Angela and I finished up our project early, so Thursday evening we decided to change our plans for the weekend, mostly because Angela knew how bad I had it and knew I wanted more time with Jake, but I think she also wanted to be able to spend time with Paul as well. I could see she was in deep and I just hoped she didn't get hurt.
"Hi!" The voice on the other end of the phone said excitedly after the ringing stopped.
"Hey Jake! So Angela and I are done our project and we were hoping to move that double date to tomorrow so we have the weekend to do other things. Like the beach. It's saying it should be nice out."
"You in that sexy swim suit? Deal. I'll check with Paul but pretty sure he isn't doing anything important." Jake paused and I could hear a muffled sound like he was pressing the phone to some fabric and some muted voices in the background. "He said he's good to go. We'll meet you at the school?"
"Yeah. Thanks Jake. I love you."
"I love you too, honey."
/Friday/
I could see how excited Angela was for our double date as the day went on. At the end of the school day, she met her at my locker and she was practically bouncing. We headed for the doors to leave, a throng of people ahead of us and the sound of loud vehicles rumbling nearby. I heard some gasps from ahead, and when we made it to the stairs leading to the parking lot, there beside my truck was Jacob and Paul, on motorcycles. Paul was on mine and Jacob on his own.
Angela glanced at me, eyes wide and full of excitement. She bit her bottom lip then took off for the 2 men in front of us. I followed behind, running and jumping into Jacobs arms, surprised my own feet didn't end up tripping me. He spun me around and planted a big, loud kiss on my lips before nuzzling into my neck. I couldn't help but giggle. Not only did it tickle, but it also sent those now-familiar tingles to the pit of my belly.
As Jake stopped spinning, and my vision adjusted, I could see Edward, Alice and Bree hop in the Volvo. Edward glanced at me with a warm smile, I smiled back and they drove off.
"You ladies ready?" Jake asked, then handed us each a helmet. Angela looked at me again, her smile infections and child-like, nodding her head up and down. Paul took her hand and brought her close before kissing her deeply, then slipping the helmet over her head. He smirked and helped her get behind him.
"Wow." I heard from behind me and turned to find our group of friends staring at us. Jessica looked almost jealous, and I just wished she would let Embry in and know how good it feels. "Have fun, kids. Don't do anything mom wouldn't do." Jessica joked, then winked at me. My whole face turned red so I slipped the helmet on and folded down the shaded visor.
I could see Ben looking at Angela, his face giving away the emotions he was feeling. Angela and Paul just seemed perfect for each other. Angela giggled as Paul took her hands to wrap them around his waist, they were far too consumed by each other's presence to notice Ben.
I waved at our friends, feeling no sympathy after what he's said to Angela, wrapped my arms around Jacob's wide frame and off we went. We arrived at the movie theatre just in time to buy tickets to the new movie Slither. I had to purchase the R rated tickets though I knew no one would question Jake and Paul given their stature and build, not a common thing for teenagers to have.
/Later/
"That movie freaked me out." Angela shivered despite her large sweater. "I might never sleep again." Paul wrapped an arm over her shoulder, bringing her closer and into his warmth. I smiled at him then got closer to my own heater and sighed when his warm arm wrapped around me.
We walked a block away to a little family friendly place with TV's mounted above a bar and a room in the back with arcade machines. Kids can be heard chatting and laughing while their parents cheer or boo whatever sport was playing currently. We were quickly seated and our food was fairly fast to arrive.
I walked to the bar and steadied myself before picking up a discarded newspaper just in case. Luckily, or maybe it was unlucky, that I didn't have a vision while on our date. I brought it back to the table and started to read while Angela explained to Paul and Jake what our science project was about. Both seemed honestly fascinated which gave me hope that we got good grades.
On the third flip of the newspaper, in big letters said Clallam County Fair Gets New Rides. The article talked about a few new rides that the local fair had, a UFO-like ride called the Gravitron, Tilt-A-Whirl, Zipper and Chair Swing. I had no idea what any of those were since I never went to fairs. The childish machines weren't really my thing but it suddenly seemed to appeal to me.
"Hey, how about we go to the fair tomorrow? It's supposed to be nice enough. I'll buy."
"No." Jake said, shaking his head and it surprised me that I felt a bit disappointed. "There is no way you are paying for this date. Then paying for a trip to the fair. Me and Paul will pay for that one, assuming they want to go too." My face instantly lifted, I was getting excited and I had no idea what I was in for.
"Ange? You want to go to the fair?" Paul asked, sliding her closer to him on the bench seat in a way that was so unlike Paul.
"Yeah. Of course. I love the fair."
/Saturday Morning/
Jake and I took my truck to Angela's. Her parents let her borrow their brand new Honda Civic. We thought about all getting in but the boys and their long legs just didn't fit, at least not if there was someone in front of or behind them, so Jake decided he and Paul would take my truck and Angela and I would take the car.
"So I've been meaning to ask you," I said, hesitantly, after we had been on the road a few minutes. "How are things with Paul?" I was hopeful but cautious. From an outsider perspective, everything seemed good.
"It's going great. We've pretty much talked every single night on the phone and he texts me throughout the day. I really like him, like… a lot more then anyone I've ever liked. Things seem so easy with Paul." Angela paused, but I could tell by the look on her face that she had something else she wanted to say.
"What is it?"
"How do you know… ya know, when you've found… 'the one'?" She started to bite her lip and I was glad that Paul and Jake were in another vehicle, far away from hearing her.
"Well, I thought Edward was the one. But it was like everything at every turn tried to rip us apart. With Jake, it just works. I don't have to fight to be with him, though don't get me wrong, I would in a heartbeat if needed." I sighed, thinking about the impending doom that surrounded our lives. "Being with the person you're meant to be with is like, bad things happen in life, and with the one, they're beside you helping you through it, giving you strength. When it's other people they might not have your back or think you can't handle things yourself but when you find that person, they just make you a better you, a stronger more confident you, instead or dragging you down or hiding your strengths, ya know?"
It was hard to tell through Angela's skin tone but I could have swore she was blushing. "I think, yeah, maybe I do know."
/Later/
When we arrived at the Clallam County Fair, I was a bit overwhelmed. I had no idea where to even start. Jake and Paul bought our bracelets that allowed us on all the rides, as many times as we wanted, and we ventured into the fenced off area.
"Wow. There's so much to do." I gazed at the tall rides and realised I probably looked like a small child on Christmas morning.
"You really have never been to a fair?" Jake asked. I shook my head no. "What about an amusement park? Like Six Flags or Disney world?"
"No, Jake. I was never a childish child. I was always stuck in a book.
"What was your childhood trauma?" Jake asked. With an amused look on his face.
"You need to stop quoting my favorite show." I replied, equally amused but Angela looked at Jake like he was a different person. I mean to be fair the quote itself was not a very nice one and Jake was never mean so he probably had 2 heads to her.
"What show?" Paul asked.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Jake replied, with a look I couldn't decipher but when Paul responded I could tell the look was because he knew what was coming next.
"Vampire… Slayer? As in kills vampires? That's a bit ironic." Jake kicked Paul's foot as he walked toward the cotton candy stand and Paul almost tripped but only looked to Jake in response who had his eyebrows raised and head tilted toward a distracted Angela. Paul raised his hands in surrender.
"Yeah she also fell in love with a vampire who was good and didn't hurt people." I felt the need to explain. Paul just shook his head in response.
"I watched a couple episodes when I was a kid." Angela said, "But then my mom found out and said it was too violent."
The conversation ended when we got to the cotton candy tent. There were 3 flavors to choose from and I had no idea which one I would like, if any.
"I've never had cotton candy." I said and all eyes turned toward me. I shrugged.
"Ok so you need to try all the flavors. Everyone good with sharing so Bella can try the flavors?" Jake asked and everyone agreed. He and Paul turned back to the tent to purchase them then turned toward each other, held up their fists with the other hand flat underneath.
"Rock… Paper… Scissors!" they said in unison like they'd done it a thousand times before and as they said scissors, their hands twisted into different shapes. Jake held his hand out flat while Paul's was still a fist. I heard Paul sigh then they turned back to the counter.
"I'll take a purple and a blue." Paul said, paid and was handed two paper cones with colorful sugar on top.
"I'll take the pink one." Jake said.
I turned toward Paul who stopped beside me and he held out the cones for me to try. The blue was ok, but very sweet and the purple had a strange taste. I shook my head no and he offered Angela them. She chose the purple and said it was her favorite. Paul kept the blue for himself. Jake appeared on the other side of me and offered the pink. I liked this one a bit more but only enough to pick every once in a while, while we walked. Most of it went to Jake.
Jake questioned how I'd react to some of the more queasy rides, so I quietly reminded him that I used to date a vampire who was very impatient when walking through the woods with a girl as clumsy as myself and that none of these rides would be any faster than a vampire's run. He didn't seem pleased with that information but didn't say anything about it as we walked to the Ferris wheel, a nice slow start to the rides.
I glanced up at it, then to Jake. "When we have children, they will come here every year." Did I really just say that? I mean sure I had visions of me as a mom but in my head I was still very determined to never get married or have kids. I didn't feel I would be a good mother at all, so why did I say that?
"On one condition," Jake replied, his smile growing, "We go for ice cream after. There has to be ice cream."
"Deal." Why did he feel like that was something I wouldn't agree to?
We loaded into the Ferris wheel, Angela and Paul went first, then me and Jake on the opposite side of the ride so they were stopped at the very top to let us on. Paul was rocking the seat and I could see Angela gently slap his arm, her laughs travelling down to us.
"They're so cute together." I said, and instantly regretted using the word cute.
"I agree, I hope things work out for him. The last thing he needs is an imprint to get in the way of what they have."
"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. They seem kind of perfect for each other, and I'm surprised he never imprinted on her."
The Ferris wheel started to spin and our serious conversation ended. The wind was in my hair and I could see so much whenever we arrived at the top. It was amazing. When we eventually stopped at the very top to let I assumed Paul and Angela out, I was amazed at how beautiful the city looked from up high.
"It's beautiful, Jake. This is so perfect. Thank you."
"You needed this, Bells. You've been so worried about everything for so long, and even when you aren't, you're either busy working or taking care of the pack or trying to graduate. You needed a break from responsibilities. I realised you were right about the party. Motivation seems to be sky high in the pack. Everyone got that break they needed, like a recharge. I figured you needed it too and no, the party didn't count because you were stressing about making it perfect the whole time. This, this is what you needed."
I felt my cheeks heat up and leaned into Jake, smiling against his chest. He kissed the top of my head as we started to descend.
Paul and Angela waited for us on the ground. Both of them with huge smiles on their faces.
"How was it?" Angela asked.
"It was so much fun. One last childish thing before I walk into the world of adulthood."
"Glad you had fun." Paul said. "I'm sure Jake got to enjoy giving you another 'first'."
My eyes went wide. "You told him?" I knew it was unlikely he actually spoke the words aloud which meant that Paul likely knew what I looked like under my clothes by now.
"Did you tell Angela?"
"I… that's different." A huge smile plastered itself onto my face. I wasn't upset with either of them and Jake was right, Angela knew.
"Girls are allowed to talk about sex but not boys who literally always think about sex?" Paul asked, and Angela's face froze for a split second. Oh no, I hope she wasn't overthinking things. Angela was still a virgin, and Paul was nowhere near innocent in that regard.
"It slipped out on the drive here. I couldn't stop thinking about you and Paul kept egging me on. Sorry Bells." Jake explained, maybe knowing what I was worried about.
"Oh. That's… Okay." I glanced at Paul who looked to have an a-ha moment based on his facial expression.
"I'm surprised actually." Paul added, "figured information like that would have leaked out a little sooner. Don't worry though, all good things."
I tipped my head in embarrassment. Allowing my hair to fall across my face.
"Come on, let's talk about something different." Angela offered.
"Oh!" My head popped up and I looked at Jake. "How did I forget? I've been so distracted this week. I put my two weeks in at Newton's. I figured with finals coming up and everything that I needed to clear my schedule a bit." Jake's face lit up at that, no more time away during the week was probably the best news ever to him. We could barely keep away from each other as it was. I still haven't mentioned to him or Billy about the house being renovated this summer, and is they'd be ok with a temporarily permanent guest, but there was still plenty of time for that.
The day was filled with playful banter, small games, winning prizes and more often than not, losing, deep fried battered hotdogs on a stick, soda, after soda, after soda, and I was surprised none of us ended up puking after some of the rides. There was a huge spinning ride with swings and they flared out as it sped up, it was exhilarating.
Then there was the Zipper. Jake said it was his favorite so of course I had to go on it with him. He said he'd take it easy on me but I explained that I didn't want him to so the second we were off the ramp to get on, he spun us upside down where we stayed until it started moving. I was very thankful for the harness straps around us because that was nothing compared to what he did when the ride was in full motion. We went up and around like a chainsaw and Jake was relentless with his flips and spins, sometimes making us go forward than instantly backwards. He was definitely using his weight to his advantage. It was so much fun but I probably would have puked if I had to endure it longer than we did.
Seeing Jake act the 16 year old he was made my entire week, and he was right, this was exactly what I needed. Angela and Paul were off the Zipper just after us and Paul had to steady her as she stumbled down the ramp.
"That was… intense." She said, her eyes trying to focus on the ground as Paul held her by the waist. "Good intense."
Paul smiled then kissed her on the cheek before pulling her toward that big hammer game that makes the ball ding the top, the person was shocked when both Jake and Paul won, despite the fair's best efforts to likely rig the game, nothing compared with those wolves strength.
The boys let us girls choose the prizes and we both went for giant teddy bears, mine had reddish-brown fur, intentionally chosen for it's similar color to Jake's wolf, and Angela wasn't sure which color, so Paul suggested the dark silver bear to match his own coloring.
We walked to Angela's car and shoved the massive bears in the back seat then went back for more fun. We spent the whole day in Port Angeles, Alice messaged frequently to make sure all was well.
As we waited near the podium of a nearby restaurant for dinner, I could hear Angela talking to Paul beside me, about her day and the bear. "I can't believe I'm falli…" I glanced over at her and her head was tipped down in embarrassment. I looked away and while I could still hear them, I gave them as much privacy as I could as we waited to be seated.
"Were you just going to say…"
"No!" Angela interrupted Paul, "Yes. Maybe? I-I don't, I've never said that before and I'm sorry. Feeling this way is new. How-how do you feel?"
"Hungry." He replied and I couldn't believe he said that. Jake's hand tightened on mine, he was surprised too.
A waitress met us and told us to follow her. Paul wrapped an arm around Angela's back in front of us, resting his hand on her waist then leaned down, his forehead touching the side of her head.
"I love you." He whispered, almost too quietly for me to hear. Angela sucked a deep breath in. We followed behind them and I tried to not have a huge smile on my face as we sat at the booth we were given. Angela didn't seem to be trying to hide her smile at all.
After dinner we grabbed some ice cream cones from a little booth near the boardwalk and watched as the sun started to set. We decided to head back to the fair, for the last few rides and their fireworks show.
Jake pulled us over to the Gravitron, a UFO looking ride. We waited in line then when it stopped spinning and people came out, we were herded into the UFO like cattle. We each took a spot. Jake on one side of me and Angela on the other, with Paul on her other side. I glanced over and noticed their hands were intertwined and I smiled, she smiled back.
The UFO started to spin, and I had to admit that I was a little worried. This ride had no belts or even handles. Gravity kept us pushed against the back of the ride and it was so much fun. The entire thing lit up in bright colors as it spun, looking like a UFO even more and I couldn't help but laugh like a crazy person at the fun I was having. I bent my knees, no longer standing against the wall but laying on it as the mat behind me slid to the ceiling then back down as we spun.
When the ride was done, we headed to the parking lot and sat down on the back of my truck to watch the firework show. I don't think I'd ever had a better day, and hoped there would be many more like it in the future.
