Author's note: Hello my people! Here comes the next chapter of my story. My favorite so far, you will see why. Anyway, same rule goes for it: you like it, you review it.

I would like to thank everybody who already reviewed the previous chapters. You gave me inspiration to go on. I would also like to thank to my betas at PTB. You're the best.

This one goes to my best friend Lili, who's Team Edward, but that's a curable condition.

Love ya, Wil

***

Maybe a few days passed, could have been a week, I lost track of time. Losing Jacob was, in a way, worse than losing Edward, because I knew he was so close. I knew I was just a short drive away from him, and it took all of my fortitude not to jump into my truck and visit him. But I knew he wouldn't want that. He made his decision and I had to respect that, because he was right. That was the right thing to do if I didn't want to keep hurting him.

In my sober senses I knew I shouldn't go down to La Push, but my fingers just fumbled on my car keys in the school parking lot. I had gone along the road leading to my best friend over and over again in my head. I made up my mind. To hell with reason, I must see him. I almost turned the key at the ignition when I heard a knock on my window. I jumped, but thanked the higher forces for guiding whoever it was to my car to stop me.

It was Martin.

Great. The higher forces had a weird sense of humor.

I knew I should be a little more excited at the sight of my so called boyfriend, but since he was the only one who really thought he was my boyfriend, I felt no guilt for my lack of enthusiasm. I rolled down the window and he leaned in to give me a little peck on my lips. Yeah, maybe letting him do that was one of the reasons he was convinced we were dating.

I had no idea what to do with him, so I was playing at waiting. After that night at the beach I couldn't really concentrate on mining the chances to annoy my former lover. Every interaction with Martin made me think of how much I was hurting Jacob. Every time he touched me, every time he was near me, I knew it would hurt Jacob if he saw it. At a point, I decided to ditch Martin. Then again I wouldn't want to make that appear in Alice's visions, so I quickly changed my mind. I tried to soothe myself with the thought that since we wouldn't meet that soon with Jacob (I refused to think about that as we weren't friends anymore) he wouldn't know about my relationship with Martin. But I knew that was bullshit. He wouldn't have to know about this; my knowing it was enough to make me feel awful.

And speaking of feeling awful; when you think nothing could go worse, you spot your father, chief of police, on the other side of the parking lot, starting in your direction while you're being kissed by a guy. I couldn't imagine worse. Well, maybe the exact moment you will be face to face with said man.

That occurrence happened just half an hour later, after I got home. The fortune in misfortune was that I could ditch Martin in a minute. All I had to say was that my father was there. He basically fled. Charlie was very early, so there was no time for me to distract him with the dinner, since it was still in the oven. Unfortunately we had plenty of time to talk.

"So are you dating this Martin?" he asked conversationally.

"So it would seem," I answered with the same nonchalance. We were discussing this topic like my dating guys was an everyday topic.

"Tell me, why is this the first time I'm hearing about it" he grunted out, like he was upset about it. Yeah, I know, he was a father, he should be upset about me going out with boys, but after my deep misery and isolation I thought he would be happy I'm socializing.

"That's nothing serious," I told him, shrugging.

He snorted and gave me the look that was usually a prelude to an embarrassing or otherwise inadvisable question, which he would say nevertheless.

"Is this the guy the reason Jacob's avoiding you?"

I gaped at him. Billy and my father, they were worse than old ladies when it came to gossip. I should have known he would find out about it sooner or later. I guess that was the explanation for what he was doing in front of the school this afternoon. He wanted to spy on me. I knew there was a good chance he knew everything about me and Jacob. Billy had a good eye spotting any drama, and he surely told everything about it to my father, so there was no point lying to him.

"He has his reasons," I admitted. "May have something to do with Martin, yes."

Charlie wagged his head disapprovingly. I wasn't sure it was because I was dating in general, Martin specifically, or neglecting my friendship with Jacob.

"I always thought that you would open up your eyes one day and see that the kid is head over heels in love with you."

That was salt to my wounds. Even my father rooted for Jacob. Of course, I wasn't going to explain to him why I had chosen Martin over him. If he didn't think I was a psycho until then, he would put me into a mental institution as soon as he heard my plan.

"I know he is," I agreed. "But it's complicated."

"It is now," he stated, and our father-daughter conversation was over.

***

I considered myself lucky, Charlie went to bed early. He planned on going fishing in the morning. I finished cleaning up the kitchen and was about to bunk down myself, but after a good hour of tossing and turning I realized I couldn't sleep. My brain was in overload, I couldn't stop thinking. My mind was constantly dreaming up things to say when Jacob and I saw each other again. What should I say to change his mind? Should I say anything at all or should we just ignore each other? I wasn't able to do that, not even in my imagination. At least I could converse with him in my mind. I seemed to do that a lot with every important man in my life. Maybe that was all I should ever get. I was destined to have an imaginary friend and boyfriend, and nothing else. A sad idea, but right now, it was easy to believe that I wasn't fit to maintain any kind of real relationship.

I decided that I need to calm myself down a little bit, so I got up and went to the bathroom to take a bath. I usually preferred the shower, but I needed to relax. I should have known better, my anguished nerves couldn't rest merely because of a tub full of water.

It turned out that being dumped with reason was, in a way, worse than being dumped for nothing. When Edward left me I was in a deep depression, but I wasn't blaming myself for it. I just couldn't accept his reasons; therefore I couldn't accept his departure either. But with Jacob, it was different. That was entirely my fault. I knew I was hurting him with my behavior, and I knew he was right when he broke up our friendship. Knowing that I was the catalyst for our falling out was hell. I was constantly brooding over how to make everything right. It was giving me a massive headache.

Since the bath didn't do me any good, I climbed out, put on my PJ's, and went through my daily routine. I was still drying my hair with a towel when I entered my room. I almost shrieked when I saw Jacob sitting at the end of my bed.

At first I though he was a hallucination. After all, how far could conjuring up an image be from hearing voices? If it was just a trick of my mind, it was a good one. The apparition was only wearing cut-off jeans, but that wasn't unexpected, since that's how he appeared in my mind every time. He was looking at me with Jacob's warm eyes. When I halted at the door, I noticed the figure straighten up in his seat with a graceful movement very similar to his. I always admired how he could move with such elegance with such a large body. I eyed him suspiciously, waiting for him to dissolve into thin air, but he just smiled a smile only my Jacob could and said,

"You have wolves on your PJ's."

Right then, I couldn't stop to ponder on what previously crafted conversation I should start, I just tossed the towel on the floor and ran to him. All I could think about was that he was there, really there, and I needed to hug him. Since he was still in a sitting position, the only way to accomplish this in such haste, was to jump onto his lap. So I did that. I could tell he wasn't expecting that because when I crashed into his hard chest, a loud whooshing sound left his mouth. But I also knew that my act wasn't unwelcomed, as he embraced me instantly. I laced my arms tightly around his neck and breathed in his scent. He always smelled like the forest, fresh and earthy. I knew I couldn't make up that aura.

We stayed there for a few long minutes. I was afraid to let him go, fearing he was going to tell me he only came because my life was in danger, or some other trivial reasons. But he unfolded his arms that had been holding my back to look me in the eye. I was surprised to see playfulness in them. Just then I realized how much I missed his impish smile. We hadn't had the opportunity to be joyful in a long time.

"So, you like wolves on yourself?" he asked, poking the wolf patterns on my PJ bottom on both of my thighs.

Suddenly I became conscious of our intimate position. I was straddling him, my hands resting on his broad shoulders. He left his hands on either one of my thighs after pointing out the pattern I was unaware of. I bought those baggy pants at a fair on the reservation. Of course they had wolves on them, what else should they have? I was really happy to see Jacob so at ease, I wouldn't want to ruin that by climbing down from his lap, but I needed to cease that close proximity before he got the wrong idea. So I decided to take off the edge of the situation with a joke.

"More like under myself, it seems," I said, as I positioned myself to his left on the side of the bed.

"Nice one," he said.

He got hold of my hand with both of his, and stared down at our entwined fingers. I knew this was the time to have "The Talk".

"Jacob, why did you come?" I started, talking to our hands.

"I've missed you Bella," he replied simply, which made my heart jump with hope. But I calmed myself down, telling myself that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

"These were the worst days of my life," he continued, now looking into my eyes. "I couldn't go on any longer without you."

I wanted to say that I felt the same, but that was so obvious it seemed unnecessary to phrase that. So I just nodded in agreement.

"I'm so pathetic, aren't I?" he laughed at himself, but his chuckle was sad.

"You are," I responded with fake pity, which earned me an amused snort from him. "But I'm glad you are."

I knew if we had stopped there, we could have gone back to where we were before Martin. But I also knew that state wasn't manageable anymore. For one, even if I gave Martin up there was only a matter of time before I was going to hurt him again. He wasn't willing to give up on me and I couldn't get over Edward. He wanted me to give him something I had lost forever. My heart. We were going into different directions and that couldn't be disregarded anymore.

"So, where does this leave us?" I asked the dreaded question.

"I don't know," he sighed. "But I'm here to find out."

"How?" I whispered, but I could read the answer in his eyes. He was looking at me with that no-matter-what expression on his face, and before I could protest, turn away or do anything to stop him, he leaned onto me and pressed his lips on mine.

My brain switched off in that instant. It was only functioning to receive warm feelings from every inch of my body. I couldn't think, I was only able to feel. The kiss was very gentle at first, it was merely a touch of our lips, as he was only experimenting, waiting for my response. But I wanted more, so I kissed back. The dam of passion broke inside of him, and he started to kiss me fiercely. I could feel his hands buried in my hair, pulling me closer to him. I obeyed and slid a little nearer, our thighs were pressing together, but that still didn't feel close enough. He must have thought the same because he slid his hand under my leg and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him again. But this time I didn't find it inappropriate at all. I surprised myself and him by taking control and opening my mouth for a deeper kiss. I always wanted to try this, but with Martin I felt disgusted by it, and with Edward… this was way off limits. But with Jacob it came naturally, as if that was the next logical step. He may have been surprised, but hadn't hesitated for a second to kiss me thoroughly.

I was in delirium. His hands moved up and down my back a few times before I could feel the touch of his hot hand on the small of my back. I gasped at the skin on skin contact and responded by grabbing his short hair and pulling his head closer to mine, if that was even possible. My other hand went to his bare back and my fingernails drew into his skin. My lungs were starting to lack air so I reluctantly broke the connection of our lips to gasp. The air around us was hot. He may have had a higher body temperature than normal, but right then I felt that he was oozing heat. While I fought to breathe in our hot embrace, he started to place little kisses along my jawline and I rolled my head back to give him a better angle while clinging onto his shoulders. I was starting to get the feeling that whatever we did wouldn't be enough, that he still wasn't close enough. Since I couldn't pull his head any closer, I tried to seal the gap between our bodies by grinding my hips into his lap. We both moaned out loud at the friction created between us. He stopped kissing my neck for a second and I could hear him panting heavily. I was taking pleasure in my newfound power. This was the first time I had experienced what it was like when a man really wanted me. Not my blood, not my smell, just me, Bella, the woman. God, that felt good.

Everything felt perfect except for a little voice at the back of my head that had been constantly bugging me. I couldn't phrase it, but it had been telling me that this was somehow wrong. I couldn't imagine how something that felt so nice could be wrong on any level. For that matter, it was very hard to concentrate on any decent thought when Jacob gently bit my earlobe. I was enjoying myself incredibly. Never before had I experienced such passion, and my core ached for more. Jacob was fierce, wild, but not savage. I could let myself go with him without fearing for my life. I could never have gone that far with Edward, ever… Oh, no.

Now I knew why that was wrong. Edward. I should be ashamed of myself for trying to do all these things to let him know how wrong he was when he left me, and now here I was, basically dry-humping my best friend and enjoying every moment of it. And Alice should see it, too. He would know. And he would think that I was fine without him, that I found my match and forgot about him. Or he would think I was a whore, cheating on my boyfriend with Jacob. Either way, he wouldn't want to come back for me. Oh my god, I was making out with Jacob while I was thinking about Edward. I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't hurt him again.

These thoughts crossed my mind in a matter of a second, and I pulled away immediately, but Jacob was unwilling to let me go.

"Stop!" I ordered, as my hands pushed him away by his chest.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a husky voice. His eyes were still clouded with passion.

I wasn't going to tell him the train of thought that led me to break our connection, so I tried to come up with a believable explanation. But damn, my brain still wasn't functioning properly.

"I… just that I… I have a boyfriend!" I exclaimed with a bit too much contentment, which was meant for the stroke of brilliance that helped me come up with that reason, rather than the fact that I was in a relationship.

"Sure, sure," he said mockingly.

I was sure he would be angry or disappointed when I mentioned Martin, but he didn't look like any of that. He was apparently amused by my declaration. That confused me and pissed me off at the same time.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, jumping down from my place on his lap and retreating a few steps. I even crossed my arms across my chest for a more firm look.

He laid back on my bed comfortably, leaning on his elbows. He seemed very pleased with himself.

"Do you still call him that after this?" he asked with a smirk.

This wasn't going into the right direction. As much as I swore never to hurt him again, I couldn't let him think that what we shared would change anything.

"That was nothing," I whispered, despite the fact that my body ached for his touch and my mind screamed, 'That was the best thing that ever happened to you, bitch!' Even if that hurt him, that was the only way to keep him at bay, although I never really could unfold to myself why should I do that. Because of Edward, Bella, remember?

"Nothing, huh?" he hissed, fuming, while jumping up from my bed unnaturally fast, just to halt an inch before me. He was towering over me frighteningly, yet I somehow found it appealing. "When will you admit it? I know you like me and now I know you want me too."

He was so close to me I could feel his breath on my face when he spoke. I couldn't look up in his face, because I was going to lie.

"I don't. I just got caught up in the moment."

He snorted in disbelief.

"I'm a werewolf, baby. With exquisite hearing," he lightly placed his hand over my rapidly pounding heart, sending a fresh wave of excitement through my entire body, "and smelling." He finished his sentence and when I looked up puzzled, I caught him glancing briefly towards my lower body parts.

"How dare you!" I spit out, blushing like hell. "Get out of my house, now!"

He stepped back a little, but didn't leave. I faced him, wrathful because of my embarrassment, and pointed towards the window.

"Just tell me one thing. Why are you with him?" he asked seriously as he backed towards said direction.

I knew I should have been thought twice before I said anything out loud, and most definitely shouldn't have said anything out of anger, but the words just spilled out.

"Because of Edward. Everything's because of him."

When his face turned from irritated to furious I knew I had made a mistake.

***

A.N.: Ha! Did you really think it would go so easily? Noooo.

Stay tuned for the next chappie: Wolf's out of the bag.