First and foremost thank you for the reviews that were left, I always get so excited to read them! Thank you to all the new followers, I am so beyond happy to know that you all are willing to go on this ride with me. This chapter took me longer to finish than I would've liked, but we are finally here! I had an idea for how I wanted Maya to find out about Bella, but I was struggling to figure out how I wanted to lead up to it. I present to you our lead-up chapter haha. It's quite long, but I hope you enjoy it!
Maya hated to admit she was feeling on cloud nine after having spent time with Jacob the day before. Not only was it such a nice feeling to spend time with a friend after isolating herself for several days. But, that part of her that she denied early on, that wanted to know every last thing about Jacob Black was back with a vengeance. Talking to him and hearing him laugh had her drowning in so much satisfaction that she was trying not to smile every minute that passed since she last saw him. If only he never had to leave. That alone made her feel so ridiculous, being so interested in someone who wasn't interested in her. Someone who was completely unavailable. Maya had to remind herself mentally, more than the average sane person, of the facts she needed to accept. Jacob was just her friend. Nothing more. She repeated Bella in her head yet again.
Maya aimlessly stirred at the chili sitting in front of her, inhaling deeply at the rich smell of spices, as she sat at the table joined by Tate and his dad, Teancum. A long overdue meal together. Teancum had been asking to come and visit for a couple of weeks now. It wasn't difficult for Maya to feel guilty when Tate asked for what felt like the hundredth time if his dad could stop by for dinner. Because before she moved to La Push, Tate would usually see his dad a few times a week, suddenly he was needing to make excuses after not only Maya feeling uncomfortable around Teancum, but also after what had happened with Logan.
Maya knew it was time to go to Tate and apologize, knowing that it wasn't fair that Teancum wasn't coming around as often over something so silly as Maya feeling the secondhand guilt of her mother. She told Tate that she wanted to get to know his dad better and didn't want to be the one keeping Tate from spending time with Teancum. It was time for her to just let go. Truth be told, she didn't know if her mother ever felt guilty about any of this. She sincerely hoped that she did. Maya's mother died when she was ten, it had been twelve years since then. At that age, you didn't really talk about what happened or why very often. Maya was just a kid at the time. Never did she think that there would be a time that she wouldn't have her mom with her anymore. One of the biggest reasons for coming here was to learn, to find the missing pieces that her mom wasn't there to share. So, maybe Teancum was the one to help her find those missing pieces.
"Thanks for having me over, I hope we can get together more often." Teancum said in a warm tone. His voice was mature and soothing, there was something about it that Maya loved. She knew how happy it made him being there with Maya and Tate, Teancum had always made it very plain to see that if Maya was willing, he was more than ready to take her in as his own flesh and blood.
Of course, Maya being who she was, Teancum's words made her feel even more guilty. "Please come more often, I'm so sorry we didn't get around to this sooner."
"Not that often though." Tate interjected with his stupid humor that had Maya rolling her eyes at her brother as Teancum chuckled. Always entertained by his son, something Maya could never understand. How he wasn't fed up with Tate by this point was the biggest surprise of all, apparently Teancum was much more patient than Maya had initially thought.
"I had been wanting you to come anyway, to teach me more about the Quileute. Unfortunately, mom didn't really teach me much about our culture." Maya was hesitant to bring up her mom but wondered if it had been long enough since her passing and her leaving that Teancum hopefully had moved on. There was a small part of her that resented her mother for never sharing this part of her life. Even with how young she was, Maya had asked about the Quileute and their culture occasionally. Maya's mother would get upset each time, scolding her for bringing it up. She had assumed that she wanted to shut out her other life and avoid the feeling of an old wound cut open again. It was hard to try and rationalize what her mother was feeling when she was so young. Shortly before her mother passed away, Maya didn't want to ask anymore and quite frankly didn't care to learn, not until she began to talk to Tate about moving to La Push. She was just an old match, waiting for that lucky strike, to set the flame. This was it and she was here now, she didn't even know where to start, but she was eager to ask.
"Well, what did she teach you? We can start from there." Teancum said with a warm smile.
Maya scrunched her face up in thought. "Uh, I guess, ultimately she didn't teach me anything." She shrugged, partly embarrassed, feeling like she let her mom down in front of Tate and Teancum. An image popped into her mind as she desperately tried to think of at least one thing that her mom must have taught her, hoping to redeem herself after initially saying she didn't learn anything. "You know, we had this amazingly intricate tribal art of a wolf that she said had brought from here. I often found myself staring at it, especially after she passed away, and wondered if it had any significance."
Both Tate and Teancum looked at each other with telling eyes that Maya couldn't read. All of this was such a mystery. In an ideal world, one would hope for some sort of a normal family, parents staying together, full-blood siblings. None of these complications where she had to feel awkward and guilty around Teancum, being careful to not bring up her mom to Tate too often in fear of upsetting him.
"That wolf has to do with a Quileute legend."
Tate interjected quickly in an overly agitated tone. "A legend doesn't have much to do with our culture."
"It's an important legend-"
"I don't see how any legends are ever important. That's all they are, legends, not real. Some random stories that our bored ancestors made up to kill time." Tate cut off his dad far too quickly, seeming to grow angrier the more Teancum tried to talk about it.
Maya hadn't seen him like this with his dad before. "It's so funny that you mention a wolf because as soon as I moved here I started dreaming about a wolf." Maya shared, ignoring Tate's previous protests. "There was this enormous wolf that made its way slowly toward me, towering over me as it got closer. Nothing happened besides the animal approaching me. I think the oddest thing about the dream is I felt at peace, almost protected even."
"The legend of the wolves is that they are the protectors of our people." Teancum smirked, gaining satisfaction out of being able to share more before Tate could cut him off.
"So, why wolves?" Maya asked with genuine curiosity, hoping to learn more about why her mother might have felt inclined to keep that picture specifically out of anything else she could have kept.
"The Quileute are believed to be descended from wolves. There came a time when Elders of our tribe would shift to protect us and to this day there are still people who can-"
"They can be protected if they respect wolves." Tate cut off Teancum, continuing the story differently than the truth Teancum was about the share. He shot his dad a glare, hoping he would stop being so willing to share their birthright. Just because Maya was family, didn't mean she would just easily accept it. For some reason, Teancum believed she would.
"I actually had another dream with the wolf. I was with a man, who was faced away from me, but the wolf approached both of us. Again, I felt at peace and protected with the wolf nearby. When it approached us I actually started to feel worried for the man beside me, I couldn't understand why. Then out of nowhere, the wolf attacked him, taking his head in its jaw and crushing it. He crushed like stone, crumbling in its teeth." Maya looked to Teancum who sat with a stunned look painted on his face.
"It's just a stupid legend." Tate shook his head, looking for a way out of the conversation. "Dad, why don't you teach her some Quileute words?" Teancum took Tate's lead, fighting his urge to tell Maya the truth about the legend, finding her dream more than troubling.
"How about we start with how are you?" Maya nodded and Teancum gave her a smile. "Ayasochid, do you think you can say that?"
Maya blushed slightly before timidly repeating the word, afraid of sounding silly. "Ayasochid?"
"Yes! Ayasochid, perfect." Teancum beamed. "If you were saying it to a man, you would say Ayasocha."
Hearing the word again, Maya remembered now that was what Jacob said the first time she met him. Excitement overtook her as she thought of the idea of sharing everything she knew with Jacob, she looked back to Teancum with a big smile before asking him to teach her more.
Tate followed his dad out to his car, leaving Maya inside cleaning up from dinner. Even though his dad didn't bring up anything that he shouldn't for the remainder of the time he was with them, Tate was still hung up on the fact that Teancum had been so carelessly eager to bring up the wolves in the first place. The same way Tate had warned the pack, it was no different for Teancum. There was that part of Tate that was territorial over his sister, considering she was the lasting memory he had of his mom, the last thing he wanted was his dad to get involved. It was quite apparent his own mom didn't want Maya to know either, and why would she? Tate would always keep it that way if he had anything to do with it.
"Glad I could come over, it was nice to get to know Maya this way." Teancum went in for a hug with his son but paused when he saw the angered look on Tate's face. "What did I do?"
"Why did you have to bring up the legend? You know I never wanted-"
"She brought up the picture that your mom had and the dreams. I was just trying to help." Teancum corrected him.
"Whatever," Tate was more than done with his dad who was trying to twist things around so he wasn't at fault. Disagreeing with him never worked out in Tate's favor before. "I don't want her to know, you told me that you accepted what I wanted."
"This is something she needs to know, it's part of her life." Where Teancum and Tate saw things differently was in the bloodline. Tate's birthright came through his father's bloodline, his mom was involved in something she didn't understand or even knew existed. In Teancum's head, Maya was his family, but in reality, Tate was the only person who tied Maya and his dad together in any way. She never needed to know, it was never essential for her to know. Tate had no idea how long she would be in La Push, but he knew at least that this wouldn't be her life forever. She was meant to live in the dark, just like so many others did who lived on the reservation.
"It's not part of her life. Not even close. I'm not even a part of the pack, so what tie does she really have to all of that? It's just a Quileute legend, that's all she will ever know because it's not her birthright, it's mine. Are you trying to scare her away the same way you scared away mom?" Tate asked in a harsh tone. Teancum became angry instantly, Tate knew exactly what hurt his father most and out of pure frustration threw the words at him with intentions of bringing him down.
"Your mother chose to leave. Do not disrespect me," Teancum pushed his finger into Tate's chest aggressively.
Tate let out a scoff before sending a humorless laugh Teancum's way. "Mom didn't want a damn thing to do with us after you told her about all of this shit. Now look at me, aren't you so proud? I didn't even live up to be what she was so scared of. If you would have just kept your fucking mouth shut then maybe mom wouldn't have left us."
Teancum grabbed Tate aggressively by his shirt, just about ready to throw his son to the ground. "Don't you dare, Tate. This conversation is over." Tate pulled roughly away from the grip his father had on him before walking silently back toward his home on heavy feet.
"Dreams can be telling and you of all people should know that. She saw a cold one and you're just brushing it off like it's nothing. Are you really concerned with protecting Maya or not?" Teancum could understand Tate's need to shelter Maya from this life. Tate didn't want to lose Maya to something that she didn't need to be a part of, that much his father could understand. But her dreams sent a shiver down his spine, one that he couldn't just ignore.
"I'm protecting her the only way I can, dad. Stop acting like I'm not anything more than a useless human being." It wasn't often that he brought this up to his dad, normally he had no reason to and avoided it where he could. Teancum was more blind than anyone who was encouraging Tate to be patient. He spent too much of his time feeling like a disappointment, wishing people would just say it to his face for once, that it's not going to happen. Anytime he was with anyone from the pack he was internally tormented by the fact that he hadn't transitioned. It was just time for everyone to let it go, Tate was ready for everyone to accept the truth, including himself. "Leave Maya out of this dad. I'm not interested in fighting with you, I just want to make myself very clear right now."
Teancum nodded solemnly with pained eyes before getting into his car without a word. Naturally, Tate felt slight guilt walking back to the house alone with their conversation running through his mind, but knew ultimately that he needed to do whatever he could to keep this from Maya. Tate had always felt certain of that. He walked back into the house, trying his best to seem happy, but Maya could see right through that.
"You alright?" She glanced back at her brother, pausing from washing the dishes in the sink.
He made his way over to the sink, nudging his sister aside with his hip. "I don't help enough. Let me finish these dishes, you should get some sleep."
Maya knew there was something he was hiding and as much as she wanted to interrogate and pry until he finally spoke, she thought it best to just leave him be and embraced the opportunity to get out of washing dishes. "You're sure?"
Tate gave a silent nod. Maya sent a small smile his way before walking off to her room, she hoped that he would feel more himself in the morning. No sooner than she let herself cuddle up underneath her blankets did she feel the sleep taking over, not even realizing she was that tired. As she felt herself drift off, she couldn't get one thing out of her mind. The look Teancum gave her when she told him about the dream in which the man was attacked by the wolf. It was just a dream, what was it that shocked him so much? It was no surprise when she drifted off soon after that the dream was back, Maya knew before she even saw the wolf that it was near. She felt its presence and longed for it to make an appearance.
Her eyes darted to the rustling sound in the trees nearby, she knew it was making its way closer to her. Finally, she thought to herself. The wolf slowly emerged from the forest as it always did and made its way to Maya without hesitation, that familiar peace fell over her entirely. She allowed the wolf closer and closer, up until she could feel it's gentle breath fall across her face. Maya suddenly couldn't read the situation, like she was watching herself interact with the wolf from the outside. Usually, she would have woken up by now, this time she hoped she wouldn't, she wanted to see what would happen next. Her hand lifted, slowly inching its way toward the majestic animal. Maya would've anticipated trembling fingers or hesitation but there was none, she watched herself confidently reach out toward the wolf. Pushing her hand through its lush fur that was so soft to the touch, Maya looked into the animal's eyes.
"Hi." Maya said gently as she leaned into the wolf as if to hug it.
Maya opened the door only to find herself with a huge knot in her stomach. Jacob had invited her to First Beach that day since she had never been there before. He had no self-restraint after going another couple of days without seeing her. He wondered how the hell he could ever manage the pain he felt when he wasn't with her. Then there was Maya who felt so torn accepting his invitation. On the one hand, she was beyond excited to spend more time with Jacob, but on the other hand, she had technically been avoiding one on one time with him. It made her feel like such a damn homewrecker.
But that wasn't what had her stomach in knots, it was the fact that Jacob had come to pick her up on his motorcycle. Maya liked to think of herself as relatively fearless, you know, open to trying new things. But since she was a child she had an irrational fear of bikes. There was something about going so fast on this tiny piece of metal, nothing around you but open air and the risk of death that freaked her out to no end. Maya hadn't ever been on a motorcycle and never wanted to be on one. Never stopped to think twice about the possibility that she might have to be on one.
The moment Jacob saw his imprint, butterflies swarmed in his stomach, a common reaction now. Maya wore a white off the shoulder peasant top, her smooth skin peeking out between where her shirt stopped and her light-washed, high waisted cut off shorts began. Her caramel skin glowed against the light fabric. He'd never seen her dressed like this before, excitement coursed through his veins as the idea that she dressed up for him tickled his mind. Jacob willed his eyes to stop looking Maya up and down in awe, instead meeting those green eyes that practically brought him to his knees. Jacob quickly hopped off his bike after noticing the look on Maya's face, it wasn't hard to see that she was petrified as she stared at nothing but his motorcycle.
He made his way quickly to her. "Hey, you're not scared of riding on the bike, are you?" Jacob desperately wanted to be closer to her. Just to hold her would be the single most thrilling thing to happen in his life. With that nothing short of adorable worried look on her face, he would just about die knowing he could be the one to hug her and bring a smile to that beautiful face. Maya gave a sheepish nod, looking down in complete embarrassment. Something about the way he looked at her sent the same butterflies through her stomach.
"Maya," Jacob spoke in the most gentle tone, leaning over so he could encourage her to give him a glimpse of those beautiful eyes again. She let out a laugh, seeing him bent so far over to catch her attention. Jacob wished he could tell her how her laugh and smile made his heart ache in the best possible way. "We can take your car, I had no idea you didn't like motorcycles."
Maya's heart felt so full. This gentleman stood before her, no pressuring her to get on the bike or poking fun at her expense. She hated that he had to be so kind. She hated that he made her feel things she shouldn't be feeling, at least not things she should be feeling for him. But he made it near impossible to remember that she had to be careful, that she had to do everything in her power to stop falling farther into his spell. When she looked into his intense dark eyes it always made her knees go weak, and all her hesitations melted away too easily when he stared at her the way he did. Maya smiled up at him and felt so much satisfaction in seeing him smile back, Jacob made his way toward her car that sat in the driveway, more than willing to ditch the bike if that's what made Maya happiest.
Without a second thought, she grabbed his arm, causing him to stop in his tracks, Jacob's eyes went wide finding himself completely caught off guard. That familiar instant shock shot through his entire body, her chest pressed against his arm, practically making his head spin. He fought all the images that flashed through his mind of every way he wished he could touch her at that moment. He turned his head to Maya, eyes full of curiosity, looking for an answer to her unexpected touch. "Let's go on the bike." She grinned up at him. She tried her best to fake confidence but her trembling fingers threatened to give her away.
Maya dropped her hands quickly, hoping he didn't notice. "You sure?" He asked her suspiciously, seeing very clearly through her facade.
She squinted her eyes up at him, knowing that he didn't believe she actually wanted to go on the bike. "You always have to try things once, right?" She shrugged, sticking with her decision no matter how much it scared her.
Jacob grabbed her hand, practically overwhelming her entire system. Maya bit down hard on her bottom lip, forcing herself not to smile. "You'll never have anything to worry about when I'm around, alright?" He looked at her with such intensity in his eyes, she believed wholeheartedly at that moment that he absolutely meant what he said.
Jacob gently led her to the bike, still holding her hand in his. Every time they touched in whatever way it was, the heat that came off of his body was so comforting and satisfying. If only she could just be wrapped up in that heat in every way possible and let all her worries melt away. Everything about Jacob was enticing and intriguing. Maya was always trying to hide the fact that she loved having him around. It was then that she didn't even realize that she had let herself forget about being careful entirely and tightened her grip in his hand as she followed him.
Jacob let his smile take over his face, feeling the pride of knowing things were going exactly how he had hoped. He knew exactly what he was doing in taking her hand and making her feel safe with him. Even though he was trying to win her over, he also meant everything he said. This wasn't some trick or clever plan, he had no intention of deceiving Maya. There was nothing he wouldn't do at this point to protect Maya. It was near impossible to explain the joy he felt in feeling Maya grip his hand tighter, the fact that she wasn't letting go. He knew that he couldn't rush her, but there was still so much satisfaction in knowing that she wanted to hold his hand.
He gained even more of a thrill when Maya got on the bike behind him. Feeling her legs against his body and her arms around his waist was the closest he had ever been to her. Jacob wondered, like an overexcited teen, if people would think they were a couple if anyone saw them riding together, he sincerely hoped every last person would think that. Jacob wanted everyone to see that Maya was his. With a rev of the engine, Jacob turned back to Maya. "Don't be scared, alright? I got you." He gave her that lopsided grin that she loved before reaching back to touch her calf, hoping more than anything that it would bring her some sort of comfort. Maya inhaled sharply, thrilled by his touch on her bare leg, letting herself grip his waist as hard as she could. As soon as the bike took off, she pushed her head into his back almost too afraid to look. Far too caught up in her nerves to feel any sort of thrill about being that close to him anymore.
Letting out a sigh of relief after getting off the bike, Maya surveyed the beach. It wasn't at all what she anticipated, being used to endless soft sand and water for miles, crowds of people, and not much of a choice for where you swam or sat. Sun as well, she was used to much more sun. This beach was practically empty, dark brown sand filled with stones and driftwood, the water was so dark and broken land laid throughout it in the distance.
"You know, I was not expecting this when you told me we were going to the beach."
Jacob chuckled at the confused look on her face. "Well, it's not a place where you can lay down and sunbathe, obviously, unlimited overcast out here. But it's still fun to get in the water when it's warm enough." He was pushing his luck because it was just barely warm enough today. The summer was quickly fading, whenever September hit the cold came on fast. Beach weather wasn't a common thing in La Push, but today the sun poked through the break in the clouds periodically, which was always a pretty good sign that it wouldn't rain. Jacob led the way, walking toward a large piece of driftwood, giving it a little kick to see if it was sturdy enough to sit on.
He gestured for Maya to sit and she happily obliged. "It's nice though. Very different from back home, you wouldn't have found a place to sit so easily." Maya chuckled to herself remembering the claustrophobic feeling of going to the beach as a teenager.
Jacob sat down beside her, letting himself sit close enough that their legs were touching, it was near impossible to sit any further away when he already had her this close. "That's one thing I will always love about La Push. There's something nice about having so many options to be alone when you need it." He looked out at the water thoughtfully as he spoke the words.
"You say that as if it happens often for you." Maya also stared into the distance, almost afraid to look at Jacob too much. Something about him was so intimidating to her like she had no right to be in his presence. Maybe it was the fact that he was impressively beautiful or the way he made her insides fall apart with just one smile. Jacob held this power over her that made her feel so pale in comparison. It made it almost impossible to think straight with him so close to her, legs touching, a heat radiating off of him that was hypnotically drawing her in.
Jacob twiddled with his fingers as he spoke, a nervous habit he had. "There's always people around, but it almost feels like they aren't really there. That's just how my life was meant to be, I guess." He had never been one to open up to people very often, vulnerability was not his strong suit. Everything was changing so quickly now that he had imprinted, Jacob found himself wanting to tell Maya anything and everything he could think of, but ultimately there was so much he couldn't tell her. There was so much that Tate refused to let her know.
Maya wondered if he really did feel alone, part of her wished she could change that. "Why do you say that?" She was becoming more curious about Jacob the longer she listened to him speak. He was a complete mystery to her, just the same way she was a mystery to him.
"It's hard to explain. It's just - " The sun broke through the clouds, shining bright and warm on their skin. Jacob took it as an opportunity to distract Maya and get out of hiding things from her, something he didn't want to do at all. Avoiding it entirely was a much better idea, he decided. "Hey, let's go in the water while the sun is out." Jacob playfully grabbed her arms pulling her to stand up.
What he couldn't tell her was that he was the alpha over a pack of shifters and was constantly thinking about his pack's safety, the people of La Push's safety, spending many nights patrolling and having no choice but to go without sleep. He was the main caregiver for his dad and worried about him when he was on his own, especially lately when he had been trying to spend more of his free time with Maya. Jacob worked his ass off at his shop in between all of that, trying to save what money he could. His life was never-ending chaos, people around him constantly, but in reality, those people didn't see him the way that Jacob saw them. The way that Jacob was mindful of them and worried about their wellbeing. Spending his days focused on being ready to be there for anyone at a moment's notice was nothing short of exhausting, yet he did everything in his power to never let that on, hiding how tired and worn he was to everyone he encountered.
She scoffed at Jacob who skillfully tried to change the subject. Also letting the thrill of his touch take over as she wondered how often he would take the opportunity to touch her today. "You're avoiding the conversation." Maya raised an eyebrow at Jacob.
He laughed before letting go of her arms and leaving her wishing that he was still holding on. "Correct. I am absolutely avoiding the conversation, so come on!" He pulled off his snug black t-shirt without hesitation. Maya forced her mouth to close, she had made an effort from the start to avoid eye contact with any part of Jacob's body except his face. Especially after she foolishly let her eyes trail his body when he found her on the trail. She didn't want to be that person, But he was making it that much more difficult to avoid when he was stripping right in front of her, inviting her into the ocean with him.
His russet skin almost changed to a richer tone in the light of the sun. His body was impressive, not only was he well over six feet tall, his body was covered in muscles, perfectly defined and yet she swore if she touched him she would never feel something so soft. His shoulders and broad chest puffed out in confidence as if that was even necessary. Maya couldn't imagine how someone with a body like that wasn't confident. She spotted that tattoo on his shoulder, the one she had seen on several guys the night she had first met Embry and Jacob. Still curious about what it represented and why they had them, Maya tried to get a better look at it.
He didn't give her much of a chance before running out to the water. "Are you coming in or what?" He shouted back at Maya as he waded through the shallow waters. Maya snapped back into reality, embarrassed at the fact that she was constantly out of it when she was around Jacob, her cheeks went bright red. Maya had never been this captivated before. She hated how bittersweet it was, this friendship could easily go too far way too fast.
Taking the time to realize that Jacob was now waiting for her and watching her, she became instantly self-conscious, wishing she had undressed when he did. Jacob, who was practically godlike waiting for her to join him. Even though it wasn't or shouldn't be her intention to impress him or to even be interested in someone who wasn't available, there was a part of her that wanted to feel like she was good enough for Jacob. That she wasn't an embarrassment by his side. Even though her fingers trembled as she did so, Maya timidly proceeded to get out of the clothes that were over her bathing suit. Absolutely refusing to look up, she didn't want to know if he was watching, that would have made it near impossible to continue.
But Jacob was watching and he knew very well he probably shouldn't. Letting himself gulp loudly, he watched Maya slide her shorts down her tanned shapely legs. Forcing himself to look away, Jacob felt like a creep watching her. His damn desire fought back though and he found himself looking back too quickly. By then Maya had already removed her shirt and Jacob watched her toss her clothes onto the driftwood they had been sitting on before looking back at him, face bright red and arms strategically crossed over her stomach and chest, clearly nervous to be seen. Jacob couldn't possibly understand why she didn't want to be seen, her body was complete perfection. He waded further into the water feeling his pants tighten, quickly hiding his excitement.
Maya made her way timidly over to the water, still trying to inconspicuously cover herself. Wearing a pastel blue, scalloped bikini that fit perfectly to her body, part of her wished she had a one-piece bathing suit on hand, blushing more the closer she got him. Jacob on the other hand felt his heart pound harder the closer she got. Hesitantly, Maya put her toes into the water and let out a yelp, instantly pulling her foot back out. "It's freezing!" She looked up at him with wide eyes, shocked that he could even handle being waist deep so easily.
"Come on!" Jacob playfully begged. "The longer you take, the further I go!" He slowly inched away from her, further into the water, willing to do anything to get her to join him.
She took the plunge and ran into the water, yelping again when the water hit her skin like ice. "Okay, come back!" She waded deeper and deeper until the water hit her waist, her breathing was sharp and uneven with every wave that brought the water higher on her stomach. "This is deep enough!" holding herself tight, Maya started shivering uncontrollably. There were a couple of others in the water surfing, which she could not understand considering the less than comfortable temperature in the water. Was everyone in La Push mad? God, she could go without entering this water her entire life if it meant she didn't have to endure the cold.
Jacob, who was used to the cold water after years of cliff diving and swimming, dunked himself under without hesitation. The cold didn't stick with him long with his body stuck at such a high temperature. He disappeared under the murky water. Maya looked around frantically, unsure of when or where he was going to pop up. She had no doubt of what was about to happen next, that same stereotypical water scene you would always see in the movies. The attractive guy pulls the girl under the water. Maya wasn't going to fall for that one, trying to pull her legs faster through the water that held her back, making her way back to the shore as quickly as she could.
But she didn't work fast enough, letting out a scream when she felt arms around her hips pulling her down into the water. Just barely catching a breath before going under, the salt of the water instantly burned at her eyes. She quickly pulled back up onto her feet, rubbing at her eyes. Jacob came up from the water soon after, with his signature booming laugh. "I'm sorry, I had to!" He continued to laugh as she splashed as much water as she could his way, which just made him laugh harder.
Maya wiped the remaining water from her face with her hands, glad that she didn't put on any makeup today. She shivered harder now as the clouds blocked out the sunlight, leaving her to feel the harsh wind hit her wet skin. "Is it always this cold?" Her teeth chattered as she spoke. Jacob instinctively started rubbing at her arms with his massive hands, letting out a chuckle. Maya let out a gasp, shocked by the heat on her cold skin. His warmth always surprised her, but she hadn't expected him to feel this warm after spending all that time underwater.
A large swarm of laughter and voices growing gradually louder by the shoreline cut off her train of thought. Jacob thought nothing of it as tourists and people from Forks occasionally took advantage of the beaches around La Push. But Maya being her curious self happened to look over to the beach. What she didn't expect was to have her heart stop and her breath catch in her throat, she could have never expected to lay eyes on the person she had hoped she wouldn't have to see ever again. Logan. He was with a large group of friends, they all laughed obnoxiously and talked too loud. Lugging coolers and surfboards with them. Seeing him now, she saw that negative aura around him that she wished she had seen in the first place. He was smug and interacting with a girl on each side even with a black eye and a swollen nose, still very clearly healing from the damage Jacob had done. She knew he was looking for his next piece because she learned the hard way that's just who Logan was.
The images from the events that occurred with Logan were triggered in her mind as soon as she saw his face again. She tensed up and felt her eyes begin to burn with tears. As soon as he saw her face drop, Jacob followed her gaze to the beach. When he saw Logan his ears went hot, anger coursed through his veins and his hands clenched tight. It was near impossible to fight that need to beat Logan to a pulp right then and there, to finish what he had started. That scum of the earth didn't deserve to even live another day. Jacob looked back at Maya who was now practically trembling, tears in her eyes. Grabbing her hand, he tried to bring Maya's attention to him. "Let me take you somewhere else," She rubbed at her eyes in embarrassment, willing herself not to cry, mentally reminding herself of where she was and who she was with. "Let's go, okay?"
Maya looked down at her hand in his and embraced the warmth that came from it. She allowed it to center her. She nodded and tried to smile at him.
"Hey, you don't have to smile right now. You don't have to pretend to be happy for me. Just remember what I said earlier, you don't have to worry when you're with me, Maya." He said in a soft and sincere tone. Her heart fluttered as she listened to him speak, so close to forgetting about Logan entirely. It was hard for Maya to understand this change in Jacob, he was so different. This person that she didn't even realize existed. So protective and kind, so understanding. Never pushing. Not long ago he was just a smug guy who didn't even give her the time of day.
He put his hand around her waist gently, so as to not upset her and guided her quickly to their clothes. Jacob's touch felt so right, so much so that she was beginning to crave his touch whenever he would let go. Maya was quickly becoming more drawn to him than she had ever been before. Some sort of magnetic pull that she couldn't shake. But none of that mattered when there was one thing that ruined everything she felt about Jacob. That one thing suddenly caused her to truly question his character. After having Logan take advantage of her and feeling like she was used entirely, standing here with Jacob's arm around her and that one thing lingering at the back of her mind made it impossible to feel excited by his touch. One thing was very clear, today didn't feel like they were just friends. But that was wrong, because of her. How could he do that to Bella?
Jacob handed Maya her clothes, practically ready to help her get dressed. "I'm fine, Jake. I can dress myself." Maya said assertively as she grabbed the clothes from him roughly, Jacob visibly tensed up at her response. Quite frankly she didn't feel guilty for causing him to react that way.
Jacob hesitantly put his arm around her waist again once she had pulled everything back over her bathing suit, ready to lead her to the motorcycle. A million thoughts running through his mind at once, trying to understand what just happened. As much as she wished he would just let go and catch the hint, his strong warm hands on her waist still made her feel so excited, which she absolutely hated to admit. Maya let her eyes wander over to Logan's group one last time. The damn fool was looking right at her, Maya looked away instantly, embarrassed, and frightened to have him see her looking his way for any reason. Logan deserved absolutely no attention from her. Though she didn't get a great look at him, she could've sworn she saw pure anger in his eyes. As they walked away she could still feel Logan's eyes on her, the same way she had at the diner and it made her stomach turn. But Maya put all her efforts into ignoring that feeling, deciding there were more important things that she needed to address and she didn't want to wait a moment longer. After what happened with Logan she didn't want to risk being hurt or hurting anyone. No one deserved that pain. The last thing she needed to do was betray Bella, it was never her intention to hurt anyone.
"Jake," Maya said in a soft tone, still slightly shivering from the wet bikini that slowly soaked through her dry clothes, mixed with the wind hitting her skin. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, anything. Just let me get you somewhere warm first, you're freezing." Jacob pulled her closer to his side, rubbing her arm as they walked, bringing as much heat to her as he could. She breathed in deep, embracing the warmth before quickly pulling away, reminding herself of her concerns that needed to be addressed.
"I think that you're overstepping boundaries in our friendship." Maya said awkwardly, now wishing she didn't have to have this conversation at all. She had pictured herself speaking to him with confidence and certainty when she decided to bring it up but now she felt as if she'd be better off digging herself into the sand and hiding away for the rest of eternity. Jacob winced, absolutely dreading her words, his fears were coming true. She didn't want this to turn into anything.
"Maya, I'm sorry. I didn't want to - I never meant to overstep." He stumbled over his words, visibly upset with himself. "I just wanted to get to know you more."
Maya wasn't sure if she wanted to roll her eyes or grin at the idea of Jacob wanting to know her of all people more. He confused the fuck out of her. What's worse is he couldn't take a damn hint, what was it that wasn't clicking for him? "Do you really think that's the most appropriate thing right now?"
Jacob looked at her with confused eyes. If he was meant to read between some lines, he clearly wasn't up to par, because Maya's words weren't making sense in his head no matter how hard he tried. If she didn't want this to go any further then that was something he just had to accept as much as he would hate it. But Jacob could have sworn he felt something more happening today, that just maybe Maya could want what he so desperately wanted. So the fact that she was suddenly pushing him away now was making no logical sense to him. Not appropriate right now? Well, why not? When will it be?
Jacob stared at her with wide, confused eyes, searching for the perfect thing to say, and failing miserably. "Look, if I made you uncomfortable or made you feel like-"
"I mean - yeah, you made me uncomfortable. I just don't think she'd appreciate you spending so much time with me." Maya began to walk faster toward his motorcycle, almost eager to get back on the bike, instead of being stuck in this awkward conversation that seemed to be going nowhere.
Jacob took longer strides, keeping up with Maya easily, wishing that his bike was further away so he could have some sort of chance to resolve this. "I'm sorry, she?"
"Oh don't play stupid, Jacob." Maya scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest trying to hold in her heat now that she had distanced herself even more from Jacob's space heater of a body. "You know I'm talking about Bella."
Jacob stopped in his tracks, complete confusion on his face, silence taking over entirely. Maya made a mental note to meet people at hangout destinations from this point forward because she sure as hell was losing her patience waiting for Jacob to let the conversation go and bring her home. Maya turned to him, waiting for him to say something, anything.
But he didn't, he just stared at her with a confused look on his face. Maya could practically see him trying to mentally put two and two together. "Do you really think that us being alone together so often like this would be something that she would be happy with?" Maya couldn't understand why he couldn't understand something so simple.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jacob said with eyebrows pinched together in frustration. He just couldn't understand why she was bringing up Bella when he had worked so hard to remove her from his life, the last person he wanted to talk about Bella with was the person that he had imprinted on. Maybe it was the fact that Jacob had spent so much time on Bella, maybe it was because Jacob had only just ended his ties with Bella recently. Hell, he had no fucking idea what it was. But he wasn't about to let Bella be the reason that Maya felt like she couldn't allow herself to spend time with him.
Maya shook her head, thoroughly annoyed with him at this point. Jacob was asking questions that he very clearly already knew the answers to and she didn't have the patience for it any longer. So she turned back around and continued walking.
Jacob grabbed at her arm, stopping her from her getting any closer to his bike. "I don't understand what Bella has to do with any of this." Jacob felt not only confused but worried. If this was where things were going to stand then he wished he never had anything to do with Bella. Especially if that meant he couldn't have Maya.
Maya pulled her arm away from him, deciding that someone who couldn't grasp something so simple, wasn't worth talking to. "Take me home." This conversation just made standing there in soaking wet clothes even worse, the last thing she would've expected after feeling so high with Jacob today was ending on such a low. She stared at Jacob with disgust. Lucky Bella, Maya thought sarcastically to herself. More than anything though, she felt disgusted with herself
Like a command, Jacob listened, walking past her toward the bike. He wondered if there really was anything else to say. It was safe to say at this point he was completely out of practice when it came to the opposite sex and maybe someone like Embry might be able to point him in the right direction, but he was stuck in the now and like a dog with its tail between its legs, he listened to his owner. If Maya wanted to go home, then that's all he could do.
Feeling like someone ripped his heart out of his chest and crushed it. Jacob watched Maya silently hand him the helmet she had been wearing, not making eye contact with him once even though he stared at her face without any shame whatsoever, desperately wishing for those eyes to lock with his. He hated this feeling, remembering how it felt to crumble under Sam's alpha commands many years ago, this was no different. When Maya ordered him to take her home, he felt her mind settled and sure, he had no choice but to respect what she wanted.
But the fact that he couldn't even say anything, even though he desperately tried to get even one word out was driving him insane. Jacob didn't know what the hell happened, what switched for Maya when things felt like they were going perfectly at the beach. He didn't know if it was because she saw Logan or if it was because Jacob had spent so much damn time wasted on Bella. Honestly, he couldn't blame her if she felt worried to open up to someone who loved another for far too long. If he had it his way he would just reveal everything to her. Everything would be certain and clear, nothing to wonder or worry about. Just the truth laid out in front of her so that she could decide. That damn brother of hers was making this such a confusing spot to be in. What was best for Maya in this situation? What was best for Jacob? God, at this point he had no fucking idea. He knew what he wanted and yet he had Tate there on his shoulder reminding him that Maya could never be his. He hated it.
So as he watched her walk away without another word, he just let the feeling of defeat take over entirely and hoped that there would be some opportunity to speak to Maya sooner rather than later.
Maya hated feeling his eyes on her, those eyes that she absolutely wanted on her. Those eyes made her feel like she was the only thing that Jacob ever wanted to see, but she wasn't. Maya knew she didn't deserve that and neither did Bella. Maybe it was for the best to stop talking to Jacob, there wasn't much to resolve even if they did speak. Jacob didn't need another friend, especially not someone like Maya, she knew that she was no good for him or his situation.
Even though she felt the need to look back at Jacob one last time before going inside, she fought it with everything in her. No more Jacob, Maya told herself as she walked into her home quickly.
The next events that happened once she entered her home came so embarrassingly quickly. Wide eyes from a russet skinned woman stared at her for a moment before the unfamiliar woman aggressively grabbed a throw from the back of the couch wrapping her naked body with it and running down the hall leaving Tate to fend for himself, who fumbled with the nearest pillow he could find to cover himself as well.
He pulled his hands through his tangled mess of hair and looked up at Maya with a look of frustration. "What the hell are you doing back already?"
Maya stared at him with a shocked look on her face. What the hell did she just walk in on? There was nothing she could say, besides let her face go bright red. All she wished she could do at that moment was go to her room and sleep everything off, but the secondhand embarrassment she felt for the girl hiding somewhere in their home felt too great and it drove her to walk back outside instead. She let herself lean against the front door with closed eyes and released the breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding in. Maya wondered what else could possibly happen today and let out another long sigh.
"Maya?" Jacob's voice rang in her ears and her eyes shot open, looking up, only to find Jacob Black still sitting on his bike in her driveway staring at Maya with hopeful eyes.
"Shit." she cursed under her breath.
I am super excited for the next chapter and I think you all will love it too. I am going to work at getting it out before the end of the week! Maybe an early Christmas present for you all? Please leave your reviews and let me know what you thought of this chapter! Let me know what you think will happen in the next chapter, I love hearing your thoughts :)