All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Chapter 4 – Jake

BELLA

I walked silently to the weight room with the guys. They were talking back and forth, fighting over the best work out for me, and I wondered if this was really a good idea. I should have been avoiding them, not hanging out with them. But they did provide me some level of protection from Jake.

Edward kept looking at me oddly, and it made me nervous. I didn't think he was gay, but I'd caught him checking out my butt last night, and that made me very uneasy.

What if he figured out my secret?

I did my best to avoid eye contact with him. His green eyes were very distracting and made me forget what I was doing. Emmett passed me some one-pound weights, and Jasper nodded in approval.

"Now, you let us know if this hurts your ribs, Rick," Jasper said encouraging me to do some curls.

Emmett lay down on a bench, and Edward spotted him, as he did bench presses. I watched Edward for a moment and then my eyes found Jasper again.

"I think you'll have to wait until your ribs are healed before you can try bench pressing," he offered, and I just nodded my head yes. "So, how do you know Jake?" he asked, and for some reason I blushed. I really didn't know why. Maybe it was because Jake was always making lewd remarks.

"He's a friend of Seth's from the reservation. They knew each other before my dad married his mom. My dad fishes with Billy, Jake's dad, so we've seen each other before. We were friends when we were little, but as we got older, things changed."

That was the most honest answer I could give him. I was horrible at lying, but I found in most cases, I could tell the truth and be vague and let people make their own assumptions.

"So, you used to be friends?"

"Well, not really, more like friends of convenience. When I came to visit my dad in the summers, he'd take me fishing with Billy and Jake. We'd get bored and go play together, because there was no one else to play with," I said with a shrug. Jake wasn't that bad, at least when we were kids. For some reason, once I started to grow boobs, he turned into an ass.

The rest of the week went much the same. We had classes in the morning, and then after lunch, we had free time, which the boys used to pump me up. I ended up spending most evenings soaking in the tub, trying to relieve the soreness. I felt like my arms were going to fall off. However, I did tone up nicely and gained almost an inch of muscle, so the guys were impressed. My curves also became more pronounced, but I did well to hide them.

I noticed the guys' conversations gradually got cruder. They were missing girls. I knew Jake would be missing them, too. To my surprise, Edward said very little about the opposite sex. He also continued to look at me oddly. I was really beginning to wonder about his sexual orientation. The hottest guys always seemed to be gay, and he was definitely hot.

It was late at night, when he broke the silence.

"Hey, Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever been to Port Angeles?"

I decided it was best to be honest, as there was no way I could tell a believable lie.

"Yes, of course, it's not like there's a lot to do in Forks."

"I swear I've seen you before, but I just can't place you, and it's driving me nuts."

"Um, sorry?"

"No, it's not your fault. I know I've seen you before. I just can't place where. Do you mind helping me before I go nuts and ask my father for a CAT scan to see if my brain is still working?"

"Uh..." The truth was, I was worried he actually could place me, but then again, I knew I would have remembered if I had ever seen someone as handsome as him, and I was sure we had never met. Maybe he did need the CAT scan. "Okay."

"Alright, first question, have you ever been to any sporting events?"

"No, I try and avoid those kinds of things."

"Okay, how about the movies? I'm sure you spend Friday or Saturday night down at the theater."

"Not nights, I hate being around all those mushy couples. I go to the matinee on Saturdays sometimes, if there's something I really want to see, but there hasn't been anything in a while."

"Well, where else do you hang out, when you come into town?"

"Um, the bookstore and sometimes the music store."

"That's it!" Edward snapped making me jump. My heart was pounding, and I was praying he hadn't actually remembered me.

"What's it?" I finally asked him, as he sat quietly.

"That must be it. That's the only place we both go, I must've seen you there at some point, now I just have to remember when. Thanks, Rick; I knew I wasn't going crazy."

I lay back, feeling uneasy. I hoped he didn't remember me, and I knew he would never remember Rick. I still had three more weeks of this. I needed to keep him in the dark. Seth had been keeping Jake busy, for which I was thankful. Of course, I should have known it wouldn't last.

The next morning, Jake caught me in my cabin alone. The guys had hurried off to breakfast, while I waited for the hot water to return in the shower. When I heard the clomping of hiking boots, I was sure it was one of the guys returning for something. I almost jumped, when I saw it was Jake standing in my room alone.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to escort you to breakfast."

"I can get there fine by myself, thanks."

"Come on, Bella, don't be like that."

"Rick!"

"Fine, Rick," he said exaggerating my fake name. "Don't be like that. We used to be friends."

"Yes, 'used to be' being the operative part in that sentence."

"It doesn't have to be like that."

"Ah, yes, it does. I'm not interested in what you're offering me, Jake."

"What, aren't you getting sick of this game you're playing?"

"What game?"

"You know, being a boy?"

I rolled my eyes. "And what, are you going to do to help me, Jake? Do you think you can make me feel like a woman?" I said laughing at my own joke.

"Ha ha ha," he said blackly. "No, but if you want to complain about the nasty boys you're living with," he glanced into the filthy bathroom, "You have my ear."

Jake left without a word, and as I stepped onto the porch, Edward came into view. He glanced at Jake, who was heading off into the woods, and then back to me with a worried look on his face. He hurried up to me and asked if I was alright, and I assured him I was fine. He continued to watch me closely, which made me nervous and stumble more than usual. Instead of letting me fall like usual, he reached out, grabbing my shoulder to steady me. The sensation that shot through my body was unlike anything I had ever experienced. When Edward cleared his throat, I realized that I was staring at him again. I quickly apologized and thanked him for catching me. He seemed more uncomfortable than usual. I decided it was probably best if I tried to avoid him when we got around the others.

I obviously couldn't trust myself to keep my eyes in check.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!