Chapter Fourteen

Camping

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I hope you've all hung in there with me after the last chapter. I'm hoping to redeem myself with this one. This chapter has a bit of humor and the beginning of something strange and possibly terrifying for Bella. Thanks for reading.

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The pace of our days picked up even more after that. With school and work we were constantly on the go. My mind was absorbed in making it through this semester. Leah and I were taking the summer off this year from college and would resume in the fall. With Jake and I getting married in less than two months, I would be so glad to have school out of the way for a while.

I finally made time to go to the doctor, knowing that I needed to get started on the pill, before getting married. I borrowed Leah's car one afternoon, and went to a doctor in Seattle. The less Jake knew about this, the less embarrassed I would be. I had also taken a few minutes to pick out Jake's birthday and graduation presents and cards on my way back to the college.

When I got back to campus, I was in a hurry to get to the library. I knew there was a new shipment of books coming in, and that I had to catalog them before we could put them out. I wouldn't have time to study today. As I walked across the campus, a strange feeling swept over me. A feeling as though someone were watching me. I scanned the crowd, looking for someone who was obviously watching me, but I saw no one. I jumped as Leah called to my name from across the campus. I ran over to her and looked at her expression, to see if she sensed anything.

She looked at me and could tell I was shaken, "what's wrong, you don't look so good?"

"Leah, I think someone might be following me, or watching me. Do you see anyone out of the ordinary?"

She looked around and also sniffed the air a few times.

"I don't see anything out of place. Who or what do you think it might be?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just stressing out over everything. I'm sorry. What were you going to tell me?"

"I'm getting off an hour early, so Robert and I are going to grab a bite to eat. I'll be back to pick you up at the library when you get off. Why don't you wait inside until I get there? I'll come in to get you."

"Okay. Thanks. See you then."

I walked quickly to the library, glancing several times over my shoulder. Once inside, I quickly went to work, trying not to think about the strange sensation I'd just had. The books were stacked everywhere. I knew that I would not get them finished today, but it kept me busy.

I had been cataloging the books for about an hour, when I came across six new books about vampires and mystical creatures. I stared at them, touching the covers of each book, seeing them made the memories return. It made me remember how I felt when I first learned that vampires truly existed, how it felt to be with them, to care about them like they were human, and also how it felt to be hunted by them. That last feeling struck a cord of panic deep inside of me. What if it was one of them, watching me?

I had always felt that neither Edward nor any of the Cullens would ever try to contact me again, after the promise Edward had made when he left, that he would make it as if he had never existed in my life. Somehow, I knew this was true and that he would never want to be near me again. Then who could it be, if someone was watching me? My mind was racing, but I thought, I'm just over reacting, it's nothing more than a feeling, but that feeling had a strangely familiar twinge, almost the way I felt when Victoria had been hunting me.

Trying to go on with my work, I forced myself not to dwell on the situation. I went to the back of the library to put some of the books away, and I thought I caught someone, out of the corner of my eye, looking at me from around the long bookshelves. When I looked up, there was no one there. I was now a nervous wreck. I watched everyone coming and going from the library, until it was almost time to leave. I gathered my things so I would be ready when Leah got here.

Another thirty minutes passed, before she finally stepped into the doors of the library. She tilted her head slightly to the side and appeared to be sniffing the air again, she approached the counter, and looked me square in the eyes.

"Bella, has anything else happened?"

I told her I thought someone was watching me in the library, but I never saw anyone. She walked through the library and went right to the spot where I thought someone had been. Then she asked if I was ready to leave.

As we drove home, she said, "I smelled an unusual scent or odor in the library. You don't think that one of them could have been there do you? No, no that couldn't be possible, the scent was off, " she said, answering her own question.

"Leah, it's probably nothing. I'm sure it's just my imagination. Let's not tell Jake about this, okay?"

"Bella, I think you should tell him."

"No, he'll get all freaked out and he might not let me finish this semester. We only have a few weeks left. Please, let me tell him then?"

She reluctantly agreed, but told me to keep my eyes open and let her know if anything, anything was out of the ordinary.

Nothing else happened the rest of the week. By Friday, I had put the incident in the back of my mind, to worry about later. Jake picked me up and took me out for dinner before driving me home.

"Hey, do you know what tomorrow is?" he asked.

"Let me think," I pretended to ponder, scratching my head. "Someone's birthday, I think."

"So you remembered, this year?" he teased.

"Well, this year I don't want a party either. I want us to all go camping. I've told everyone no party and thought we could get the pack together, maybe Leah could invite Robert and all go camping instead."

I told him I didn't think Charlie would go for that, but he insisted on asking. And so he did, as soon as we got home.

"Charlie, can Bella go camping with me, Leah, Kim, the guys, Robert, Sam and Emily, this weekend for my eighteenth birthday? I wanted to do something different instead of having a party."

"Well. You say Sam and Emily will be there?"

"Yeah, they will be our chaperons."

"Bella, are you okay with that?"

"Sure dad. It'll be fun. You know a campfire, hot dogs, marshmallows. The usual stuff."

Then I turned to Jake and said, "but no ghost stories. Okay?"

"Sure, sure, Bella. I wouldn't want you to get all scared or anything."

I laughed as I tried to punch him, but it didn't hurt him at all. It did however sting my hand a little.

"Okay then. I'll pick you up about 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, so have a bag packed. We have all the tents, sleeping bags, food, and everything else we will need. Be ready."

He kissed me goodnight and I went upstairs to pack a bag and get ready for bed. Camping. What would he think of next?

Jake picked me up promptly, just as promised. We met up with everyone else in La Push a short time later, and started our caravan toward the lower base of the mountain range on the reservation. Jake said there was a nice primitive camping site there. The drive was only an hour or so and by the time we arrived everyone was excited and ready to get out.

I was surprised to Tera and Marcie there, with Quil and Embry. I guess their parents were okay entrusting their daughters to a couple of werewolves for the weekend. What was I saying? Isn't that the same thing Charlie did with me? Oh, but it was different, because Jake and I are engaged, I reasoned.

"Hey Bella. How have you been?" Quil asked, as he came to give me a big bear hug and kiss me on the top of my head.

"Good Quil. How's it been with you?"

"It's good to see you. I'm glad Jake talked you into coming. Embry and I had a bet he couldn't do it, but it was only a couple of bucks. I guess you're worth it," he said, as he patted me on the head and ran off toward the others.

I was glad the other girls were out of sight, because I didn't want to have to explain mine and Quil's unusual relationship.

The guys got the tents and supplies out and started setting up the camp. There were enough tents for an army, but I soon learned that, under the chaperons' orders, everyone was sleeping two or three to a tent, males with males, females with females. I still had a funny feeling about what might be going on tonight. The guys were in too good a mood.

At any rate, we sat the camp up and got all of the supplies organized and readied before dark. Emily and I worked on the food, while Leah, Tera, Marcie, and Kim, got everyone's bedding ready, and the guys built a roaring campfire.

Sam and Emily stayed at camp, while the rest of us went off in different directions for a short hike. Jake, Seth Leah, Robert, and I, went toward the creek that flowed down the hill from our campsite, while the others headed up the small slope above the campsite.

We ran and chased after each other, just like kids. You never would have known that Jake was turning eighteen tomorrow, but we were all acting a little giddy, and having a great time. Jake caught me once around the waist as I ran by, and we fell down laughing in the grass by the creek. The others ran on, but we lingered, in the grass a bit longer.

Jake was propped up on his elbow beside me, looking down at me with a wide grin.

"You're in a great mood this afternoon. Is it because you're eighteen tomorrow?"

"That's okay, but the main reason is that I'm here with you. We haven't seen much of each other lately. What with school, and work, and the hou...... hundreds of other things we've had going on."

"Hey, what did you almost say? You slipped. What have you been doing in your spare time?" I asked him and started tickling him in hopes he'd spill the truth.

"Nothing. Ha, ha. Nothing. Ha, ha. I was saying hundreds," he laughed.

Imagine that. A big bad wolf like Jake is ticklish. I guess I'd never known. I loved it. I actually had him powerless, under my fingers as they reached deeper into his rib cage, but my power of tickling him to death, soon came to an end, when he grabbed me by the wrists, pulling down, so I fell on top of him, knocking the wind out of both of us.

Our laughs soon turned to gasps, as he put his hands on each side of my head brought my lips down to meet his.

"I've really, really missed you," he sighed.

"Mmm. Me too."

Then my thoughts began to race and I was quite sure Jake had orchestrated this whole weekend to get me alone with him in the woods. What a dangerous thought.

We were lost in our own little romantic, heating up rapidly world, when Emily called that it was time to eat.

Jake moaned, "you or hotdogs? You or hotdogs? How about you after the hotdogs?" he laughed, kissing me once more.

I got the picture. Never stand between a man and his food, so I stood up and offered a hand, but he merely sprung up off the ground by himself which was very impressive.

We raced back to camp, got our hotdogs, and started roasting them over the fire. The others soon followed, but not before Jake had already eaten two. With food and soda being passed around, everyone was happily eating.

I was half way through my hotdog, when I stopped and listened carefully. I thought I heard someone calling my name. I must be mistaken, I thought, but I couldn't shake the feeling it gave me.

I suddenly wasn't very hungry and called Leah to the side.

"Leah, do you notice anything, out of the ordinary," I whispered.

She looked at me with sudden concern, "no why? What?"

"Nothing, it's just a feeling. Can you sniff the air or something really quickly?"

She did, but said she didn't detect anything.

"You have told Jake about this, haven't you?"

"No. But I will this week. Don't say anything. Okay? Just keep your eyes and ears open."

"Bella?"

"You promised," I reminded her.

She just gave me a dirty little stare and we went back to the campfire.

The evening continued with the guys devouring everything in sight, then wouldn't you know it, Quil started up with a stupid ghost story. I snuggled into Jake's arms and tried not to listen. It wasn't that I believed in ghosts, but I had been having my share of creepy feelings lately, and this wasn't helping much.

Jake whispered into my ear, "hey, it's only a story. I'll protect you, remember?"

Then he started kissing me on the ear. He moved my hair back so he could have access to it fully. He breathed softly into it, then moved down to my jaw and kissed me there. I was quickly becoming putty in his hands, and I wasn't even listening to Quil anymore.

Jake was watching the others out of the corner of his eye, like he was plotting his next move. Jake knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to break down my resistance, and it was working.

"Leah is your bunk mate tonight. If you can stay awake, I might come visit you," he whispered temptingly into my ear.

"You'll just have to be very, very quiet," then he took my earlobe between his lips and pretended to bite it.

How could he tempt me so, I thought? Surely he must know how dangerously vulnerable he is making me? Then, as if to answer my thoughts, he twirled his fingers into my hair and gently began rubbing the back of my neck. Hidden from view, in the shadows of the forest, he continued this pleasurable torture for at least another hour. I hadn't heard any of the talk around the campfire, due to my total concentration on Jake and what he was doing to me.

Emily yawned and announced that we should all go to our tents, after all it was well past 11:00 p.m. Leah and I climbed into our tent and each found our sleeping bags. I positioned myself closest to the door, not knowing exactly what Jake was planning.

"Leah. Are you asleep yet?" I whispered, about thirty minutes after we got into our tents.

"No. I can't stop thinking about Robert. I'm going to go find him," she whispered in reply.

Then she was up and very quietly unzipped our tent and left.

I lay their listening, not making a sound. I heard the unzipping and zipping of many zippers, but never any talking. I smiled to myself at the thought of so much activity, wondering who was where and what was going on. I was just about to drop off to sleep when my tent zipper slowly started to open. I lay perfectly still, not knowing who might be coming into the tent. My heart was racing, and it sounded like it was echoing inside the tent.

Just then, a warm hand wrapped around my chin and pulled my face upward, until I tasted Jake's lips. He unzipped my sleeping bag and climbed inside with me.

"Do you just let anyone come into your tent?" he breathed into my ear, quieter than a whisper.

I just shook my head "no" in response and wrapped my arms around his neck.

It didn't take but a moment for Jake to bring me back to the excited state I had been in while we were around the campfire. Every touch he bestowed on me sent chills to and fro inside my body. We were getting married in just a few short weeks, but tonight I wasn't sure of my own staying power.

Jake, ever so quietly and masterfully removed first my shirt, then my bra and began kissing me, roaming freely over my chest. As he moved, and caressed me, it became harder and harder not to make a noise, but he told me we had to be very quiet. I bit my bottom lip, when it wasn't pressed elsewhere, to keep from making a sound.

I reached for his jeans, found the snap, and began undoing them. I slowly pulled the zipper down and felt the heat escaping from inside. Jake was quick to remove them, maybe a little too quick. I ran my hands down his back and over his strong muscular hips. I scraped my fingernails along the waist band of his underwear and I felt him shiver in response.

I pulled him hard against me, moving my lips against his in a frenzy of passion. This was dangerous, he was dangerous, but he knew exactly what he was doing. He had planned this night out very carefully. He grabbed the snap on my jeans, and with one hand had them undone and began pulling them off. When I was finally freed of them, he lay down on me and pulled my legs up around his waist.

"You're so warm," he whispered, as he moved his hand down below my waist. His touch was almost more than I could bear. He was touching me in ways I'd never experienced. Then I felt the need to reach for him. I searched, and found the very spot in need of my attention. I marveled at the extent of the protrusion that I encountered.

Eager to learn more, I slipped below the cloth that divided us and touched him very gently. Our movements became rhythmic as we sought out each others weaknesses, each trying to take advantage of them. He was moving against me, pressing himself so tightly against me, when I heard, this time very clearly, someone calling my name.

"Bella. Bella, come to me. Come to me."

I froze unable to move. Jake must have taken it that he had done something wrong. He pressed his lips to my ear.

"Bella. What's wrong? Are you okay?" I shook my head "no" in response. I knew he could see me in the dark.

He pressed his ear to my mouth, for me to explain,

"Jake. I think someone might be out there. A stranger."

Immediately sensing danger, he leaped up, unzipped the tent, and was gone silently into the night. I lay there, listening but I could near nothing, accept the drum beating in my chest. I quickly got my clothes on and waited.

Jake was gone for a long time and I started to worry that something was wrong. What could he have found? Who was tormenting me like this? The questions raced inside my mind, too fast to keep up with. I sat with my arms wrapped around my knees until I began shivering, partly from the cool night air and partly from nerves. I climbed back inside of my sleeping bag and lay down, trying to stay awake, waiting for Jake to return.

I gave up and sleep overtook me. It must have been an hour or so later that I was startled from my sleep, by Leah's return.

"Leah. Where's Jake?" I whispered.

"I don't know, but his clothes are all over the place," she replied holding up his jeans.

"Leah. I heard something, and he left over an hour ago, but he hasn't come back."

"I'll be right back," she said, shedding her clothes on the way out the door. Oh how I wished I could be out there running with them.

She finally returned, and told me that Jake had found a trail and was running it, but he couldn't identify it. She said it was similar to the scent she had detected in the library, but yet different. She said she hadn't told Jake, but that she knew he would be furious when he found out. We waited, until I could stay awake no longer.

I'm not sure how long Leah stayed awake, but when I finally woke up a few hours later she too was asleep. My guess was that Jake had given up and gone to his own tent and was asleep, or was still running.

When the first rays of light dawned on the camp, I reluctantly climbed out of the sleeping bag knowing I had to find Jake and see what had happened. I unzipped the tent and looked around. Everything was still and no one was moving around yet. I thought that Jake, Embry, and Quil were in the tent next to ours, so I quietly unzipped the tent and peeked inside.

They were all laying on top of their sleeping bags with no shirts on still asleep or so I thought. I crawled into the tent, trying to get Jake's attention, hoping not to wake the others, when he reached out and grabbed my wrists forcing me to fall on top of him knocking the air out of me.

He smiled playfully and whispered, "you just can't get enough of me. Can you baby?" before planting a big kiss on my lips.

"Jake, I was worried about you. Why didn't you come back last night?"

"I did, but you were already asleep and Leah was there, so I crashed too."

"Jake, can we go outside and talk? It's a little crowded in here."

Quil rolled over and whispered, "it's okay Bella, we won't listen."

I punched him in the kidney, but he never flinched.

I managed to get up and Jake followed me out of the tent. We walked some ways from the camp, so we could talk in private.

"Bella, I know we got a little carried away last night. But, I couldn't..... No, I really didn't want to stop. We were so close and everything felt so right. I hope you're not upset with me?"

"Jake, I really heard something last night. I wasn't just trying to get rid of you."

He stepped closer and looked at me sheepishly straight in the eyes, "so you mean, last night we almost....we might have...?"

"I guess so. I don't know. Jake, focus! Besides we're getting married in a few weeks. Did you find anything when you went out?"

"No, not really. I thought I had a trail of something familiar, but then it changed, or disappeared. It was probably nothing."

Well, if he didn't seem to be too worried, I thought I would just wait until the end of the week and then tell him.

By now, everyone else was starting to get up, so we joined them at the camp for breakfast. Everyone seemed lively and awake now, so I reminded everyone that it was Jake's birthday and we sang him happy birthday.

"Jake, my gift for you is at home. I'll give it to you later. Okay?" I told him, and gave him a little kiss.

We spent the rest of the day hiking and eating, then mid afternoon we all went home. I was ready for a shower and my own bed. When we got to my house Jake helped me with my bag and we went inside. I ran upstairs, retrieving his birthday card and present.

"Bella, you didn't have to get me anything. I had a great time with you and everyone this weekend."

"Come on open it up," I prompted.

I had gotten Jake a new watch and he loved it. We hadn't been home long when Charlie came home, seeming glad to see us both still in one piece.

"Did you guys have fun camping?"

"Yeah, dad, it wasn't so bad. But I do have first call on the shower."

I told Jake goodbye and he went home. I had to study, so I showered and spent the rest of the night hitting the books before falling asleep in my nice, comfortable bed.

The week flew by and the last day of school finally arrived, so that meant all our finals were over. It was Friday, and this was my last day of work at the library too, and Jake came to pick me up as usual.

He came to the library, but for some reason, came inside this time to get me. He had the same look on his face that Leah had when she noticed the unusual scent a few days earlier. He immediately became alert and started looking around. I pretended not to notice, and hurriedly told him I was ready to go.

As we drove home, Jake seemed preoccupied. He didn't mention what he suspected and I didn't mention that I knew what he was thinking. I simply tried to pretend everything was fine. I asked him about his job, about school, his upcoming graduation, about everything I could think of, trying to get his mind off of the strange things going on at the college.

When we got to my house, we went inside, told Charlie hello, then Jake disappeared. I knew he was checking the rest of the house, but again pretended not to notice and sat down at the kitchen table to look at the mail. I really was concentrating, when he finally came into the kitchen. I looked up to see him staring at me. He looked weary and uneasy.

"Jake, do you want something to drink?" I asked, trying to get his mind off of his worries.

"Sure, sure, whatever," was his reply.

So, I fixed us both some lemonade, and sat back down. He joined me at the table and I tried to continue opening the mail.

"Bella, how have things been at school? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, except those finals nearly killed us."

His expression told me that he suspected I might be avoiding the subject.