a fun time with Jake? Or who was Ashley? It seems like Jake had ignore both of his comments. I didn't take Jake for the player type of guy. Then again I hardly knew him, little lone his sexual habits. Not like it really matters Bella, I thought to myself coming to a stop in the chair.
"So, how long have you been hanging out with Jake?" I could hear Paul's voice from under the hood of a car in front of me. When I looked up he was staring at me, pushing off the front bumper of the car.
"Uhm, well we don't really hang out. Our fathers have been friends since I can remember and Jake was at my dad's yesterday when I got in from Seattle. He helped me out with…"
"Seattle?" He asked sitting on the front of the car.
"Yeah, I go the UW over there and am just visiting for the summer. I guess you could say Jake and I have known each other since we were kids. My dad asked him to look at my truck for me."
He shrugged his large shoulders nonchalantly. "Right on, all summer flings have to start somewhere."
"NO!" I blurted out. "That is not what this is. This is, this is just friends. If you even call it that. I feel like I barely know Jake since I haven't seen him in… YEARS! Even when we were younger he hardly talked to me whenever I would…"
"Woah!" Paul said raising his hands in the air and chuckling. "Bella, I was teasing. Trust me… flings that last a whole summer aren't exactly Jakes thing." The last part was more of a mumble as he turned back to the car he had been working on.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He paused for a minute then gave me a large grin. "Just another tease Bella. Hey, can you hand me that pressure gauge on the desk?"
I looked around but everything was cluttered in paper and greasy finger prints. I could see some tools scattered around but had no idea what Paul was asking for. Moving around a few papers, nothing was jumping out at me. "So, uh, what exactly does this thing look…"
"To your left." Paul's voice was right by my side. Looking up he was only a few inches away and looking right at me. As he leaned over me to get the tool he dropped his gaze level with mine. I could feel his thigh press against mine, sending a flash of heat washing overme. I drew in my breath silently and tried to hold it. Slowly he brought what must have been the pressure gauge up to my face. "This." He whispered.
I nodded, not wanting to talk as I continued to hold my breath. This proximity was making my chest tight. All I could think was, what is he doing?
"And this," I said using my finger to motion between the two of us. "is an invasion of my personal space. Five jobs Paul, remember?"
He stood up straight giving me a puzzling look. It looked like he wanted to laughg but I could see in his eyes that he was still thinking about what I said. Jesus, I thought rolling my eyes. Paul gave himself another second then made his way back over to the car. On his way I could have sworn I heard him mutter, "Don't pretend you didn't like that."
I couldn't help but smile as I spun myself in the chair to see where Jake was. I almost jumped from the seat when I turned around and saw that he was right there.
"OK, you ready to go… woah, sorry sweetheart; I didn't mean to scare you." He said.
"Sorry, just kind jumpy." I said glancing over at Paul. "Where are we going exactly?"
"Out, I'll show you. Em is letting us borrow his car while he looks at your truck." He grabbed my hands to help pull me out the chair. When I stood up we were almost chest to chest. The corner of his lip curled into a half grin that made me melt. If I could pick the best thing about Jake it would be his perfect smile. Gently he grabbed the strap of my bag and positioned it so that it was higher up on my shoulder. Instead of removing his hand he left it on my shoulder. I looked down to the floor, not able to look at him any longer. I could already feel my hands become fidgety and my heart was racing.
"Careful, Paul said walking by us. "You might pop her bubble."
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something.
"What was that about?" He was taking a step back to leave.
"I don't know." I said shrugging and walking alongside him out of the shop.