CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Kissing Zora was akin to magic.

Her lips were soft and wet, tasting of the salt from her tears, and though she and Jacob were the same temperature, her cheeks felt so warm. It was the closest to pure bliss he'd ever felt, and though he knew the thought would earn him a week's worth of teasing from his pack mates, he didn't care. The only thing that mattered, the only thing that was of the utmost importance was how right it felt to kiss her.

For Zora, she felt like she was on fire. The moment Jacob's lips touched hers, an exhilarating feeling like hundreds of tiny, prickling needles spread from her scalp to the tips of her toes as his calloused hands gently cradled her face.

It was a kiss neither of them imagined, and now that they'd had a taste, both of them wanted more. It turned needier, more fervent as Jacob's teeth grazed her lower lip. He kept one hand on her cheek, the other moving to grip her waist beneath the fabric of her sweater. His arm tightly wrapped around her, pushing her against a tree in a quick, rough movement. Zora gasped, but the noise went unheard, swallowed by his mouth. She placed her hands underneath his shirt, her nails digging into his skin as her fingers trailed along the curve of his back.

It was as if they couldn't get enough of each other. They were breathless, but didn't want to stop.

Jacob had never felt such strong desire. He'd kissed girls in the past, but none of them made him feel the way Zora did. He wanted all of her in that moment, his lips moving to the crook of her neck, teeth biting into the soft skin. A groan fell from her lips, not expecting a bite to feel that good. She wanted more, too, and when her frenzied, reeling mind thought of the annoying layer of clothing separating them, her eyes suddenly flew open. She shoved him, and catching him off guard, he stumbled back and nearly fell.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice husky and his breathing heavy. He was wearing an expression she hadn't seen from him, a combination of lust and hunger which made her tingle in a place that had never tingled before.

"Nothing," she muttered quickly, her face feeling entirely too hot. "I just think…we should stop because…" Because I feel like I won't be able to control myself, she wanted to say, and I don't know if I'm ready for that. She met his gaze, his eyes dark with desire, and she gulped. "…because it's getting late, and I have to go home now. So, um...bye." And refusing to linger a second longer, she ripped off her flip flops and sprinted home barefoot, leaving him confused (and still aroused).


Sleep finally graced Zora with its presence, and after eleven hours of heavy slumber, she opened her eyes and stretched. After her back and arms cracked with a satisfactory pop, she fell back onto her sheets, her mind wandering to the night before. She and Jacob kissed, and it wasn't some innocent smooch. It was a neck-biting, face-flushing, breath-taking make out session. Remembering each sensation - his soft, eager mouth, his fingers pressing into the skin at her waist - inflamed her entire face. The moment was so enjoyable that she'd wanted to tear his and her clothes off; however, there was one small issue: Zora had never been with anyone in that way. And despite the overwhelming passion she felt with Jacob, she was not ready to give herself to him, especially not while being held against a tree in the middle of a dark forest. She'd been so caught up in him that she forgot the pack would see everything. And now, lying in bed, the realization dawned on her. She screamed, and then buried herself in the blankets.

"Oh no. No, no, no," she whispered. "Why is there no such thing as privacy?"

Maybe Jacob wouldn't think about it, she thought. Bella still had him wrapped around her finger, so he probably wouldn't want the others to think he was changing his mind. As for herself, she swore she would use all of her mental strength to push the kiss to the dark recesses of her mind, never to be unveiled to anyone. She clung to these hopes, and though they were minuscule, the self-reassurance was enough to get her out of bed and make her start the afternoon.

When she arrived at Emily's place a few hours later, she was cool, calm, and collected. As far as she was concerned, she'd had a normal, boring night. However, as soon as she walked through the door, she was bombarded with whistles and a round of applause.

"Congratulations!" Jared shouted, laughing.

Quil and Embry were making kissing faces at each other while Seth, Collin, and Brady watched with amusement. Emily paid them no attention, though she wore a small smile while flipping through a magazine. And Paul looked at her with the slyest smirk she'd ever seen him wear.

"Watching you two make out was like watching porn."

"Paul!" Emily hissed, looking up from her magazine.

At the same time, Zora said, "Shut up!" Her face turned red and she could hardly look any of them in the eyes.

"What?" he replied nonchalantly. "It was hot. Clearly, you and Jake need to fu—"

Emily whipped her magazine at him before he could finish. "Language! And stop pestering Zora. If she doesn't want to talk, then you can't force her." She threw the younger girl a quick wink, and Zora managed a weak smile in return.

"Fine," he grumbled, but when Emily looked away, he suggestively wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Leah walked in not a minute later, heading straight for Zora with narrowed eyes. "You have me utterly surprised, Medina. First, you dish some necessary bitchiness to the leech lover, and now you're tongue-wrestling boys." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking serious for a moment before smiling widely. "I didn't know you had any of that in you."

"Glad I could entertain," Zora said sarcastically. "Now, can we please stop talking about it? It's not a big deal. Jared and Kim bang all of the time and no one says anything about it."

"Hey!" he shouted, but was ignored by both of them.

"Alright, alright, you've made a good point," Leah muttered, her face twisted with disgust. "Where's your beloved Jacob anyway?"

"How should I know?" Zora snapped. "I'm not his keeper."

Leah laughed. "Calm down, geez. Anyone know where he is? And Sam, for that matter? I didn't get out of bed for nothing."

"Running a patrol," Emily replied. "They should be here shortly."

Leah gave a stiff nod and motioned for Zora to follow her outside. She obliged, and the two planted themselves on the ground. Zora didn't have to ask to know that Emily and Sam's place still made Leah feel suffocated. They talked about unimportant things, picking at grass and throwing it each other. They were in the middle of laughing boisterously at one of Leah's lame jokes when Sam and Jacob arrived. Both were dressed only in cut-off shorts, and Zora felt her airflow constrict at the sight of Jacob's bare chest.

Sam cleared his throat. "We should head inside," he said, mostly to Leah, who stared at him through unimpressed eyes before standing up and coldly brushing past him. He followed, leaving Zora and Jacob alone.

"Hey," Jacob smiled. He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her lips.

Zora, feeling her stomach somersault, gave an oddly loud, "Sup!" Her palms began to sweat as she looked up at him, noticing that he was wearing the same intense expression he wore last night.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yup."

"Me too," he said. "Very well."

She wasn't sure she wanted to know what his tone implied, so she stood and quickly walked inside instead of responding. She sat next to Leah, who was smirking and had been deliberately listening. Jacob came in after her, still grinning. Once he sat down, Sam spoke. "I've called you all here today to discuss our meeting with the Cullens tomorrow morning. As I mentioned previously, Carlisle and his son Jasper believe it would be in our best interest to learn the fighting styles of newborn vampires."

A few grumbles of disagreement passed around the table.

"I have decided that we will not train with them as it's not in our nature to be peaceful towards vampires. Instead, we will actively watch and observe."

A collective sigh of relief filled the air as Paul shouted, "Thank the fucking lord!"

"We'll meet them early at three in the morning, near the Hoh Rainforest. And we all stick together, so gather here around two-thirty."

After each person gave a nod of agreement, he dismissed everyone and told them to enjoy the rest of their day—all except Collin and Brady who were on afternoon patrol duty.

Leah was quick to leave, and Zora, not wanting to linger and be the target of anymore harassment, followed after her. "So are we hanging out or are we hanging out?"

"No," Leah replied, rolling her eyes at Zora's surprised expression. "I distinctly remember you telling me that you had finals coming up soon, so you need to study."

"You're actually recommending that I do my homework? And be responsible? Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?"

"Well, since I'm a wise, old lady now, I think it would benefit you to study hard, so that you can get A's and go to college and get a degree in a field that's gonna pay you a lot of money—that way, you can get us out of here and support me financially."

Zora snorted loudly. "Seems like you've got it all planned out."

"I do," Leah said proudly. "I'm gonna be a stay-at-home mom, but without the mom part. And I refuse to clean anything."

"You sound like a terrible roommate, but I'll accept your terms. You have to cook dinner for me, though. If I'm gonna be the breadwinner, I expect to come home to a delicious meal."

"Of course. I make a mean bowl of cereal."

They burst into a fit of laughter, and for a second, Zora was able to forget about the kiss-related issues weighing on her mind. The second passed as quickly as it came, though, as Leah bid her farewell and headed home, seemingly excited about the day she was going to spend with her mother, Sue. Zora sighed. She supposed she could be studious and complete her assignments…but procrastinating and harassing Embry seemed more fun. Maybe she could finally get him and Quil to take her cliff diving. Ready to set her plan in motion, she turned around – only to find Jacob watching her.

She jumped with fright. "What the—how long have you been standing there?"

"Only five minutes," he said casually, earning himself a fierce glare. "Okay, fine, just a few seconds. Relax."

Of course, she was unable to take his advice. How was she supposed to remain calm when all she could picture was their faces and bodies pressed together? Especially when she wanted to do it again? She grit her teeth and grumbled, "Can you move? I need to ask Embry something."

"Embry?" he questioned, his frown confirming that he was bothered. "Why?"

"Because I want him to talk me out of studying so that we can cliff dive instead."

"Oh," he sighed, relieved. "Well, he's a pretty responsible guy. He'll only encourage you to work harder." He was smirking now, the tone of his voice playful. "But I have no problem being your bad influence."

His words were so incredibly cheesy that Zora wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream. Damn his infectious charm. She stared at him through narrowed eyes, studying him (and deliberately ignoring the fluttering in her chest and the heat rising in her face). "Fine. I guess you'll do."

He wore a victorious grin, and not waiting for him to follow, Zora turned around and headed in the direction of the cliffs.


"Is this your first time?"

Zora snorted. "Why did you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're about to de-virginize me."

His face turned red immediately. "Shit—sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound so weird."

She scrutinized him, her face straight; then she broke into a smile and chuckled. "I'm just messing with you, Jacob. And to answer your question, yes, this is my first time cliff diving."

He smiled back, his tensed posture relaxing. "You nervous?"

"Not at all. I figure if I land on a bunch of rocks, I'll heal anyway."

He gave her an un-humored look, causing her to laugh again. "Relax," she mocked, poorly imitating his voice. She peered over the edge, watching the dark water move beneath her. She was nervous after all—though she'd always liked the sound of the waves, she thought they looked sinister; something that deep, full of dozens of undiscovered creatures couldn't possibly be safe or fun to swim in—but would never willingly reveal that information to Jacob.

She took a deep breath, ready to push her hesitance to the side when he said, "Shouldn't we talk…about last night?"

Her stomach churned nervously. The rational side of her knew that they should have a conversation about what happened between them; they should have discussed what it meant and where it left them. But having that conversation meant she'd have to vocalize everything she felt for him. If she had to be vulnerable, there was a very real possibility that he could reject her, and she was deeply afraid of his rejection. So instead of being honest, she shrugged her shoulders as nonchalantly as she could. "There's nothing to talk about. It was just a kiss."

He furrowed his brow, looking slightly offended. "Just a kiss? You and I both know it was more than that."

"Does it change anything, though?" she asked. "Did kissing me make you forget everything you thought you knew? Everything you felt before?" She didn't want to say Bella's name out loud — it still left a bad taste in her mouth. Jacob was attentive, though, and easily caught on. She could see he was deep in thought; he must have not considered that idea, and the fact that he still seemed uncertain was all the confirmation she needed. She sighed, wanting to be angry, but feeling drained instead. Enough of the back and forth, she wanted to shout at him. Enough of the confusion and the doubt. She wanted to be done with all of it, but she knew it was unavoidable. Because while Jacob may have been her imprint, she was not his. Though he was drawn to her, he was still free to have feelings for others. And ultimately, it was his decision as to whether or not Zora was a lover, a friend, a protector, or nothing at all.

She glanced at the water again, which remained sinister-looking, but seemed more inviting than standing at the top of the cliff with him. Suddenly feeling bold, she began unbuttoning her shorts.

Jacob coughed. "What…what are you doing?"

"Taking my clothes off. I don't want them to get wet."

"We don't…" he trailed off, distracted by the shirt she'd discarded and thrown to the side, "we don't usually jump naked."

He was staring into her eyes with extra determination, and it made her think back to the first time she'd shifted. Jared refused to look anywhere but her face and Paul refused to look at her face – which earned him a bloodied, broken nose in the process. She smiled fondly at the memory. "It's just nudity," she replied, repeating what Jared once said to her. "You get used to it eventually." She was down to her bra and underwear, remaining indifferent as she removed them. "So take a look and get used to it."

Jacob's mouth hung open, his heart thudding rapidly. An actual girl just stripped in front of him and was giving him permission to look. Sure, he'd caught snippets of her naked body in the past, usually because one of the younger boys was thinking about it, but he was always quick to shut them down. From what he'd managed to see, she had a figure worth admiring, but seeing her up close, in person, rendered him speechless. She was beautiful from head to toe, and as his eyes raked her slowly, he felt the same hungry desire creep up on him.

Zora sensed exactly what he was feeling. She could see it in the darkness of his eyes, the biting of his lip and the yearning expression he wore. Though it made her feel alluring, she had him where she wanted him.

"I think it's your turn."

Without hesitation, he eagerly removed his shorts and underwear. He watched as she eyed his body, memorizing details old and new. She looked satisfied, and the expression was so enticing that he could no longer contain himself. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and ready to kiss her again, leaned forward with his eyes closed. Unfortunately, his lips met air. As he opened his eyes, he caught her jumping from the cliff with a running start, screaming and laughing all the way down.

He gave a heavy sigh, longingly staring at where she just stood; and then, he jumped in after her.


(Partially revised 2/4/2021)