Chapter Seven

'Ugh, only me!' I thought to myself as I grabbed a paper towel and wiped my face. I heard his footsteps getting closer so I turned around and again, was taken aback by my old friend's appearance and how I had to look up to look him in the face. He was carrying a pizza box and wings in one arm and a six pack of beer in the other. Great.. like I wasn't klutzy enough on my own without alcohol impairing me further! As always, he was wearing a worn in t shirt and some dark jeans. Suprisingly, I found myself thinking about Edward. Edward had always worn the best clothes, slacks, sweaters, suits even, all designer and all costing more for one piece than my whole wardrobe put together (excluding my lingerie, of course.) Jake kept it simple, but something about the way his shirt hugged his torso and the way his jeans rode low on his hips made it hard to focus. Jesus, I was acting like Jessica Stanley. Get a grip Bella! He's just your friend, and you need him for your wedding weekend "Help me not look pathetic" project.

He put the stuff on the table and then turned to look at me. I felt his eyes rove over my face and my face started burning. I saw the corners of his lips go up to start laughing at me, so I narrowed my eyes at him before he got any further. He bit his lip with those impossibly white teeth of his, coughed back a laugh and finally managed to say with a straight face, "So, what exactly were you trying to put whipped cream on?"

Groaning, I rolled my eyes and turned around and finished applying the Reddi-Whip to the shortcakes. "Dessert." I said. "Keep it up and you won't get any." I challenged.

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, I'll be good, dessert nazi" he said. I put the finished shortcakes in the fridge and got some plates out for the food. As I handed Jake his, he reached over and put his hand on my cheek. I instantly froze and felt my eyes get big. His hand was callused, but warm, and I felt his thumb slowly skim across the top of my lip. "Missed a spot," he grinned, as he licked the whipped cream off his finger. Those stupid butterflies returned to my stomach. Traitors.

I cleared my throat and mumbled thanks. Ugh, I was starting to get hot from all the blushing. I took my hoodie off and threw it on the back of the chair. He sure had a way of flustering me, but I was sure he wasn't doing it on purpose. That was just Jake. He was the same he'd always been, but now that he was all grown up, everything was different. Not in bad way.. just, different.

"Can we eat outside?" he asked. "It's a nice night. Besides, I've been cooped up in the garage all day and could use some fresh air."

"Sounds good to me," I said, thankful for the distraction. We took everything to the back yard to where our old picnic table stood. I swear, that thing was indestructible. It really was a nice night, though. The moon was full, the stars were out, and there was a slight breeze in the air. For once, it wasn't humid, raining, or about to rain. I turned Charlie's old beaten up radio on and we sat and ate. It took us thirty minutes to get through the food, and another thirty to finish the beers. Jacob caught me up on all the small town gossip. I had absolutely nothing interesting to tell him about Seattle, since I had little to no social life. He really was easy to talk to.. it was like our friendship had never left off. His dark eyes twinkled with mischief even as we were sitting down and his laughter was contagious. The breeze in my hair and the alcohol working its magic finally made me relax. I was just taking the first swig out of my last beer when he asked me if I was dating anyone. I choked on my beer and spit it everywhere, of course.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and handed me a napkin. "You alright shorty? It was just a simple question, no need to be all dramatic about it." He grinned and put his beer bottle to his lips and drank.

I took a deep breath and did the same. "No, no, just caught me off guard, that was all."

His dark eyes found mine. "So is that a no?"

I found myself looking down, and cleared my through. "Um, no. Not dating anyone. You?" I hadn't even thought about it, but if he was dating someone, there was no way I could bring him to the wedding with me. I couldn't look him in the eye, so I busied myself by taking a longer swig from my beer.

"Nope." he replied. "Single as they come." I looked back at him, confused.

"Really?" I questioned. "How is that possible?' I thought.

"How's what possible?" he asked. Fuck.. I said that out loud, didn't I. Stupid beer.

"Er, I mean, aren't there more girls on the reservation than guys? Don't the mothers try to marry you guys off early?" I smirked.

He shook his head. "Unfortunately, yes.. but I stay away from all that. I'm not interested in any girls on the rez. You date one, she's already dated one of your friends. It's kinda creepy."

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess I can see that." I took in a deep breath. Since Jacob was single, it made my plan all that much easier. I put arm up to brush the hair out of my face, a simple thing for most people. But of course, it being me, my elbow knocked over my beer, and when I bent over fast to pick it up, I lost my balance and fell flat on my butt. Luckily, the grass was thick but it still hurt like a mother. I heard Jake laughing like a crazy person and decided to save whatever dignity I had left and laid down on the ground.

"You, my friend, are a cheap drunk." he laughed as he pulled me into a sitting position.

"Shut it Black." I replied. "We can't all be huge like you.. 3 beers hits me faster. Why did you buy beer anyway?" I rambled.

He shrugged. "Cause I like beer." He tried pulling me up, but when I didn't cooperate, he picked me up bridal style and suddenly the whole world was made up of the starry sky, his soft t-shirt, his hard muscles, and the faint scent of his cologne as he carried me somewhere. I felt myself get a little woozy, though if it was the booze or him, I wasn't sure which. I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Hey, you okay?" he asked. "I really didn't mean to get you buzzed."

"No, I'm fine," I said. "Just drank a little fast, I guess." He nodded and put me down in the hammock between the two largest trees in the backyard.

"Just relax," he said. I did as he asked and he sat down in a lawn chair nearby. We sat there, quiet for a little while. I looked up at the stars and tried to find the Big and Little Dipper, and failed, as always.

"Do you know where the Big Dipper is?" I asked. "I can never find it, and the leaves in the trees aren't helping." He looked up.

"Can't ever find the Big Dipper?" he repeated. "Wow, you palefaces sure are slow." he said sadly. "Make room for me and I'll show you."

Without even thinking, I nodded and tried to adjust myself to make room for him without flipping us both over. After a lot of giggling on my part, he finally put his left arm under my head and fit with me in the hammock. It felt nice, and he was so warm, as always. I forced myself not to overthink this and ruin it. I tended to freak out whenever guys got too close to me. I don't know if it was the beer, or what, but I just melted into his side. It felt nice to be close to somebody again.

"There, you see?" he said, his arm pointing up. There's the B.D. How can you miss that? It's right in front of your face, loca."

I brought my head closer to his so I could see from his point of view. I recognized the constellation and smiled. "Yup! There it is.. finally. Sorry.. sometimes I have a hard time noticing what's in front of me because I'm too distracted by other things." I murmured.

He turned his head toward me, and I could feel the question in the air.. was I talking about the stars, or about him? Who the hell knew. All I knew was that I was comfortable, relaxed, and happy in his presence. I didn't want to ruin it. I needed him, I could feel it already. Luckily, he left it alone and started rubbing my shoulder with his free hand. "Yup, just like I said. Slow."

I elbowed him and we just sat there for another little while. He showed me more constellations, and in turn, I would tell him the stories behind some of them. That I did know. The hammock was rocking and I was just finished telling him about the constellation Orion when I noticed that he had been quiet for a little too long. I looked over at him.. he was asleep. I stifled a giggle. "Jake?" I whispered. He didn't move, he slept like a rock apparently.

I took advantage of the situation and looked at his sleeping face in the moonlight. A strand of his hair had come loose from his ponytail and had fallen across his cheek. I brushed it away, and it was surprisingly soft.. softer than my hair, even. I guess that's what happens when you don't use styling products. He had a full set of long eyelashes that I immediately was jealous of. His skin was so tan, yet so clear. His nose hinted of his ancestry, and his full lips... well, I just stopped there.

If he agreed to come with me to the wedding, I would definitely be the envy of other women there, but that's not why I wanted him to go with me. I knew he would make me feel comfortable and safe over there, even with Edward in the same room. If I could be skin to skin with him now, and be okay with it, after way too long of not touching another man, I knew without a doubt he could help me through. I knew I was developing a serious attraction to him, but I had to put those feelings aside and focus on the matter at hand. I needed his help and there was no way I would mess that up with messy attraction stuff. I definitely didn't want him to feel uncomfortable around me, since he thought of me only as a friend, so then and there I vowed to keep my feelings hidden away. I'd find a way to make this work, but I only had a very short time to figure out how. I set to work thinking about it, and found myself drifting off to sleep in his arms.

Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be Jacob's POV. Feel free to suggest any plot points :) Like I said, I literally make it up as I type, no thinking ahead. It'd be fun to incorporate some ideas!