A/N: Just a quick update- there was an error in the last chapter, they are staying at Jessica's lake house not Lauren's. Keep that in mind while you're reading, otherwise it will confuse you. Hope you enjoy. I added in some of the little requests by the readers :)
Jacob POV
The look on Bella's face was priceless. I couldn't have asked for anything better. She wasn't expecting me to push her up against the cooler. I had acted on a whim, and decided to go for it. The worst she could do was push me away, which she had done… after. She wanted to pretend she didn't feel it, but her body couldn't lie to me. The sparks between us were amazing, as I breathed in her scent. I could hear her heart beat quicken and skip when I nudged her ear with my nose. Her breathing had become more labored as she tried to deny her feelings for me. The sparkle in her eyes had told me what she was truly feeling. My plan had worked.
I was slowly getting to her, drawing her out of her shell. I was warming her all the way through, straight to her heart. Soon enough, she would come to the conclusion that she loves me back, and wants to be with me. Until then, I'll just have to be annoyingly persistent. It wouldn't be long before she would give in to her desire for me. I could feel the tension between us as I pressed my body up against hers. She was fighting any reaction from her body, and she hated it.
I loved how she pretended to be upset with me, and then go back to teasing me. She could be so irresistible when she played hard to get. I couldn't help but smile and shake my head when she said "keep dreaming, lover boy" with that sexy smirk on her face. She was playing into my game perfectly.
It was hard to keep my composure as I walked back to the car. She had really gotten me going. I knew I probably had a huge grin on my face. I kept replaying the image of pressing her body against the cooler. The feeling of having her that close to me, made it nearly impossible to back away. I wanted her so bad. I was glad that my lust for her was only visible on my face, and nowhere else on my body. It wasn't helping that she had put on those paint covered cutoffs. Those were my favorite pair of jeans she owned. When I saw them, I was instantly reminded of our paint fight. As she started to walk away from me, I could see the paint handprint on her ass pocket. It was slightly faded, but still very visible. I wonder if she forgot about that, I sure haven't.
When I finally got back to the car, the guys were packing mounds of more food into the back. Paul chucked me a soda, which I caught with my left hand, and I popped it open. I chugged it in less than a minute, and crushed the can under my feet. Bella was talking to her friends again, and Lauren was staring at me. If there was anyone who could make me feel awkward, it was her. I tried not to think about what Bella had said about her thinking I was hot. It wasn't the first time I had heard that, but it might have been for Bella. She wasn't used to hanging out with girls when around me, except for Emily and Leah. I hope it wouldn't make her more uncomfortable, to have one of her schoolmates talking about me. As long as it didn't bother Bella, I would be able to ignore it easily, but I didn't want this to be a problem. Bella had made her feeling for me clear, but I don't think she understood that I could never feel for anyone, the way I did when around her.
The Jessica came over to our car and gave Quil the next set of instructions. We would make one more stop before we would take the mountainous roads to the lake house. If we kept on schedule, we could be at the house by 8. We had made the plan to go out for dinner that night, if everyone was still up for it. I knew the pack would be starving, and it could be fun.
When Quil nodded to me, I got back into the car. I had my feet dangling out the side, while I waited for Bella. She looked especially good, although she really didn't need anything extra. She climbed up in the car and I settled in next to her. Soon, we were back on the road, staring out at the endless forest beside us.
Embry and Jared were talking about something with Bella, but all I could do was look at her. She looked like she was trying hard to avoid making eye contact with me. When Embry went onto his soapbox to lecture Jared, I leaned closer in to Bella.
"Still thinking about me?" I whispered, trying to tickle her ear as much as possible. I knew she liked that. She snorted at my comment.
"You wish." She still wouldn't look at me
"Yes, I do." I laughed. I saw a light go off in her eyes and then she said
"Quil, can I change the radio station? I don't like this song"
"Absolutely, princess." She laughed at his remark, but he was right. She was a little princess to us.
"Cool." She squeaked.
"Can you reach?" Quil asked
"Um, I think so…" She undid her seatbelt, and slowly leaned over the arm rest in front of her so that she was between Quil and Jared. She bent her knees and pushed her ass in my direction, as she reached for the radio. I watched her wiggled her hips slightly, as she played with the knobs on the stereo. I could feel my mouth drop as I took in the sight in front of me. I could hardly keep from grabbing her right then and there. She was driving me crazy, flaunting her amazing body, right in front of me. I bit my lip and let out a disgruntled sigh. There was no way she was naïve enough to be doing this merely by accident. I found myself crumbling under her spell. Where had her sudden confidence come from?
Quil laughed into the rearview mirror when he saw the expression on my face. Embry looked over briefly at her backside that was practically in both of our faces, when he noticed the handprint on the pocket. He shot me smug glance as he mouthed "nice". I hit him in the shoulder, but ultimately agreed with him. I leaned forward slightly and gently patted the handprint on her ass pocket. She snuck me a mischievous glance and turned back to the radio.
Once Bella had found a good station she sat back down and buckled herself up. She turned to me, making eye contact for the first time, and smiled smugly, then turned away again. She looked very proud of herself. If she was trying to get a rise out of me, then she was successful. I had to adjust my seated position so that my eyes didn't wander.
No one in the car spoke for at least ten minutes. We just listened to the music station that Bella had picked. Finally, Paul cleared his throat and tapped on Bella's shoulder from behind her.
"So, that Jessica chick, is she single?"
"Um, yeah…why?" She asked hesitantly
"Well, she's hot! Plus, I caught her staring at me" Paul answered
"Sure, go for it. Just know that she only talks about herself, and it can get a little…"
"Who said we were going to be talking?" Paul cut her off. Bella pretended to gag.
"Nice, Paul." Bella laughed. We all laughed along.
Bella was asleep within twenty minutes of our conversation ending. As much as I had loved her little stunt earlier, I loved her sleeping against me even more. She had slowly drifted into sleep and was leaning against my shoulder. When I was sure that I wasn't going to wake her, I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her in tighter. Embry gave me a reassuring smile, like he was happy that I was happy.
I couldn't help but smile when I looked down to she her peaceful and content. I was on cloud nine when she whispered my name in her sleep. Quil looked back at me when he heard it. No one said anything; instead, they let me have my moment.
When we had reached the edges of town, I whispered in Bella's ear to wake her. She reluctantly got up and looked around.
"We're getting pizza. Are you hungry?"
"Yes!" She squeaked, not fully awake. She stretched and sat up more, wiping the sweat from her forehead. I guess sleeping in a car full of werewolves will do that to you.
***
We sat down at the endless table, La Push on one side and Forks on the other. Bella was on our side of coarse, and smashed between Quil and Embry. We ordered seven pizzas and ate them all. I was a little surprised to see that we all got along. Erik and Seth were in a epic argument about the better superhero, Tyler and Jared were arm restling (Jared was going easy on him, but Tyler was still very strong), and Bella was engrossed in a conversation with Angela and Mike. I merely talked to Leah and Quil who seemed to be bored with the other talking going on. Leah was in a bad mood, as always. I think she was anticipating the arrival of Sam and Emily.
We easily spent two hours eating and talking while watching the occasional sports game on the plasmas. When we were all through eating, Mike got up to get the bill from the waitress and Bella started cleaning up the trash. I whispered to Embry and Paul on my sides, and suggested that we pay for the pizzas. We had eaten more than half of them, and we were taking advantage of Stanley's lake house.
"Hey, Mike, dinner is on us. It's the least we can do for Jessica and you all for being so kind to invite us this weekend." I put two twenties on the table. Embry, Paul, Jared, and Quil followed. Leah took out the money for her and Seth, no doubt from their mother, and placed it on the table.
"Wow, really? I figured we would all just split the bill" Mike asked shocked.
"Yeah, my parents left me money for the weekend. I was going to pay, until Mike grabbed the tab," Jessica added.
"You are letting us stay with you for the weekend. Its really cool of you, especially since we don't know you that well."
"That's cool. Any friend of Bella's is a friend of mine." Jessica smiled at her.
"Thanks. It's really nice of you, Jessica, you're so kind to let us stay. If you hadn't offered, we would be camping in the woods right now." We all laughed. They thought that camping was a horrible thing, but we laughed because they didn't know that werewolves were natural outdoorsmen.
"No problem. Speaking of the lake house, we should get going. I bet we are all tired right?" Mike spoke up.
"Yeah, I'm beat. Lets head in." Jessica suggested. She got up and her minions followed.
Lauren came up to me as we were walking towards the door. She hooked herself onto my shoulder and reached up to my face.
"That was really sweet of you to offer to pay. You're quite the gentleman, you know?" She pecked me on the cheek and continued onto her car. Her little acts of flirtation were starting to get old. I caught up to Bella and threw my arm around her. We walked back to the car and got in.
"What was that about?" She asked.
"What?"
"Lauren being all over you?"
"Oh, that, she was just telling me that I was a gentleman"
"Mhmm." She grunted a little bit and made a face she thought I didn't notice.
"Oh come on Bells! That was nothing. She was just being nice" I nudged her on the shoulder, trying to lighten her mood.
"Whatever, forget I said anything" Yep. I love it when she is jealous.
"Fine. Are you tired?" I said trying to let it go.
"A little. I thought the nap would help, but I haven't been sleeping well the last week."
"I'm sorry. You should try and get some sleep though. Tomorrow is going to require your full attention." I hoped that she would want to come out with us on the lake tomorrow. I was going to take Newton up on his offer to use the boat he was planning on renting.
"What are we doing tomorrow?"
"It's a surprise, but you are going to need to be wide awake."
"Can you give me a hint, I really wont be able to sleep if I am trying to figure out the surprise all night…" She gave me the pleading look that I loved.
"Water sports, Bells. What else would we be doing?"
"Right." She giggled.
Bella's POV
The lake house was beautiful. It looked like a cabin you would find deep within the woods. It had a huge wrap around porch that looked out across the jet black lake in the nighttime air. I loved the smell of the pines that lined the lake. It was amazing. There was a long dock, with a boathouse on one end.
When we got inside, Jessica showed us around the house. There was an enormous kitchen with a fully stocked fridge. There were several couches in the living room and a stone fireplace. There were five bedrooms and we would have to double.
I knew that her family had money, but I didn't know that they had this much. I should have known that she was a lake house person. Her tan was abnormal for a Forks vacationer.
"Ok, guys there are five bedrooms and four bathrooms. You can decide who to bunk with, but no girls on the couch, that's just rude. The couches over there pull out into beds. The leather one by the fireplace doesn't, but it's big enough to sleep on. The fridge is full of food, bathrooms are easy to find. Um, I think that's all I need to tell you. My sisters get my parents bedroom but everything else is up for grabs." She turned away from us and slung his bag across his shoulder. I looked around to find my roommate. Angela stood next to Ben, smiling politely. She and I could room together. Jessica was going to room with Lauren, Ashley, and Kate. Eric, Tyler and Ben would share a room. Jake, Quil and Embry were playing rock-paper-scissors for the last bedroom. Seth had claimed his spot on the pullout couch by the window. Paul and Jared chose the floor of the den. Leah was left looking alone and grumpy. I walked over to her.
"Leah, do you want to stay in our room? We will have plenty of room." Offering her the olive branch was the least I could do. I wanted her to like me. Surprisingly, she took it and nearly smiled at me.
"Yeah, thanks Bella. Knowing the guys, I would probably end up sleeping on the floor with Seth, yuck!"
Angela and I laughed as we walked back to our room. There were two beds, one full and one twin. Angela and I could share one and Leah could have her own. We had a big window that lead to the porch. The moon was streaming through the glass and it was beautiful.
I could hear the radio on in Jessica's room. She was probably unloading the truck of makeup that she brought in her bag. I could here a few scuffles from the living room. I had assumed that Quil and Embry were fighting for the last bedroom. Knowing Jake, he was being noble, and taking the couch.
I got out of my wretched clothes and slipped into a big t-shirt and cotton shorts. I stumbled out into the hallway to find the bathroom. There was one by the kitchen that I could use. Angela had snuck into the one Lauren was occupying but I wasn't ready to talk to her. I skipped across the stone floors to the bathroom. Jake was already in there brushing his teeth. I laughed at him. He had never looked younger than he did right then. He stood wearing sweats and nothing else, with a toothbrush in hand and minty foam dripping out of his mouth.
"What?" He gargled.
"Nothing, you just look different."
"That's because you are not used to seeing me before bed…" He finished brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth out.
"Are you on the couch tonight?"
"Yup. I didn't want to wrestle for a bed. The couch is fine, it'll be better than my own at home"
"I think it is time you and Billy retire that old sofa. Its older than he is!"
"Probably." He chuckled and smiled his Jacoby grin. I loved that.
I brushed my teeth and he watched me. I wasn't used to people watching me when I brushed my teeth, or when I did other things. When I was finished I turned to him and gave him a sour face
"What are you staring at?"
"Nothing… is your breath minty fresh now?"
"Mhmmm. Wanna check?"
"Ah, no thanks." He laughed. He left the bathroom so that I could finish getting ready. I washed my face and brushed my hair. When I opened the door, I saw Jake sprawled out across the leather couch, asleep.
"Jake?" I whispered as I tip-toed over to him.
"Yes, Bella?" He whispered back, with his eyes still closed.
"Nothing, I'm just going to bed. Night Jake."
"Night Bells, sleep tight." He cooed. I smiled at him and went back to my room.
I leaped into the bed with Angela and turned out the light. They were already trying to sleep when I had come in. I guess I had taken a long time in the bathroom. I found it quite easy to sleep in the peaceful mountain air. I didn't have nightmares and I was thankful. I was sure no one would invite me on another trip, if I had woken them up in the middle of the night with my screaming. Instead of my usual frightening dreams, I dreamt of swimming in the lake with Jake and my friends, having the magnificent sun shining down on my pale skin. I was thankful that these dreams were also PG. Nothing would be more embarrassing than having a repeat of my previous dreams, involving a certain best friend of mine…
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A/N: Ok, so what did you think? I want to keep going. I have the next couple chapters all drafted out. I love the enthusiasm and feedback I am getting. Keep it coming! If there is something you want to see happen, let me know and I will see if I can incorporate it. Keep reviewing, it honestly makes my day. I love you all so much. Thanks so much for the support.
