The next morning I woke Jake up with several deliberate pokes to the face. The first few he swatted off with a lazy hand. After the eleventh or twelfth poke to the face, he slowly opened his eyes and gave me a tired grin. "What is it, babe?"

"Iwannagotothebeach." I blurted out.

"What?"

"I. Want. To. Go. To. The. Beach." I repeated more slowly.

Jake glanced at the clock on his nightstand. "Nessie, it's like… so early."

"I know! But I've never been to a beach beside La Push. And I certainly haven't been to a hot beach with sand and sun and waves and tan people and ice cream men an-"

He held up his hands and laughed. "I get it, I get it. We'll go."

I squealed in delight and gave Jake a quick kiss before hopping out of bed. I was so excited that I could barely contain it. Pulling open the drawers, I rifled through the piles of clothes and pulled out a hot pink bikini. I held it up in triumph before running to the bathroom to change. I could hear Jake chuckling at my enthusiasm through the closed door. It was easy for him to make fun of me. He was allowed to go to sunny beaches whenever he wanted.

I exited the bathroom and inspected myself in the full-length mirror on the closet door. "Maybe I should wear the blue one?"

Jake come up behind me, still in the boxers he slept in, and wrapped his bronzed arms around me. "No, I like this one. It brings out all the red in your hair."

"Hey Jake?"

"Yes?"

"Where's your bathing suit?"

He shrugged and motioned vaguely towards his open suitcase on the floor. "Around?"

"Well, go put it on, we're leaving right now."

"Now?"

"Now."

"Right now?" He asked again, biting at my shoulder.

I felt my knees go momentarily weak before I pushed him playfully away. "Cut it out and go change."

The beach was everything I dreamed it would be. The sand was hot under my feet and the sun was warm on my upturned face. I picked up so many delightful scents and sounds; children laughing, music played on scattered boom boxes, aroma of sunscreen and sea salt, and the sound of gently crashing waves. Ice-cream men milled between the clusters of families and lifeguards blew their whistles and watched the ever-moving waters. I was seriously in love.

Jake and I dragged our new beach gear to an empty spot and laid out our beach towels. He immediately began digging through the cooler for the sandwiches and snacks I had purchased on our way down the boardwalk. "Babe, you want anything?"

I shook my head. "No, thanks. I'm just taking it all in."

"Is it everything you ever hoped for?"

"And so much more." I lay back on my towel and wondered briefly if my skin was capable of getting a tan. Next to Jake's russet skin, I looked positively ghastly.

As soon as Jake finished his sub, he lie back on his towel and put on a pair of dark sunglasses to shield his eyes from the light. Within moments I heard his breathing become more rhythmic and I knew his was asleep. I couldn't blame him for warming a nap. The heat and the noise of the waves was more than enough to put anyone to sleep. I knew Jake would be out for a while so I decided to take a little walk along the shore while he slept.

I put on a pair of new Ray Ban sunglasses and made my way down to the waterline. The chilly water washed over my feet and I picked up several tiny shells on my way down towards the pier. I saw surfers waxing their boards and mothers taking watching their children splash in the shallow waters and build sloppy castles in the sand. The beach grew less crowded as I neared the pier. I weaved slowly through the tall logs holding up the pier and noted several young men loitering close by in the shade.

"Hey there!" One of the boys called.

"You! You in the pink bikini!" A second yelled out.

When I ignored the first two, a third joined in. "Hey, where you going?"

"Nowhere with you." I shot back. I had never been in contact with so many humans before.

A young man suddenly shot out in front of me from behind a support beam. Sunglasses shielded his eyes and a playful grin was plastered on his pale face. "You wanna play?"

I shook my head and he reached out and grabbed my arm. His palm was rough and didn't ease off when I tried to pull away. "Let me go." I ordered, trying to yank out of his stone grip. I had the strength of ten men yet his firm grasp seemed unbreakable. "Who are you?"

He laughed and the mere sound of it sent chills up my spine. "You don't need to worry about that, sweetheart." He pawed at me with one hand until his fingers found the ties to my bikini tops. His three tanned friends cheered what he deftly pulled the strings, allowing my top to fall to the ground before I could grab it. I covered my chest with my arms and tried again to pull away from his steely grasp.

"Get the fuck away from me." I yelled before he covered my mouth with his hand. When he pushed me to the ground I really started to panic and began looking around desperately for any signs of help. But the area around us was desolate and no one could hear my frightened calls.

"Come on, missy, don't you want to play?" My attacker breather heavily in my ear and tried to wrestle my arms to my sides.

"No!" I screamed, kicking frantically against his legs.

He laughed and motioned for his friends to help him out. They encircled me and held down my arms and legs. The man leaned down next to me and whispered in my ear. "I've never had one of my own kind before. I usually stick it to human girls. This'll be a whole new ride." I gasped as he took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of blood red eyes. I closed my eyes as he began to slide his hand down my body and prayed silently for help.

Suddenly I felt his weight being lifted on me and was more than surprised at what I saw.