Wow, you guys are just too good. I love all the reviews and favs and alerts and everything
Okay, this might be the last update for this week, (unless you send me gazzilions of reviews) because I'm going somewhere this weekend. But this chapter is really long, so you shouldn't be too dissappointed.
Now, this chapter shouldn't be what you're expecting... I think. So read on!
36. Cliff Dive
Harry recovered. The ambulance had arrived in 10 minutes, and took him straight to the hospital. I didn't accompany him, Charlie, and Billy. It would feel odd being in a hospital without Carlisle there, like an aquarium with no fish, it just wasn't right.
I spent the afternoon working, worried about Harry until Billy came back and told me everything was alright. Charlie was staying with Harry, so I had to do as much as I could all by myself. Well, Billy helped a little, but couldn't very much.
It was a quiet few hours, the only sound being the noise of the nail gun and the circular saw. I got the framework of the extension room done that day, and had started building the walls when it grew too dark to work any longer.
I went inside and sat at the table. Billy sat at the opposite end, eyes glazed with thought, hands clasped in front of him. I couldn't sit still for long, the ghost of that feeling in my chest I guess. I started making dinner, rifling around in their pantry for something I could make into a meal. I found a packet of dried lentils, some carrots, stock powder, tomato sauce, tinned tomatoes, some marjoram, flour, milk, and eggs. I resigned myself to making a lentil pie.
When it was in the oven, white sauce bubbling on top, I had to find something else to do. I started sowing a pair of ripped shorts of Jake's then moved on to a shirt. I sat in front of the TV with my work, not listening to the news as it talked about some missing hikers.
Billy listened though, and that distracted him from Harry. "Bloody leach, we'll get you soon."
I then listened to Billy mutter for the next half hour, swearing and vowing what she'd do to the vampire. I changed the channel to a comedy, hoping it would change the mood in the house. It didn't, what really made everyone happier was when Jake burst into the house.
He had an amazed smile of his face, grinning at us both, "You're finally extending the..." he stopped, seeing our faces. His smile fell a little. "What's happened?"
"You haven't heard yet?" Billy asked.
"The pack's been wolf for the whole day; no one could have contacted us. Why, what's happened? Is it Quill?"
"No," I answered for Billy, sure my voice would be steadier than a long time friend of the victim. "It's Harry, he had a heart attack. He's fine though," I assured him. Then I smiled, my amazement at the memory of my work coming to mind. "I saved him Jake, I saved him!"
Both males turned to me now, Billy probably more confused than Jake. "How did you save him?" Billy asked, probably a little offended – thinking I was making a joke out of this.
"I stopped to clot; I took it out of him. I did it! I removed Laurent's thirst, and now I removed a blood clot." My voice was high, ecstatic and dazed with my bewilderment at my abilities.
"You took Laurent's thirst?"
"Yes, when he was about to attack me," I realized my slip too late.
"He was going to attack you!" Jake almost yelled. "I thought you said he was just visiting not hunting."
I quickly tried to cover up my blunder. "Yeah, he was visiting, but he hadn't hunted in a while and apparently my blood smells good." I shrugged, as if it were nothing.
"And you let him get away! Bella, why?" he was angrier. I sighed, standing to go to him. I placed a hand on his shoulder, his neck, calming him with my touch.
"I did it because he was good Jake, not evil like you think all vampires are." He didn't argue like I knew he wanted to, but let out a great sigh and took my hand from his shoulders. He wrapped them in his own.
His black eyes looked deeply into mine, and I read the emotions there. Fear, pain, annoyance, but above all, love, a deep love that pained me each time I saw it. I couldn't fully return that love, I didn't even know if I did love him.
"Bella, please don't be so trusting, there are bad things out there, you know that."
"I know," I sighed.
He smiled sadly. "Next thing you know you'll be saying the red head is good," he laughed darkly. I laughed with him, with no genuine humour. "So what happened outside?"
I was grateful for the change in subject, and immediately answered. "We're extending the house. I thought you might need room to stretch your legs, I've seen your room."
"Wait, you did this?"
"Yes," I said proudly.
"Which company is building it?"
I gasped, faking outrage. "I built most of that, thank you very much. Harry and Charlie helped, but after the incident well..." I trailed off, not having to continue. "Let me show you what I've done," I dragged Jake outside.
The next day Jake went early again, and I spent finishing the walls. That night Jake wasn't back by night time, and Charlie insisted I go home. My dreams were as bad as usual.
The day after that I finished the roof, Jake came home in time to watch a show with me, falling asleep on the lounge before the first advert.
The day after that I finished the floor and Jake was home just early enough for me to give him a kiss on the cheek before I had to go again.
The day after that I spent painting, vanishing, and generally touching up my work.
The next day I furnished it, taking some of the stuff out of the crowded Black's house and bringing them into it. Mainly Jake's stuff, the wardrobe was a challenge, and with Billy and Charlie fishing it was extremely difficult. I somehow managed.
The room now looked a lot like Jake's old one, except bigger. I even got him a new bed, this one actually big enough for him. I looked upon my work fondly, smiling. It was a good use of half the money I'd earned, but I wondered what to spend the remainder on.
I didn't have very long to ponder this, as – for once – Jake was back early. He came back with a huge smile on his face, and I immediately sprung to conclusions.
"You killed Victoria?" I asked.
He shook his head, mood falling for a small moment before peaking again. "I just remembered something I wanted to do with you, and tomorrow Sam says I can have a day off to do it with you."
I tilted my head at him. "What is it?" I asked.
He grinned wider; I didn't think it was possible. "We're going cliff diving."
Something jumped inside me, pulling, ecstatic at the words. I smothered the feeling, or tried to, before replying. My pause may have been a little too long because Jake was smirking at me, as I squeaked, "cliff diving?"
"What? Are you scared Bella?"
"No, no," I said quickly. "I'm not scared."
"Good, so we'll do it first thing tomorrow morning. Okay?" he was still smirking, holding out his hand.
I took it, shaking his hand. "Okay," I agreed.
A day later, I was driving to La Push, my make shift breakfast (muesli bar) in my hand. I took bites out of it as I drove. My foot edged close to the floor and I was sure I was breaking some speed limit.
I knew why I was so excited, and I knew that it was extremely silly and stupid. I'd always connected this moment on my mind to finding Edward. The truth was though, that I'd already found Edward, and he'd rejected me. My mind knew this moment would have no significance, but my body wanted it anyway.
I found myself dreaming of the fall, of my hand wrapped in Jake's of us screaming together as we fell to the water. Maybe this moment would have significance, just not of the vampire kind.
Jake was asleep at the Black's and I tiptoed into his new room. The bed fit him so much better than his other one. He was stretched out on the bed, toes still covered and in his bed, a contented smile on his face. I sneaked around to the other end of the queen sized bed, sneakily sitting on the bed behind him. I grinned and slowly pulled down the covers. Then I reached under the blankets and pushed my cold hands against his back. He yelled and spun around, falling off the edge of the bed. I giggled.
"Bella!" he yelled. I heard Billy chuckled from the other room, furthering my amusement.
Jake stood, trying to escape from the layers of blankets tied and knotted around him. I laughed again, sitting on the bed, watching as he tried to untangle himself from the mess. It was when he was free that I had to worry, running around to the opposite side of the bed to him. He chased me around it, while I kept the bed safely between us. Eventually he vaulted over the bed, tackling me and trapping me in his arms. He pulled me into the bed, rolling so he was on top of me.
"I win," he said proudly, "experience always before beauty."
"Should I be flattered or annoyed?" I asked still giggling from the chase.
He leaned down, placing a kiss on my nose. "Flattered, you should be flattered." I smiled, and he followed, touching his lips to mine gently.
His warm body against mine was comforting, his soft caresses so sweet, that I couldn't pull away. Usually by now the awkwardness had set in, the feeling of guilt for knowing he liked me more than vice versa. Today I didn't feel that, today I let myself be carried away with his touch.
I stroked a hand down his bare chest, my fingers tracing the lines of his muscles. He watched, almost confusedly, before looking up to me, a question in his eyes. I guess he had noticed I'd been taking it slow, and wondered why I was suddenly moving faster.
I smiled up at him, and he took this as an answer, hesitantly bringing his lips to mine. I slid my hand along his back, up to his shoulders, one lacing in his hair. I ran it along his scalp, feeling the silky black hair between my fingers.
Jake's hand held my side, his thumb grazing my hip bone. His other hand was on the back of my neck, one finger following the line of the start of my scalp. I touched my tongue to his bottom lip, tracing its shape. He sucked in a breath, pulling away slightly. I trailed kisses down his jaw, kissed his earlobe, before placing another back on his mouth and pulling away.
The kiss was sweet, slow, and gentle. Jake was very inexperienced, which was kind of cute. I liked the way he was gentle, even if it was because he didn't know what he was doing. I'd had enough of rough kisses, rough with no love, or compassion, just the need to be kissed. I didn't want to be like that with Jake, he meant more than a good kiss.
Jake smiled shyly at me, and held out a hand to pull me from the bed. I took it and jumped up, smiling. I pecked him on the cheek and flitted out of the room, into the kitchen.
Billy had an eyebrow raised at us both. I didn't really care, we weren't doing anything wrong. In fact, I even think Charlie wouldn't have minded if he saw us doing that. Well, he might not; it didn't mean I would kiss Jake in front of him.
Billy turned back to his paper. "So what's the agenda for today?" he asked, not looking up.
"I'm taking Bella cliff diving," Jake said, releasing my hand to grab the cereal box.
"Really, well, have fun, and be careful, the news says the weather is going to get a little rough tomorrow, and the beginnings might have started today."
I thought immediately to the book, where Bella had jumped into cyclone waters. Then I thought back to the water I saw out my car window this morning, they had been rougher than usual, but not nearly as rough as I'd expect cyclone waters to be. I was pretty sure I'd be able to jump today. I was a good swimmer. Anyway, if Jake was there he'd save me.
"We'll be careful," Jake assured his father before grabbing a handful of cereal and chucking it in his mouth dry. I wrinkled my nose at him. He grinned and grabbed a bowel, filled it with cereal and milk, chewing all the while.
I laughed lightly, and started a conversation with Billy about fish, which way he liked them cooked, which is the most fun to catch, which are illegal to keep, which aren't edible or don't taste good. I wasn't particularly interested in the subject, but it kept me busy while I waited for Jake. After all, me standing right beside him, bouncing on my toes, pushing him to eat faster, probably wouldn't have worked out too well.
Luckily, Jake ate fast, and we were soon off. I was already in my swimmers under my clothes, but Jake seemed to want to jump in his denim shorts. "You do know you won't be able to kick or move your legs in those?"
He laughed. "Bella, if you're strong enough, you can force anything to do your will." I found the comment strangely ironic, as if it described my power. My quick burst of laughter was bordering on hysteria. Jake didn't comment, so I didn't explain.
We took my car to the cliff; Jake didn't want his Rabbit's seats to get ruined by the seawater. "And you think my car seats should?" I had asked.
"Those cars seats have been through much worse. You literally don't want to know." I tried not to think about what they could have been through, but when I slid behind the wheel I hesitated before letting my butt fall onto the cracked leather. Jake laughed, telling me the stuff was long gone. I cringed anyway, and when we arrived wiped the back of my jeans with my hands. Then I wiped my hands on Jake, who was laughing like a hyena.
"C'mon Bella, if you really want to get clean, then the water just over there." He pointed off the edge of the cliff. I rolled my eyes.
I walked over to the cliff, peering over the edge. The water washed against the rocks, breaking with a spray of water. Further out from the cliff the water was less foamy and white, and visibly calmer. I knew where I'd rather land.
"Having second thoughts Bella?" Jake teased.
I turned around, a wicked smile on my face. "Nope," I popped the p. And then I grabbed the edge of my shirt and pulled it up. I heard Jake's intake of breath as the fabric covered my line of sight, I smirked.
I was wearing a purple bikini, the perfect colour for my skin tone. It wasn't skimpy as far as bikinis went, but Jake had never seen me in anything less than a swimsuit and rasher top. He gulped as I threw my shirt to the side. I shook my head, and pulled my jeans down, stepping out of them and kicking them to my clothes.
"I told you that you'd act like this if I walked around with my top off. I wasn't lying." Jake looked dazedly at me, mouth slightly open, as he stared. I would have felt self-conscious, if it weren't for his hilarious expression. Instead I may have been a little mean, crossing my arms, jutting out my hip, and smirking. Then I may have... accidently ... blown him a kiss.
Jake blushed harder, looking at his feet. He shuffled them awkwardly. I laughed and walked over to him, running my hand along his arms which he held safely behind his back. He looked up a little, and then quickly looked away, his gaze focused over my head. I laughed again. "C'mon Jake, I can't be that ugly."
His eyes snapped to mine, a fierce look in them. "You are not ugly Bella, never, ever say that," he almost growled. I blushed... actually blushed! I hadn't blushed since Edward had left.
The faint colour on my cheeks made Jake smile, unwind. He brought his hand to my cheek, thumb running over the soft dimples I knew were now pink. "You look really pretty when you blush, you hardly ever do though."
I looked down, my turn to be embarrassed. "I guess I just save it for special occasions."
Jake brought a hand to my chin, lifting my face up so I had to look him in the eye. "Special occasions, or special people," he asked, seriously.
"Both," I answered.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and I giggled at his frustration. He was about to say something more, but I cut him off the best way I knew how. I pushed my lips against his, moulding my body against his tall one. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling myself higher with them.
Jake put his hands on my hips, lifting me higher. I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding myself eye to eye with him. His eyes were closed as he kissed me, and I followed suit, ignoring my surroundings. All I focused on was this moment with Jake, his hand running up and down my back, his soft lips pressed against mine, his tongue rubbing against mine.
My hands travelled along his bare back, along his ribs, across his shoulder blades. His hand tangled in my hair, keeping me close to him. My tongue touched one of his teeth, and I almost pulled back. It was sharp, not as sharp as Edward's because he was in human form. I giggled lightly and touched the tooth again, twirling my tongue around the canine. I smiled, pulling away. Jake panted slightly, he was grinning.
I kissed his jaw, trailing kisses down to his collar bone. My tongue darted out to lick the dint at its edge. Jake moaned lightly, and I grinned wider. I pulled back, putting my hands on Jake's shoulders. I leaned back, smiling from my position. "You look different when you're shorter than me," I giggled.
Jake let me fall to the ground, I landed lightly. "You look different too," he replied. He kissed the top of my head, and I glared lightly. I was only short around him and the wolf pack; I was pretty tall anywhere else.
"Are we going to jump, or you just going to stand hear and insult my height?" I asked. The touch of acid in my voice I knew was ruined by the smile in my eyes.
"Of course we're jumping, short-stuff," he laughed, and before I could smack him he had run past me and jumped from the cliff edge.
I ran to the edge, just stopping myself before I fell off. I leaned carefully over the precipice. I saw a circular area in the water, just past the rough area, where foam and white bubbles covered the surface. Soon after a head appeared in its centre, too far below to distinguish the grin I knew he was directing at me. I heard a faint yell, guessing he was telling me to follow.
I waved and leant back. I walked back all the way to the tree line, wanting a large run-up to avoid the breaking point. I took a breath, calming my excitedly beating heart. I smiled wide as my legs tensed and I leaned forward. "Just like a sprint Bella, accept the finish line isn't there," I whispered.
And I ran, and I jumped, and I fell. Wow, that's one of the biggest understatements in history.
I sprinted for the edge of the cliff, closing my eyes so my instincts wouldn't suddenly halt my momentum. When my step didn't collide with the rock on my nest step I opened my eyes. I was greeted by the wind stinging in my eyes, and the picture of my freefall. In front of me was the sky, the clouds looking closer than I'd ever seen them. Below was the sea, the gray waters lazily moving with some small white peaks of off shore waves.
My head whipped, of course, to what was directly under me. I straightened my legs, slightly bending my knees, as the massive expanse of water rushed to greet me. I absently realized I was half screaming/half laughing, as I fell, and I only just had enough time to think to close my mouth before the my body met them water. I gulped in a lungful of air, and closed my eyes.
The moment of collision was jolting, but followed immediately by the sensation of being enveloped by the icy water. The immediate pressure change was almost as shocking as the change of temperature. My ears instantly hurt with that feeling you only get when you're at least 3 meters under water. I opened my eyes to the dark waters, my heart slightly racing at the complete darkness all around me.
I kind of have an irrational fear of being in water where I can't see the bottom. Probably from all the stories boys used to tell me in my early life of all the skeletons at the bottom of lakes and things like that. Well, anyway, I quickly swam my way to the top of the water. I tread water there for a moment, squinting over the top of the water, looking for Jake. The waves languidly raised me up and down as I looked. They were larger than they looked as I was falling, and made the whole cliff rise and fall with my movement.
I found myself looking near that area, watching the rough waters, worry rising in me. Had he strayed too close to the cliff? Had the waves dumped him towards or worse - into - the rocks?
My fretting was broken when I felt something bite my thigh. I screamed and swam back, my limbs flailing as I moved too quickly to swim properly. My heart was jumping in my chest, and my memory stopped my panicking. The bite had been too small to worry about; a shark attracted by my panicking would however be something to worry about. So I stopped moving, and sat waiting, hoping the hungry fish had been scared away.
When I heard a chuckling from behind me I realized there was never a fish.
"Jake!" I yelled, as I turned. He grinned at me.
"Wow, you were really scared."
I growled and jumped on top of him, dunking him under the water. I held him under for a good 15 seconds, just to teach him a lesson. When I let him up he spluttered for breath, and then gave me a glare.
"What?" I said innocently. "I had to punish you; you aren't allowed to pinch my thigh."
He grinned beside me. "Oh, so I can't pinch your thigh. I guess I'm also not allowed to pinch here?" I felt another pinch, one further up, at my butt cheek. I gasped, and squirmed away.
I glared hard at him. "Oh, you're going to get it now." I swam for him, and his smile grew as he swam away.
"You'll have to catch me first!" he yelled.
Jake might have been stronger – okay, a lot stronger – but I was more experienced in water. I'd swam so much in my life that it was second nature to me, in fact running was harder than swimming to me, even if it was faster.
Jake swam a little awkwardly as he swam away from me; he'd obviously swum before but not as much as me or competitively. He swam with his head above the water, like a water polo player, but he was rolling to far too each side, almost like he was about to roll onto his back. I followed him, but swam half freestyle/half water polo swimming, just so I knew I was following him.
He swam erratically as he tried to get away from me, zigzagging, circling, and sprinting and diving. The diving was the hardest to follow, as when I ducked under water I couldn't see much of anything, let alone the boy I was chasing after. Fortunately he couldn't hold his breath forever, and I could locate him as soon as he surfaced.
The distance between us got shorter and shorter, until I was almost on top of him. When he spun around in the water, to see me right behind him, grinning, he stopped, holding his arms up in surrender. I was panting as I swam to him, and obliged to the break. I treaded water beside him for a few moments. "Do you give up?" I asked breathlessly.
"Yes," he said, though his voice was less marred by panting. I guess, though he was slower, that he was fitter than me – stupid werewolf. In my moment of annoyance I got an idea, and barely hid my grin from Jake.
I moved my arm as unnoticeably under the surface of the water as possible, and moved it super fast when it was only a few centimetres from Jake. He jumped when I did it. "You did not just squeeze my ass." I giggled in answer and swam back, but before I could get away he grabbed my foot, pulling me to him. "That wasn't very nice Bella." His eyes were mischievous, his mouth just turned up at the edges in an attempt to hide his grin. "I think you need to make it up to me," he said, his voice huskier than usual.
I just had time to inhale before he crashed his lips to mine. This kiss was so different from the sweet, fleeting, slow kisses we'd shared before. His gentleness was gone, and... I kind of liked it. I must have been kidding myself when I didn't want this, because it didn't remind of my kisses of my old work. Jake's kiss was so much different. The kisses of my work had been rough, hard, with no compassion or care for me whatsoever. I'd gotten several cuts and bites from those kisses, and had to rinse my mouth out for most. Jake's kiss, while fast and semi-frenzied, wasn't painful. His hands didn't grope my sides and breasts, or pull my hair. His hands held me close to him, one laced softly in my scalp. Jake's tongue didn't invade my mouth, almost cutting off my air supply, his danced with mine, mid-way between our mouths. The biggest difference was the whole picture. On the whole the kisses at my work were lustful, angry, hard kisses. Jake's kiss now, though not as soft as before, was still aware of me, of the fact I could feel pain, and was still contained that cute hesitance, that feeling that he was slowly getting the hang of it, giving into his instincts.
When he broke away for air and saw my smile, he looked a little self-conscious. Rather than saying 'you did good' I decided to show him. I wrapped my lags around his waist, trailing kisses along his jaw. I sucked lightly on his earlobe, feeling him stiffen beneath me. I ran my hands along his back, along his shoulder blades, twinging my fingers in his hair and repeating the process. I skimmed kisses down his neck, sucking lightly at the junction to the collarbone.
Then water covered me, stopping my work. I gasped as I swam to the surface, glaring at Jake. "If you didn't like it, just tell me," I snarled, genuinely angry now.
"No, no, I did like it. It was just hard to hold you up and tread water at the same time." He explained, apologising furiously. I swam away, kicking water at him, but it was just for show, I'd already forgiven him.
I heard him swim after me, and plastered an angry look on my face. I swam to the shore, standing as soon as it was waist height. I kept my moves jerky, trying to look angry as I walked to the rocky, sandy, land. Jake wasn't far behind me, the sound of the splashes he made as he ran through the water alerting me of his position. I'd just reached the dry land when I felt his hand on my arm, softly grapping, and weak enough for me to pull away if I wanted. I smirked for a second, then immediately wiped it from my face, putting on my best sad/angry look.
I turned to face him, and his face was hilarious, so guilty and slightly sad. "I didn't mean it Bella; I just couldn't keep us up."
"How do I know that? How do I know you just don't like me?"
"Bella... I love you," the words sounded like he was forcing them past a lump in his throat. His cheeks were flaming red, and he looked away.
I'd guessed as much, but to hear the words, have them spoken out of his mouth, it made it so real. The fact half made me joyous enough to skip back to Forks, half made me want to cry and run away. Mostly though, the words made me want to kiss Jake, what I'd been aiming this charade to achieve before. I'd gotten more than I asked for, as my shocked expression probably showed.
"Jake..." I almost stuttered. "Jake, I was just joking... I wasn't really angry with you."
"You weren't?" he asked, his cheeks darkening another shade of red.
"No, I wanted to make you guilty, so you'd kiss me again."
"Well, maybe I don't want to anymore," his voice was almost childish, like a kid having a tantrum. That picture was helped by the fact that he'd crossed his arms, and his lower lip was slightly jutted out.
"Maybe," I agreed, stepping towards him, closing the distance between us. I was at his side, my torso pressed against his arm. "Or maybe, you do want to kiss me, and this is for show." His eyes rolled down to me, and he stiffened. I smiled, running my hand up his arm, down his back. "So which is it?" I whispered, pressing my lips to his shoulder.
"Um..." he said, but I could feel his resolve, his will to keep this facade up, was slipping.
I sucked lightly at his collarbone, running my tongue in circles. I was rewarded by his sharp intake of breath, I smiled against his skin. "Do you want me to kiss you?" I whispered again.
"Yes," he answered his voice barely audible.
"That's good, because I want you to kiss me too."
I had to restrain myself from jumping him at that moment; I guess I could blame it to the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I practically tackled him with the force of my kiss; luckily he was strong and stable. I could feel his smile against my lips though, and I knew he would've laughed at my eagerness had his mouth not been... um... unavailable.
We may have spent a little too long kissing each other, because by the time I was done molesting his mouth, neck, and face, the clouds had come overhead, and the water was lapping at our feet. I was still wrapped in Jake's arms, my head against his chest as I watched the water turn rougher and rougher, even the little touched at our feet had more force than usual.
I thought of the little house Jake lived in, the wood old with peeling. Much of the other houses I'd seen weren't much better. Could they survive a big storm?
"Where's the hurricane supposed to hit?" I asked, trying to make it sound absently but touch of worry in my voice.
"Not near, don't worry," he answered, almost knowing my thoughts. I smiled with a touch of relief, but something still panged in my chest as I looked out into the water. I swear I saw a touch of red out there, but my mind could have been playing tricks on me... couldn't it?
Now, what did you think? Fluffy, cute enough?
Were you surprised?
Tell me in a review. Now, since this chapter is really long, and I am going, and I have updated once a day the past couple of days, I'm going to be a little mean.
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