Chapter 11

Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

-Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

So the beach ended up being a little too cold which kind of screwed up my plan. Instead of lounging around in my bathing suit that would accentuate my very modest curves, I was forced to wear pants and a sweatshirt that hid everything. I looked like a man actually and last time I checked Quil wasn't into that.

"Not going swimming Claire?" Jacob called over to me as I dipped my toes cautiously into the freezing cold water. The temperature difference was enough to send a large shiver up my spine and I retracted my foot away from the surf as quickly as possible.

"I think I'll pass. Hypothermia would probably suck."

"It was your idea to come here remember?" Jacob's mocking laugh caused me to glare at him reproachfully.

I walked over to where the three of them were goofing around with a volleyball that I had insisted on grabbing before we left. My freshman and sophomore years of high school had included a short-lived volleyball obsession and the beach had been my favorite place to practice with Quil. It wasn't the most memorable experience we had shared here, but it was a starting point I supposed.

If I can get them to actually take it seriously!

"Heads up!"

I barely had time to react as the white ball sailed toward my face with alarming speed. Luckily Embry jumped in front of me at the last minute and batted it away before it could make contact.

"What the hell Jake? Were you trying to hit her?" Quil's voice wasn't angry or panicked like it normally was whenever one of the guys did something that endangered me. He just sounded a bit confused.

"Just messed up my aim. Sorry Claire."

I looked over at Jake and was surprised to see him grinning. Had he been trying to hit me?

"Whatever," I began with a shrug of my shoulders, "Let's play a game. Two on two!"

Jacob and Embry did another one of their weird, secret nod things before Embry yelled out, "I call Jake!" and they began to set up the ratty net that we always brought along to play with.

What is with those two?

I turned to face Quil and couldn't help scowling when I noticed how annoyed he looked. He obviously didn't want to get stuck with me on his team.

"Hey don't start pouting about getting me as a teammate. I'm actually pretty darn good at volleyball."

Quil raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Yea, but against two wolves?"

"Part of the rules is that you guys have to tone down the supernatural athleticism so it's fair." I shot back. I hadn't even realized it, but my hands were now planted firmly on my hips and I was glaring at him defiantly.

Nobody doubts my skills!

"Okay whatever you say," Quil replied while a grin slowly spread over his face. I admired it for a moment before I shook my head and ran over to grab the volleyball. Jacob and Embry finished setting up the net a minute later and the four of us took our positions on either side of it.

"I don't know if this is even Embry," Jake taunted while I tossed the ball up and down in my hands, preparing to serve. "Maybe the three of us should just play together to make it fair. Claire's kind of a pro."

Quil laughed and turned to regard me for a second. "Yea she looks like a real killer!"

I bristled as I realized that Quil obviously thought I was too small and weak to play with them. Not that I was some star athlete or anything, but was it too much to ask to want to play a game with friends?

The ball was out of my hand and flying toward the back of Quil's head before I could even process what I was doing. It struck the intended target with a resounding smack.

"What was that for?" Quil rounded on me angrily while rubbing the back of his head. I shrugged my shoulders innocently, trying not to laugh like Jake and Embry were doing unabashedly.

"It just slipped from my frail fingers I guess. I'm surprised you even felt it though…my serve is very delicate after all."

Quil looked a little surprised at my antics, but recovered quickly, picking up the ball and tossing it at me with more force than was probably necessary. I tried not to appear thrown off balance by the unexpected impact, but ended up wobbling a bit.

"Try to aim for the other team okay?" He said with a smirk and even though he was being kind of a jerk, it was pretty sexy.

Focus. You need to impress him with your badass volleyball abilities.

"Can you guys stop flirting and serve the damn ball already?" Jake yelled out and I cringed before shooting daggers at him with my eyes.

"Oh shut up Black. She's just warming up!" Quil's flippant retort sounded relaxed and casual, but it caused a flash of disappointment to course through me. He obviously didn't regard what we had been doing as flirting and wasn't interested in me in that way at all. God it sucked.

"Okay I'm serving!" I alerted the guys while throwing the ball into the air and sending it sailing over the net. Embry sent it back over easily and Quil was on it before I could even blink, let alone move.

"Got it!"

"Hey, no super wolf speed allowed!" Jake shouted loudly as he dove to get the ball before it struck the sand. He wasn't quick enough however and Quil let out a victorious yell.

"1 point to us!"

Quil's remark caused Embry to shake his head in obvious disagreement. "Doesn't count if you cheated."

"I didn't cheat!"

"Uh yea you did."

I rolled my eyes at their stupid argument, but knew I would have to step in if I wanted it stop sometime this year. "Okay we give up the point!"

Quil glanced back at me, obviously a little put out by my decision. "Don't worry Quil," I assured him, "We won't need any freebies after this next serve!"

I picked up the ball again and served with as much force as possible, hoping it would at least make them work for it. Apparently Jake forgot the whole no-wolf-stuff rule though because he whacked it back over the net with so much force that it looked like a torpedo flying through the air. And it was soaring straight toward me of course.

Fuck…

"Watch out Claire!" Quil yelled before he jumped in front of me and tried to send it back over. The hit was much too low though and the ball ended up hitting the top of the net instead.

"Oops!" Jake called out far too innocently.

Oops?

"What happened to the rule asshole?" Quil grumbled as he went to grab the ball. I sent Jake a disapproving glare, but he simply winked at me in response. What the hell was going on?

"Our serve!" Embry chirped happily like I hadn't almost been nailed in the face with a projectile.

They are so up to something!

The game continued with the guys getting increasingly more dangerous with each play. Obviously they weren't attempting to adjust down to my human level, but were instead trying everything possible to best one another. This unfortunately rendered my normally awesome serves ineffective against Jake and Embry and allowed them to hit back with alarming speed. It also meant that Quil ended up throwing himself between me and the ball pretty much constantly.

"Shouldn't you let Claire get one?" Jake called to Quil after he had dove in front of me once again. Quil let out an incredulous sound as he got back to his feet and wiped the sand off of his body.

"Maybe if you guys were playing fair then I would!"

Jake shrugged, grinning like Quil's accusations didn't bother him in the slightest. "Okay fine. Let's all just agree to calm things down and let Claire in on the fun."

"Um hellooo I'm right here. I think I can handle a game of volleyball thanks," I said full of bitterness. I hated when they treated me like a little kid.

Jake chuckled and twirled the ball in his hands. "Sure, sure Claire-bear. Of course you can."

"Just serve the damn ball!" I yelled, bristling with pent up energy at his mocking tone. They were so going down!

Jake complied and soon the white orb was sailing toward me once again, but this time at a more reasonable speed. I sprang forward, ready to strike and jumped up with my hands held high. Right before I could act however, Quil's body flew into my path and knocked the ball away.

"What the hell! I had that one Quil!" I shouted and gave him a small kick to the back of his leg.

"Yea Quil, it wasn't even going fast," Embry drawled from his position across the net. Quil had the decency to at least look sheepish. He raised his hand to scratch at the back of his neck as he turned toward me.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "Just used to doing it now I guess."

It was so hard to stay irritated with him when pretty much everything he did was so endearing. I could feel my severe expression softening as I met his apologetic stare.

"Oh…well let me get the next one okay?"

Quil gave a quick nod and we were back in the game again. I was ready for Jake's next serve and Quil didn't interfere as I volleyed it back with more force than I think Embry was prepared for. He fumbled the return hit and I earned my first real point.

"Way to go Claire!" Quil cheered and slapped my hand in an exuberant high-five.

"That's right bitches!" I punctuated the statement with a fist pump and ignored Jake's eye-rolling.

The game continued back and forth, Quil and I finally working as a team rather than a solo Quil show, until the score was eventually tied up.

"Okay guys," Jake began, "This is game point. Losers have to go back to Quil and Embry's and get us all lunch and winners can just stay here and chill."

Embry piped up his immediate agreement and before Quil and I could speak, Jake was serving.

"I've got it!" I yelled and began running before even noticing that the ball was whizzing through the air with supernatural quickness.

"Claire no!"

Instead of the ball striking my face, I felt a hard body crash into me, sending me sprawling onto the sand with it on top. Quil's large form was lying completely over mine with his arms braced on either side of my head and our legs tangled up in a heap. I could feel the heat radiating off of him as I tried to control my breathing that was coming out in quick pants against his shoulder.

Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out. In… Holy shiznit he feels amazing!

I inhaled through my nose and got a whiff of his musky, man scent that immediately sent my heart into a fluttering fit.

"Hey are you okay?" Quil breathed close to my ear as he began raising himself off of me.

I don't think 'okay' is the right word.

I tried nodding my head because I didn't trust in my ability to form a coherent sentence, but it must not have been noticeable enough because Quil gave my shoulders a small shake as if to rouse me.

"Claire? Can you hear me?"

"Mmmyeaa," I rasped out with difficulty. A wonderfully hot hand suddenly moved under my neck with impossible gentleness and I shivered.

"Can you open your eyes?"

My eyes are closed?

I blinked and took in the sight of Quil's worried face hovering closely over mine.

Oh, guess they were closed. How strange.

"Are you hurt?" Quil was practically whispering to me and I continued staring at him like a love-sick puppy. It probably should have made me embarrassed, but I kept doing it anyway because I apparently have no shame.

"I'm totally fine," I mumbled while my racing heart attested to the opposite.

Quil sighed almost imperceptibly before I let him help me up into a sitting position. I finally noticed that Jake and Embry were standing close by watching our exchange interestedly.

"You know Quil, she's not a leech or anything. You didn't need to attack her," Embry remarked with a fake serious tone that resulted in Quil calling him a rather unpleasant swear word and Jake giggling like a 5 year-old.

"You guys all suck," I muttered while attempting to stand. Quil's hands were on my forearms, hoisting me up in a flash before I could even complete the action.

"I didn't mean to tackle you Claire," Quil said close to my face, "Sorry about that."

I was immediately mesmerized by his chocolate brown eyes and my nod was a bit belated as I continued to stare into them. Quil smiled in relief and stepped away causing me to make a small sound of protest against the loss of his warmth. An amused snort sounded out and I glanced around Quil to find its source. Jake and Embry looked pleased as fucking punch.

Bastards.

"You know you forfeited the game just now, right?" Quil's voice was uncompromising as he addressed his two friends standing nearby with matching grins. "So you two are going to get lunch for us just like the losers you are."

"Fair enough!" Embry piped up and he and Jacob practically sprinted to the car.

Quil looked completely confused as he watched them pull away, leaving us standing alone on the beach. I chuckled nervously, now realizing that Jacob and Embry had obviously been planning this whole thing all along, including getting Quil to tap into his protective instinct by launching volleyballs at my face.

I guess that's kind of nice in a misguided, asshole-ish sort of way?

"They're being weirder than usual," Quil observed in a thoughtful voice and I shrugged, hoping to appear as naïve as possible.

"Huh yea. Who knows?"

Quil's eyes shifted to look further down the sandy expanse and I followed their gaze. "Wanna walk down the beach?" I questioned, hoping intensely that he would agree.

"Sure," he replied to my delight and I began to reach over for his hand like I always did whenever we walked like this together. Thankfully I realized my mistake and pulled my fingers back before they came in contact with his.

Gahhh too close!

We meandered slowly along the surf, both caught up in our own thoughts and I let myself imagine that things were back to normal between us. All I had to do was ignore the coldness of my lonely hand and it wasn't too difficult to pretend that Quil had never forgotten me or our memories.

"So did we come here together a lot?" Quil's deep voice broke the silence and I was abruptly returned to reality.

"Yes," I responded in a soft voice. "All the time."

Quil shoved his hands into his pockets and stared directly ahead while I watched him out of the corner of my eye. "What kinds of stuff did we do?"

I paused mid-step to ponder the question and Quil continued on walking. "Well, I swam and went cliff diving while you made sand castles and worked on your tan."

Quil let out a short bark of a laugh before pivoting on his heel so that he could face me. "I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Have I ever proven myself untrustworthy?"

Quil scrutinized me for a second. "You did tell me that I didn't wear swim trunks at the beach so…."

Yes I am in fact a perv, glad you recognize that.

I could feel a hint of color rise to my cheeks at his comment, so I turned to face the water hoping he wouldn't notice it.

"The Quil I know could always keep up with my humor!" I remarked to him from over my shoulder before I used my foot to splash some of the ocean water at his body. It barely wet his t-shirt, but he tried to appear shocked anyway.

"That's it!" He called out grinning. "I don't know about the Quil you know, but this Quil doesn't take shit from anyone."

I didn't have time to react before Quil was suddenly gripping my upper arms from behind and shoving me further into the water. I struggled for a second, pushing my body back against him, but he just laughed and continued forcing me forward.

"Quil! Stop it!" My cries were interrupted by ridiculous giggling that betrayed my true feelings toward the situation. Quil was touching me and he was doing it voluntarily. Did life get any better than this?

"It's just water Claire-bear!"

Claire-bear? Okay yes, life could get better.

The water was up to my knees now, effectively soaking the bottom half of my jeans, but Quil didn't look like he was intending on stopping anytime soon.

"Seriously Quil! I'm gonna be freezing after this!" I pleaded, craning my neck awkwardly to look up at him standing behind me. His eyes were lit up in obvious amusement and it reminded me so much of how we had always joked around together that my breath caught in my throat uncomfortably.

"Okay Claire," he drawled with a smirk, "I guess you've had enough for today."

His grip on my arms loosened and I stumbled forward, splashing water noisily. "Race you back to the shore!" I yelled before taking off with all the grace of a three-legged dog. Quil easily fell into stride beside me.

"You're pretty competitive aren't you?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow after we had reached the sand a few seconds later. I shrugged, unsuccessfully managing to contain the wide grin from spreading across my face.

"A little."

He snorted. "I saw your game-face during that volleyball game! You were totally in it to win it."

"Is it bad that you kind of sound like a cheerleader when you say that?"

Quil's eyebrows scrunched together as he regarded me like I was some confusing math problem. "Seriously, where do you come up with this stuff?"

Boy, do NOT try to understand my crazyass brain.

"It's a talent, what can I say?" I responded with a wink.

"So is this what we did all the time?" Quil asked looking thoroughly amused. "You made lame jokes and I pitied you enough to be nice and tolerate them?"

"Not entirely. There was definitely some shell-finding, volleyball playing, and intense hot-dog eating in there too, but yea lame jokes were definitely involved."

"Hotdogs? I could get behind that idea," Quil intoned excitedly and I rolled my eyes.

"It's always about the stomach, isn't it?" I remarked while Quil nodded. Suddenly his countenance perked up and he turned back to where the volleyball net had been abandoned. I immediately noticed Jake and Embry walking over with bags of food in hand.

"Let's eat!" Jake shouted and we jogged over to meet them. Embry's eyes flicked between Quil and I, obviously wondering how we had handled ourselves on our own, before trailing down to my wet pant legs.

"Decided to go swimming after all?" He asked casually, causing Quil to chortle.

"Somebody thought it would be funny to push me in." I looked at Quil with an accusing glare, but ruined the effect when my lips started quirking up into a smile. Jacob's eyes lit up gleefully as he observed our interaction.

"Yea I'm sure that was complete torture for you Claire," he said in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Dammit Jacob Black!

"Well not eating in the next minute will be torture for me, so let's get on that yea?" Quil remarked, effectively saving me from more embarrassment. He grabbed a plastic bag from Jacob's hand and examined the contents inside. My mouth instantly began watering after he pulled out a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. They were pretty much my favorite chip of all time.

"Want to share with me Claire?" Quil asked, holding the blue bag out to me in offering. The statement was basically tantamount to asking me to share a future with him for eternity. Wolves do NOT share food unless forced.

"Yes," I breathed out like I was accepting a marriage proposal. "I am unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Cool Ranch Doritos."

Jake and Embry exchanged matching confused expressions while Quil handed the bag over to me. "They're you favorite right?"

"How did you know that?" I clutched at the bag earnestly and began searching Quil's face. He cocked his head to the side and made a clicking sound from between his teeth.

"Lucky guess?"

I sighed from deep in my throat, feeling as torn as ever about what was happening with Quil's memory. Did he remember things about me or not? I don't think he even knew the answer.

"Very lucky," Jake muttered while staring pointedly in my direction. I looked away.

Can't worry too much about forcing him to remember…

I would have to be patient until all the small details came together in Quil's mind to form the perfect picture of me. After all, you can't rush fate.

A/N: Mehhh another longer break between updating. My bad. This chapter seriously did NOT want to be written for some reason, so if it's not up to par, that's prob why lol. Next update should be much, much sooner so look forward to that. Also random tangent: My mother bought me the Breaking Dawn dvd for Valentine's Day and I watched it this past weekend alone in my apartment. And guess what? The birth scene STILL scared the crap out of me even though I knew it was coming! Like ohmygod why is it sooo terrifying? I may have been hiding my face in a pillow, but I'll never admit to that of course. My dreams of being a mom have been forever destroyed...Thanks Stephenie M. haha :)

Reviews are my motivation! Please continue to spoil me with all your amazing comments!