SM Owns Twilight
PART 4
CH #2
XXX
"You know what the best part is?" Jacob asked as Bella let her fingers run up and down his bare chest.
"What?" she asked, leaning in to kiss his chest.
"That I'll have this memory of you spitting up apple pie like a little baby," he teased, shaking with laughter. Bella smacked him on the chest before turning her body away from him.
Jacob immediately rolled over on his side, pulling her back towards him so they were face to face.
"You're a jerk, Jacob!" she said as her face flushed in anger.
"Maybe, but you love me anyway," he teased with a smug expression. He tilted up her chin with his fingers, making sure he could look into her eyes, "Right?"
Bella was completely helpless against the power of those eyes, so she pulled herself closer to him and nodded.
He smiled a happy smile and leaned down to kiss her.
Bella couldn't understand how the kissing got better after her declaration. Every touch was maddening, every caress of his fingers made her tremble, every movement of his lips, his tongue, sent jolts straight to her heart...and other parts of her body.
They were on her bedroom floor, laying on her comforter, blankets, and pillows. Charlie had been suspicious when Bella looked 'really excited' to go to bed. Every once in a while, they heard him yelling, "I can hear the mattress moving!"
Jacob, who had been busy making Bella tremble with his light touches, mentioned something about kidnapping her for a few days where they couldn't be interrupted by Charlie's 'cock-blocking' skills.
Bella shivered—in anticipation.
"Do you have to go to work?"
"Yeah, it's going to be really busy with Christmas and New Year's coming up. Oh, and Alice said I'm throwing a dinner party next week. She's probably going to go all out with the decorations."
"She's coming?" Jacob asked, surprised.
"She's probably at my apartment right now. I guess the rest of the Cullens are busy with other things, so she came down to spend time with me. That's not going to be a problem, is it?" she asked, worried that Jacob might revert back to his anti-Cullen movement from back in the day. He had been indifferent to the Cullens re-entering her life, perhaps because Edward was not with them. She knew he was grateful to them for saving his life—again.
"No...I, I think I understand their importance in your life. I'm not going to get all 'territorial' with you," he said quietly.
Bella let out a laugh.
"It's a little too late for that," she whispered against his skin.
"What do you mean?"
"Bella, why didn't you ask me permission to go out with your friends?" she whispered, mocking Jacob's voice.
"Hey," he said, moving to tickle her, "it was one time, okay, and I was just jealous of that guy."
"That guy has a name. Alex."
"Well, what kind of a girlfriend leaves town with her friends without letting her boyfriend know? Let's say Embry, Quil, and I decide to go to Vegas for a weekend. You're expecting me to come over, but you don't hear from me. Then, Seth tells you 'oh, hey Bella, Jake went to Vegas with the guys, and they won't let him call you.' How would you feel about that?"
Bella thought about it and realized she would be furious.
"Oh my God, you're right! "
"I usually am, Bells," he said seriously.
"I'm sorry. I'm stupid," she admitted, "really, really stupid."
Jacob remained silent.
"Jake!" she said, trying to pinch him.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"Ugh!" He laughed and kissed her on the forehead.
"Listen, speaking of stupid things, I'm going to tell you something and I won't ask you to not freak out because I know you'll freak out."
"Oh no, what now?"
"Embry and Quil started asking me what the setting was like when you told me you loved me, and obviously, I didn't have an answer and I freaked out. Um, I thought you were just with me, but weren't in love with me, so I was going to break up with you because I didn't think it was fair that you were with me when you weren't in love with me." He exhaled loudly. "Does that make sense?"
Bella sat up and drew her knees to her chest.
"Did you honestly not think I was in love with you?" she asked sadly.
Jacob stayed on the ground, closing his eyes as he rubbed her back in a comforting manner.
"It makes a really big difference to hear it, you know? When the guys asked, I just freaked out. You gotta know, when it come to 'us,' I act before I think. You know this from experience. All sorts of crazy things were running around in my head, and I ended up thinking the worst thing possible."
"Hmmm..." Bella replied thoughtfully.
"What?"
"You took a page out of my book. Getting paranoid and freaking out all the time...that's my M.O. I did it all the time with Edward," she was shocked that she didn't flinch when saying his name, "I shouldn't do that with you. I know everyone thinks I'm stupid. I've given them every reason to think so. We need to talk...period. I don't want anymore misunderstandings coming between us. I'm happy now, very happy. I don't want to be scared all the time, wondering when the other shoe will drop. I did it with Edward. I never felt good enough for him, and was afraid he'd see it one day and leave. Jake, I just want to take things, day by day." She turned her head to look down at him.
"So, honesty is the best policy?"
"Yes," Bella said, nodding at him.
"Your friendship with Alex bothers me. How would you feel if I worked with a chick that was into me?
"I'd hate it. Absolutely hate it. Jake, listen, Alex has been a good friend to me, and yeah, he flirts and stirs up trouble, but he's been there for me. I will have a talk with him. I'm not going to dump him as a friend, but I'll let him know what lines he can't cross. I won't lose you because of him, or because my friends love the drama."
"Really?" Jake asked excitedly, sitting up. He never expected this from her.
"They're wild, as Embry has probably already told you, but they've been there for me, you know? I can't erase the last year before you and I got together. I'll talk to them too. It's fun and games for them, I know, but they need to see that you and I...we're in this for the long haul."
Jacob was touched by her honesty.
"Thank you for listening to me," he said, dropping a kiss on her shoulder.
"Sure, sure."
They smiled, giving each other dopey grins.
"I think we should shut up now," she said, placing a kiss on his neck.
"Gah!" he mumbled, as she continued kissing him.
"What's gah?"
He answered by showing her exactly what gah meant.
XXX
Charlie swore he heard the mattress moving last night.
XXX
When Jacob and Bella walked into her apartment the next morning, Alice was in the process of decorating a twelve foot Christmas tree.
"Alice, what am I going to do with that tree once Christmas is over?" Bella asked, walking over to the tree to look at all of the ornaments.
"Don't worry, I will take care of it. Isn't it beautiful?"
"Yes, it is," Bella said, shaking her head.
Alice turned towards Jacob, nodding,
"Dog,"
"Leech," he said as he nodded back to her, "thanks for saving us from the other leeches."
"No problem," she said, giving him a genuine smile, "oh, by the way, Bella is having a dinner party next week. You should wear something nice. I can take you shopping if you like," she offered, her eyes shimmering with hope.
"Ah, thanks, but I think I'd rather go battle another vampire army," he said, making his way to the door.
"Be careful what you wish for!"
Bella laughed at the both of them and walked Jacob out to his car.
"I love you," they whispered at the same time.
Bella stretched her neck for a kiss, but Jacob shook his head 'no', and kissed her on the cheek instead.
"If I kiss you now, you won't be going back to work for another three days," he whispered seductively, his eyes darkening.
Bella watched him drive away, aware that her mouth was wide open and she was probably drooling.
XXX
"Word on the rez, my friend, is that you and Bella have finally said the big three words!" Embry exclaimed, slapping Jacob on the back.
"How do you know this?" Jacob asked, perplexed.
"Well, Billy called Quil this morning and told him everything. Spit up apple pie, nice, by the way. Great story to tell your kids. Oh, and then stalker-slutty Lily called to say that Bella looked so freaking happy that stalker-slutty Lily assumed you gave her the ride of her life. Then I told her the truth, and she screamed it to everyone in the bakery."
"Why do you call her stalker-slutty Lily?" Embry pulled out his cell phone to show Jacob all of his missed calls and texts from Lily.
"I swore I thought she'd be 'the one' for you," Jacob teased.
"Not if she's this clingy. I mean, come on man, you know how it is? You just want to get laid, you don't want to be nagged twenty-four hours a day. Don't you remember?"
Jacob tried very hard to remember his man-whore days, how it felt to flirt with the girl, say a few words, then whore himself out to her, but was unsuccessful in recalling the memories without cringing.
He was thoroughly repulsed with himself for his past.
"Hello?" Embry asked, snapping his fingers in front of Jacob's face.
"Honestly, dude, I can't remember that time in my life without wanting to puke. I mean, I'm sure they were great lays and all, but..." he was interrupted when Quil came running into the room, asking excitedly,
"So have you and Bella sealed the deal?"
Jacob shook his head.
"Seriously? After the undying love declarations, I figured you'd be going at it like rabbits or something," Quil teased.
"I don't want to push her," he said half-heartedly.
"Uh, Jake, seriously, from what I've seen from your memories, she wants it. BAD!"
"Well, she's going to have to ask for it then," Jacob said as an image of Bella begging him for sex came to mind.
XXX
Zack looked so disturbed that Bella walked over to him and gave him a hug. He was surprised; this was not typical Bella behavior.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," he mumbled. 'Nothing except that I've had a thing for you, but now you're with him, and I'm going to die alone.'
"Okay, I won't push you," she said, walking away with a slight frown on her face.
Molly set a tray down next to him and looked at him with the 'concerned friend look.'
"Let's go hang out after work. It's good to take your mind off of things. You might not get to have her the way you want to have her, but at least you'll have her as a friend, right?" she said, patting him on the shoulder before walking away.
XXX
Alice walked through the door of the bakery, all smiles.
"Bella, you need to hire somebody else," she said as her eyes glazed over in a vision.
"Why?"
Alice didn't answer; she just made her way over to the kitchen to help with the baking.
"Hi Bella," a shy voice said, pulling Bella out of her normal, confused state of mind.
"Kim! Oh, wow, what are you doing here?" Bella asked, surprised.
"Well, I was doing some Christmas shopping and decided to stop by and get some treats for Jared," she replied, smiling shyly.
"Sure, pick whatever you want. On the house."
"Thanks, Bella. Oh, and by the way, congratulations, I heard the good news!"
Bella groaned.
"Guess there won't be any more secrets," she complained.
"Nope!" Kim exclaimed. "Welcome to the pack!"
Bella chatted with Kim as she fixed up a box of treats.
"Wow, you guys are always so busy!" Kim exclaimed as she looked around the bakery, noticing the gathering crowds. "Hey, listen, I know this is last minute, but if you ever need a hand, I would be more than happy to help," she offered.
It took Bella all of three seconds to remember Alice's suggestion.
"You're hired Kim."
"What?" Kim asked, surprised.
"I'm giving you a job, here, if you want. We need someone and I haven't had time to interview people, and you helped out a lot before. I think you'd be perfect!"
"Really?" Kim asked, excited at the prospect of having a life outside of La Push.
"Yeah. Come in tomorrow."
"Thanks, Bella."
XXX
Jacob and Embry were sure Quil was losing his mind. After all, he was standing at the front of the garage, laughing to himself.
"Quil, you alright?"
"Guess who's here?" Quil asked.
"Bella!" Jacob yelled, running out to the door...only to come face to face with 'tune-up' girl.
"Jake!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his waist. "I don't need my car fixed. I was in the area and wondered if you wanted to go back to your place..." Jacob disentangled himself from the girl's embrace quickly.
"Sorry, I don't want to. I have a girlfriend, and...I love her!" he exclaimed happily.
"She doesn't have to know..."
"Sorry. Embry's available though."
The girl looked positively offended that he rejected her before Embry came into view.
"Oh...oh, yeah, perfect. Let's go."
Embry smiled at her and gave Jacob slap on the back.
"Thanks, man."
Quil and Jacob went back to work and talked about Embry when said person walked back into the garage, looking like he'd just witnessed someone's murder.
"Embry, what's going on? Why aren't you with that girl?"
Embry sat down on a chair, burying his face in his hands.
"I can't," he whispered, his voice hoarse.
"Why?"
"Cuz, when she talked about what she wanted to do to me, I could only think of Lily!"
Jacob and Quil had the decency to refrain from laughing...for all of five seconds.
XXX
"Molly and I are taking you somewhere at lunch," Lily said as she handed back change to a customer.
"Where?"
"To a clinic."
"A clinic?" Bella asked, confused. "Why?"
"You need contraceptives my friend. Contraceptives. Oh, and make sure Jacob doesn't have any STDs before you two shack up," she said bluntly.
XXX
Molly and Lily sat in the waiting room, waiting for Bella.
"You know she's not going to ask him," Molly whispered. "She's not good with awkward."
"Well, for someone who is the very definition of awkward, I can't see why she would worry about being more awkward. Ah, screw it, I'll find out," Lily said, digging through Bella's purse for her phone.
Jacob answered on the first ring.
"I was thinking about you," he said seductively.
"That's great, but keep your clothes on for now, will ya? I need to ask you something for Bella's sake."
"What?" Jacob asked, concerned that there was something Bella needed her friend to do for her.
"Do you have any STDs?"
"No. Why?" Jacob asked, surprised at the question.
"You sure?"
"Yes. Now tell me why?"
"Just had to make sure."
"Where's Bella?"
"Getting contraceptives."
"Oh."
'WHAT?"
"What?" he asked, shocked. His heart started racing when he realized what this meant.
"I don't think you want to be knocking Bella up anytime soon, do you?" Lily asked.
"N..No."
"Good. Now listen, we know you love her, and she loves you, but please. Don't hurt her," Lily said, her voice breaking, "she's out friend, our best friend, and she's been really sad for a long time, and I'm glad that you're making her happy, so don't hurt her, okay?"
Molly grabbed the phone from Lily.
"We'll make sure she doesn't hurt you either, Jake."
Molly hung up the phone with a smile on her face.
XXX
Jacob had a tough time concentrating on work. He was so nervous he started dropping tools everywhere.
"Jacob," Charlie's voice rang out from behind him.
"Charlie, what are you doing here?" Jacob asked, worried about Charlie's reason for visiting.
"I gotta get back to the station so I'll make this quick. No hanky-panky in my house, understand? I don't want you to use my house my house for your...what's that thing that they said on t.v...oh, right... booty calls!"
Any excitement Jacob had felt towards taking the next step with Bella ended when Charlie uttered the words 'booty call.'
XXX
Embry drove down to the bakery, nervous and excited all at once.
Unfortunately, Lily was not pleased to see him.
"What are you doing here? I called and texted you, over and over, but you ignored me. Now, you want to get some, so you just show up out of the blue?"
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I just figured you'd want a relationship and all, but now I realized that I..."
"Embry, I don't care what your mother's maiden name is, I don't care what kind of a pet you owned as a child. I want you for one thing and one thing alone. Got it? Now, I'm going home, and you're coming with me!"
'Holy crap.'
As Embry walked to Lily's place, he realized what a moron he had turned out to be.
Now what?