Chapter 2

The next few days were quieter, thankfully, and by Friday the requests for signatures had finally dried up. I was still nodded at in the hallways (and in town), and I had heard that our website had a lot of hits; in fact, the calendar had completely sold it's initial run of 2000 prints, and that a second print run, twice as large, was going on sale from the website on Monday.

This had confused me, as this was bigger than the entire population in Forks!. I was told, however - and I couldn't really fathom it - that the calendar was being bought by people all over Washington, and as far away as Oregon and even Northern California! Our target goal of $25,000 was already met, and now they were hoping to possibly triple that!

I had also heard more excited talk of follow-up charity items, but I didn't pay much attention as I felt I had done my part for now, and did not want or need the public attention. Let someone else get some positive publicity, I had my fill, thank you very much.

At work, I was embarrassed to see the calendar hanging in the office in the back, but when I made a face, Mr. Newton just winked at me. When I blushed and walked out, I pretended not to notice his eyes lingering a bit too long me.

I could see now where Mike got it from.

When school ended Friday, I made plans with Lauren, Angela and Jessica to go to Port Angelas on Saturday Night. Lauren's older brother had invited us, and I was eager to go to my first party where everyone there wasn't in my high school.

Tonight, though, I was going to hang out with Jake and my friends on the Rez. He and the pack had been patrolling a bit less, and all had been quiet for over a month now. Maybe when Laurent didn't report back to Victoria, she assumed it was too dangerous to come here? Who knows, but I didn't think about her much anymore. In a few months I would be long gone, off to college, and hopefully she would never find me.

I brushed my hair on put on a touch of make-up - another new thing for me - and headed out to First Beach.

As my truck rumbled along, noisily crossing the small bridge over the river into La Push, I saw Paul and Jared - shirtless as usual - walking along the side of the road and engaged in one of their usual friendly shoving matches. I slowed down as I passed them, waving through my window. I wouldn't necessarily call them friends, but since his little freak-out on me last month, Paul was more tolerant of my presence and even bantered with me sometimes.

So, I was a bit surprised when both boys began to hoot and holler at me, making silly faces and gestures. I stopped the truck, and rolled down the stubborn window. "Hey guys, what's going on?" I asked, amused and a bit taken-aback by their silliness.

Paul sauntered up to the driver's side door, and leaned down on the window-frame, a cocky grin on his face. "Well, well, well, who know little Bella Swan had such a bad-girl naughty side!" he mock-whispered, practically leering at me.

I immediately blushed crimson, cursing under my breath, knowing exactly what he was talking about. I took a deep breath before speaking. "Please tell me Jake hasn't seen it?" I asked, closing my eyes and pressing my knuckles against them, rubbing them in frustration, fervently hoping he hadn't seen it.

If he had, I was in for a long night.

Jared laughed, the first time I had ever heard him do so. It was sort of pleasant, deep and hoarse, and his face was transformed by his white smile. "Seen it? Are you kidding, Bella? I think he has two copies! He used his clothing allowance for it, pissed Sam right off!"

Both of them were laughing again, and I groaned and lay my face down on my hands, splayed on the steering wheel.

Paul leaned back from the window, still laughing. "He's been taking lot's of 'breaks' from patrols, spending time in his garage with the calendar." More laughter. "He's definitely added your pictures to his spank bank material, no question! And we get to see it in his head!" Jared started laughing so hard he was bent double as I sputtered at him.

My cheeks were hot, and I was completely mortified. "Jerks," I huffed, but without any real heat in my voice. I put my truck back in gear, pulled out and drove off, trying to ignore their laughter.

They had one last dig for me as they jogged alongside the truck on the gravel road. "Hey Swan, if you ever want to model that blue outfit for me, let me know!" Paul shouted as I sped away, and my truck retreated around the bend.

I finally drove up to the small red house at the end of the road, and parked my truck next to the garage. I cut the engine and hopped out, only to stop when I saw Jacob, wearing nothing but a small pair of denim shorts and a wide smile, leaning up against the side of the shed with glittering eyes, his arms crossed over his muscular chest.

"Oh no," I cringed, and Jacob took two long strides and was suddenly lifting me and twirling me around.

"Bella, Bella, Bella, you have no idea how popular you have become down here on the Rez!" he laughed, and I swatted him on the chest several times until he put me down.

"Jacob! It's not funny!" I protested, and he laughed at me again, giving me an enormous hug before taking my hand and pulling me along behind him as he led me towards the beach.

"Yes, it is funny, Bella. You are so shy, at first no one could really believe that was you in the lingerie," he said. "You always wear such loose or long tops, that cover everything. I think some of the pack believed that someone took a picture of your face and photoshopped it onto some supermodel."

He laughed at my expression, and I finally just shook my head and chuckled with him at the absurdity of this whole situation. Smiling at me, a glint in his eye, he laughed again. "Remember Embry's crush on you? Well, it's much worse now!"

"Oh No, no, please Jake, stop," I said, trying to stop laughing even as my face turned a humiliating bright red. "I had no idea they would use that picture! And I don't even remember standing like that!"

"Ha, the cover picture of you as a sexy nurse wasn't much tamer! I've seen groups of people at lunch at the Rez high school gawking over it and asking if you worked at Forks Hospital!"

"Please, no more!"

"And Bella, just so you know," he teased, "you've officially made it into the lockers of several boys at school."

I closed my eyes, taking several deep breaths, not sure if I should just kill myself now or maybe just get drunk.

Laughing at my own melodramatics, I finally just shook my head, deciding to just go with it, and Jake and I laughed and joked our way to a quiet spot on the beach.

Jacob led me over to our log, and we sat down, looking out over the calm ocean. He was still chuckling quietly, and I was happy to see him so carefree.

"Seriously, Bells, those were some seriously hot pictures. I always knew you were pretty, but damn! So sexy too!" His eyes were bright and teasing, and he laughed harder as my blush again reached epic proportions.

I huffed in annoyance, until finally he seemed to calm. He looked at me with a questioning glance, and I tilted my head. "What?"

"Well, what did Charlie think?" he said, surprising me with the suddenly serious question. "He must not have been happy. I mean, what dad would want to see their daughter in a near-pornographic nurses outfit or a sexy lingerie getup? I mean, seriously, that September spread could have been in a Victoria's Secret catalog."

I sniggered, having gotten use to the teasing all week. "He was pretty cool with it actually. Said I looked all grown up."

Jacob looked at me in shock. "Really? That's it? Didn't ground you for life or something?"

I smiled at the thought. "No Jacob, 18, remember? Legal adult?"

He grimaced at that. "That's true, lucky you. I still got two more years."

I pushed his shoulder, laughing. "I thought you were 36?"

He allowed himself to be moved by my shove, and laughed back. "Nah, you gained a few years with those photos, or, well, I lost some. I'm only 25 this week."

He smiled at me again. "You look like you are doing really great, Bells. I'm so glad to see it."

I loved this side of Jacob, my happy sun. "Thanks, Jake. I am doing great."

He squeezed my hand, and I leaned-up against him and rested my head on his shoulder, just admiring the spectacular view of the ocean with my best guy friend.

We got up after a few minutes, and chatted while walking along the beach. We held hands like we usually did, letting them swing between us, winding our way towards Emily's. As we got closer, we heard the sound of the pack laughing and cussing, and we walked up the small road to see everyone gathered around a fire pit, their mirth echoing through the surrounding forest.

I saw Emily look over at us, and her face split into a wide smile. "Bella! Jacob! Come eat, before everything is gone!" She swatted Quill's hand as he reached for something that I was still not close enough to see, but knowing his appetite was probably a 3rd or 4th helping of whatever it was.

As we walked up to the group, I spotted a platter of burgers and hot dogs, an enormous bowl of fries, and a tub of ketchup and ladle next to a tall stack of bread and paper plates. My stomach rumbled, and I smiled at Sam when he stood up, freeing his seat for me. "Thanks, Sam," I said, grabbing a hot dog with the long fork and wrapping a slice of bread around it.

I sat down, took a bite of the hot dog, and sighed happily. I loved it here, it was so relaxing, with a great feeling of belonging. As I chewed, I watched Jacob talking quietly with Sam, and let my eyes wander around the group.

At the far end of the circle, I saw both Embry and Quill staring at me, big grins on their faces. I blushed and looked down, knowing I was going to be teased and mentally preparing myself for it.

Sure enough, Embry said something under his breath, and Paul laughed loudly. "Yes, I already told her," he said, and I looked up to see Quill smirking at me.

"What?" I asked, in a grumpy, almost childish tone.

Quill's smile grew wider. "All I have to say is...damn, Vampire Girl, looking good!"

I couldn't help it, I giggled and smiled at him, shaking my head in fond exasperation. Quill was always making me laugh, he was funny in such a flirty-boy way.

Quill turned away from me, smirking at Embry before turning back to face me, his dark eyes twinkling. "Bella, Embry here...well, he might have something to say, if he can ever man up and do it!"

All of the boys laughed at that, and Embry jumped up and pushed Quill backwards, knocking him off the small chair and onto the grass. "Yeah, let's go Atera," he hissed, and everyone laughed harder even as Quill jumped back up and grabbed Embry, starting their usual macho silliness.

"Not near the fire!" Emily commanded with stern authority, and they stopped their play-wrestle by shoving each other a few times.

Emily was the boss: the Alpha's mate, and the one who fed them. I believed the latter was the real reason they listened to her so quickly all the time.

She sat down next to me, a wide grin on her face, and I smiled warmly back at her. "Thanks for the food, Emily," I said. She and I were the only girls that I was aware of that regularly spent time with the pack, though I heard that Jared had imprinted on a girl named Kim a few days ago and they were going to explain about the legends to her sometime soon.

We chatted for a few minutes, until I asked her about Jared's imprint. "Do you know Kim?"

She shook her head. "No, she's only sixteen and still in school - 10th grade I think - but I heard she was a nice girl." Emily bit her lip. "I just hope she is as okay with all of this as you were. It's a lot to take."

I nodded, finishing the last bite of my hot dog as I thought about that for a moment. "Well, if it would help, I would be happy to talk with her, offer moral support or something. Just let me know."

I saw Jared jerk his head up in surprise, and he gave me a wide, grateful smile, very different from the one by my car when he was teasing me. "Thanks, Bella," he said. "I just...I don't want her to freak out."

I smiled softly back at him. "Of course I will help. You have all been great to me." And I really meant it. If not for Jacob, and by extension Sam and the pack's support, I would have been lunch-meat for Laurent and Victoria. I often thought how much easier their lives would be if I just vanished. "Just ask, and I will be there."

I blushed when I saw everyone look at me fondly, and I forked some french-fries onto a plate, letting the sounds of their playful banter wash over me.

We all chatted and joked-around for a while, and the fire was soon the only light as the sun set early, while the boys drank some beer and we all had more food. At some point, Embry sat next to me and I teased him good naturedly. I knew he had a crush on me, and had since I met him a few months earlier; but he also knew - courtesy of Jacob - that I had no real interest in a relationship right now. So his flirting was a bit over the top, and I good naturedly refused him, making us both laugh. Embry was very relaxed and easy to be around.

"Well, Bella," he finally said, "if you don't want to go on a date - sure sure, Jacob told me you weren't into the cougar thing -," he was interrupted with more laughing from everyone,"- then at least get me a ticket to your next photo shoot!"

I laughed at his witty comeback, and we all gently teased each other for a bit.

Finally, it began to get colder, and Jared headed out first, followed by Embry a few minutes later. Jacob and I stood up to leave right after, at about 9. It was a nice, quiet night and I said goodnight to everyone, and then Jacob walked me back to his house, where my truck was parked.

When we got back, he gave me a big hug; I squeezed him tightly, loving the warmth of his hugs. I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be with Jake; it might be so easy. I knew he was interested, he flat-out told me so.

But I didn't want to open that can of worms. I was definitely leaving Forks for university next semester, and I didn't want to leave a boyfriend behind. All I was interested in right then was light and casual, and I didn't think a relationship with Jacob could ever be that. Besides knowing him for too long, our dad's were best friends; there would be no way to have a casual, physical-only relationship with Jacob even if I wanted such a thing, and I had told him this several times when he hinted that he wanted more.

Luckily, he agreed that casual probably wouldn't work for us, though he did say he would offer up his body for me 'if I ever wanted to explore a 'friends with benefits' deal, or simply decided to go native.'

We both laughed at that, but deep down I admitted to myself that I was sometimes curious...Jacob had an amazing body, and I trusted him. It might be worth a try...

I shook my head, dismissing such thoughts. Something to fantasize about maybe, but I didn't think I would ever act on it. Jacob was a little too close to home.

At some deep level, I knew to some degree I still loved Edward, and Jake knew it too. Though I was able to go out and have fun, I was still emotionally brittle, and had to avoid thinking of anything too deep or investing myself in any sort of real relationship. I just wasn't ready: I had been hurt too deeply.

I drove home, showered, said goodnight to Charlie - who was heading out to fish in the morning - and read a bit before bed. Tomorrow night was going to be a really late night; I planned on sleeping at Jessica's after the party, and I expected we would not get much sleep at all.

A/N - the romance part of the story starts next chapter, when she meets someone in Port Angelas.