The middle section of this chapter gets a little... hot (but nothing too explicit). If you wish to skip it, stop at the "Good. Because I'm tired." and pick it back up at "Stop," Leah said suddenly. That should allow you to skip the worst of it :)
When Jacob woke up, it took him a second to realize where he was. He was so groggy and so tired; it felt like he could sleep for five more hours. Despite the sun shining into the room, he knew he hadn't slept enough. And where was he? The room was familiar enough. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks: he was in Leah's room.
"Morning," Leah's sing-songy voice filled Jacob's ears and he sat straight up. Leah was sitting on a chair on the other side of the room wearing nothing but a sports bra and a very, very short pair of athletic pants. It was the same thing she'd worn last night.
In the days since Sam's wedding, when Leah had admitted that she loved Jacob, they had spent a lot of time together. They still hadn't come up with a firm set of labels for what they were, but it was definitely more than friends. And they were definitely dating. And then last night, after their patrol shift, when they had returned to their human state, they had made out for a while in the Clearwater's yard, and Leah had whispered, "stay with me." And Jacob had. It was all coming back to him now. Sneaking up to Leah's room as quietly as possible and the kisses they'd shared in her bed. But ultimately they were both too tired – and too scared of waking up Seth or, worse, Sue – to do anything other than kiss softly.
"Morning," his voice was gruff and still full of sleep. Jacob paused for a second to listen carefully. When he didn't hear anyone else in the vicinity, he spoke again, "What time is it? How long have you been awake?"
"It's only ten. I woke up, like, I don't know, forty-five minutes ago?" Leah guessed.
Jacob sat up, "Have you just been waiting for me to wake up?"
"No. I took a shower."
That was one image that Jacob didn't need to think of this early in the morning, "Oh."
Leah smirked and Jacob realized that she knew exactly what she was doing, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I did." He could have slept longer, but he wasn't going to complain. Not when Leah was wearing a sports bra that looked like that. And besides, it was nice to sleep next to someone. He had thought that their combined body heat might be killer, but Leah had put a fan on, and the benefits of having someone to cuddle with outweighed the cons, "Did you?"
"I did," Leah confirmed. She was still staring at him expectantly. Jacob didn't know what she wanted him to do. He'd never actually spent the night at a girl's house before. What he did know, however, was that his dick was throbbing and it was getting harder by the second to hide his erection. Especially with the way that Leah was looking at him, "You okay, Jake?"
"Er… just need the bathroom." Jacob used this as his chance to stand up and make a beeline for the hall restroom. Behind him, he could hear Leah giggling and he knew that his lame attempt at hiding it had failed.
When he returned to Leah's bedroom, he was disappointed to see that she had put clothes on in his absence. Nice clothes, too. He felt underdressed in nothing but the raggedy old athletic shorts that he had worn to patrol.
Leah must have noticed the disappointed look on his face, because she said, "I have to go to work."
"Oh. When?"
"Gotta leave in twenty minutes."
"Oh." There went any type of fantasy that Jacob may have had of them spending the morning in bed together and taking advantage of the empty house.
"Yeah." Leah swung her legs around to the other side of the chair and stood up, "You want breakfast?"
He was hungry, so he just nodded and followed Leah down the stairs to the Clearwater's kitchen. Leah made a beeline to the freezer and pulled out a pack of toaster waffles. She held them up, her question implied. In response, Jacob nodded. Jacob watched as Leah pulled out the toaster and popped two in. Feeling awkward just standing there, Jacob made his way to the cabinet where he knew that the Clearwaters kept the dishes and pulled out two plates and two glasses.
"Thanks," Leah said, as she placed both of the waffles onto the plates and put in two more in the toaster, "What are your plans for the day?"
"I'm gonna work on the car some, I think." He didn't really have any plans. He normally spent the day after patrol sleeping and lazing about, but he didn't want to admit that. Not when Leah was working and getting dressed and doing real stuff.
"With your minions?"
"They might stop by, yeah." Truthfully, Jacob had almost no clue what Quil and Embry were up to today. It'd been a couple days since he'd seen them. Most of his free time had been caught up with Leah lately. Not that Jacob was complaining… In fact, it was quite possibly the best use of his free time that he could think of.
"Have you told them about," Leah gestured in between the two of them, "This?"
"No. I didn't know if I should…"
"Why? Are you ashamed of me?" One look at Leah's face confirmed she was just teasing him, but still, it was enough to strike panic into Jacob.
"Never," he grinned at her.
"I didn't know you could keep a secret from the two of them,"
"They'll find out sooner or later." Truthfully, Jacob was a little nervous to tell them. He wasn't sure how to bring it up, though he had suspicions that they had already figured out that something was going on between Jacob and Leah, "Have you told your friends?"
Leah shrugged, "No."
"Ashamed of me?"
"Never."
They finished their breakfast and parted with a quick kiss that Leah broke off before Jacob could deepen it. Jacob walked home, feeling a little bit like he was doing the walk of shame. Lucky for him, he knew the way through the forest well enough so he was able to avoid anyone that might be driving on the roads between their houses. But as Jacob approached the back of the Black's property, he heard two voices coming from the garage.
Jacob took a deep breath and opened the door to the garage. Sure enough, Quil and Embry were sitting on the rescued couch, tossing a tennis ball that they had found back and forth.
"You better not have touched that car," Jacob warned by way of greeting, although he was mostly teasing. Embry didn't know enough about cars to ever do anything to help out and while Quil was more knowledgeable, he had still never done anything without Jacob's permission.
"Oh, man! There he is!" Quil tossed the ball to Jacob, who barely managed to catch it, "Where have you been?"
"I just got up. I had patrol last night," Jacob tried to sound nonchalant.
"Oh yeah? And where'd you sleep last night?" Embry asked frankly.
"My bed?" It was a decision to play dumb and lie, but the words were out of Jacob's mouth before he could stop them.
"Well, that's strange. Because we stopped by your house thirty minutes ago and no one was there," Quil stared right at him and Jacob knew he was caught, "Door was locked and everything."
"Common sense to lock the door when you sleep."
"Jake, since when do you sleep with your door locked?" Embry demanded. It wouldn't have been the first time that Embry or Quil had woken Jacob up by barging into his room while he was sleeping.
Jacob tossed the ball back to him. As Embry caught it, he raised his eyebrow at Jacob.
"Is it a crime to want some privacy sometimes? Maybe I don't want people barging in on me."
"Yeah, right."
Quil stood up and took the ball from Embry, "But you wanna know what's funny. After we couldn't find you at your house we decided to stop by the Clearwater's house. And we both definitely heard two people in that house, but when we knocked, no one came to the door."
"Maybe Leah has a boyfriend," Jacob suggested coolly.
"Yeah, and maybe that boyfriend is you," Quil shot back.
Jacob couldn't keep a straight face; the game was up.
"I knew it! I fucking knew it!" Quil crowed, his hands held up in the air, letting the ball fall to the floor. It bounced twice before Jacob grabbed it again.
"Are you really dating her, Jake?" Embry asked.
Jacob shrugged, "I don't think we've put labels on it."
"But you slept with her," Quil stated, staring right at Jacob, "You slept with Leah Clearwater."
"I slept in her bed," Jacob clarified. It was an important difference.
"Pretty serious, then," Embry raised his eyebrow at Jacob.
"I don't know, dude, we're just… having fun, I guess." There was absolutely no need to tell them that they'd both said the l-word. They'd lose their goddamn minds, "Can't believe you guys guessed it so fast."
"There were only so many places you could be when we realized you weren't at house. We knew you wouldn't be awake at nine am after a patrol shift," Quil told him smugly.
"And, dude, you smell just like her," Embry informed Jacob with a chuckle.
"Fuck," Jacob muttered, "Knew I should have stopped for a shower."
Quil laughed, "Like that would have helped. It was so obvious, Jake. You two were always off laughing together, you were always staring at her, you were so jealous when she and Embry were on patrol together. Almost a miracle it didn't happen sooner."
"How long has it been going on now, anyway?" Embry asked.
"Uh…" It had been a while since they'd first kissed in the Clearwater's kitchen, since Leah had first told him she'd think about everything, "Maybe like a month?"
Quil turned to Embry, "You owe me ten bucks."
"Damnit," Embry swore.
"You guys bet on this?!" Jacob demanded.
"You two just aren't subtle, Jake," Embry said by way of explanation. He took out his wallet from his back pocket and handed Quil a ten-dollar bill, "But I'll give you credit - I thought it hadn't been more than two weeks."
"I can't believe you fucking knew."
"So, is she good? You really do have a thing for older women, don't you, Jake?"
"Don't ask that!" Embry reprimanded before Jacob could respond, "It's Leah! I don't wanna know this shit about Leah."
"We haven't… we haven't had sex," Jacob admitted.
"You haven't?"
"Not yet." Jacob couldn't look his friends in the eye. They shared a lot with each other; Jacob had told them right away the first time he and Alyssa had hooked up. And Jacob knew more than enough about Embry's sex life and that Quil's was non-existent.
"Dude, why not?"
Jacob shrugged, "I don't know. Just haven't had a chance yet, I guess. Hard when there are constantly other people around."
"You lost your virginity to Alyssa in the Rabbit," Embry deadpanned, looking straight at Jacob.
That was true. But somehow the Rabbit didn't exactly feel like a place he could do it with Leah. She was much taller than Alyssa. And it just didn't seem right. But Jacob wasn't about to tell his friends that. There were some things – okay, a lot of things – that they just didn't need to know.
"I don't know," Jacob said finally, failing to come up with an answer that he thought would satisfy them.
"Ooooh, Jacob's in love," Quil said in a sing-songy, mocking voice.
"Shut up." Jacob shoved Quil to the side, but he didn't have it in him to deny it.
"Does Seth know?" Embry asked, his tone serious.
"No." Leah and Jacob had talked about it, but they didn't come to any conclusions. Seth would find out eventually – and probably sooner, rather than later. There was no telling how he'd react, though Jacob suspected that Seth wouldn't mind one bit. Leah, however, was less confident, reminding Jacob several times what happened with Sam, and the anger that Seth felt, though less harsh than Leah's, was certainly there. Seth had always admired Jacob, but Leah was his sister.
"Does your dad know? What about Sue?" Quil pressed.
"Do you really think I'd tell Billy before I told you guys?" Jacob raised his eyebrows at his friends.
"I take it Sam doesn't know, either," Embry stared at Jacob, making Jacob feel uncomfortable.
"It's not Sam's business who Leah dates," Jacob said defensively. He threw the ball against the wall, catching it as it bounced back, "He's married now. It's not like he cares."
Jacob watched as Embry and Quil exchanged a knowing look. After feeling like he was floating on cloud nine all morning, Jacob had been brought back to earth after talking to Embry and Quil. The worst part was knowing that they were bringing up valid points.
"Have you talked about… imprinting?" Embry asked carefully.
"It's a new thing. We haven't figured out all the details," Jacob muttered. He knew it was weak. But he also knew that Embry and Quil were blinded by their imprints, unable to see other things clearly. Jacob had been in their minds enough to know that what he felt for Leah wasn't the same as an imprint, but it was just as strong. Even though Quil had teased him about it earlier, Jacob knew the truth: he was in love. Whatever that Quil, Embry, Seth, and all the others felt about their imprints, it wasn't what Jacob felt for Leah. And Jacob thought that was a good thing.
"These things take a while," Quil assured him, "You'll figure it out."
It wasn't like they had a choice, "Yeah, I guess we will."
Jacob followed Leah back to the Clearwater's place after the weekly meeting with the Elders feeling a bit like a lost puppy. Leah hadn't explicitly invited him back to her house, but she also hadn't said anything when Jacob didn't continue straight as they walked back after leaving the meeting. Their conversation about Jacob's latest car flip continued and so he figured she didn't mind.
Jacob found himself sitting in the Clearwater's kitchen, eating an apple he had stolen from the fruit bowl. Leah had taken an apple, as well, but she was also flipping through the book list that she had picked up from the community college the other day.
"Have you gotten yours?" Leah asked, looking up at him expectantly in between bites.
"Haven't made it to Port Angeles in a bit," Jacob shrugged, "I'll get there."
Leah raised her eyebrows, "School is only a few weeks away."
It was three weeks away and Jacob was choosing not to think about it. School had never been his thing; he'd only really ever put effort into it when he realized that if he passed an exam he could get out of high school early. While Peninsula Community College sounded far better than Quileute Tribal School, Jacob was still not looking forward to it.
"I'll get Embry to pick it up for me next time he goes to visit Alex."
Leah sighed in exasperation but didn't say anything. She continued flipping through the list, making notes with her pen every few minutes. Jacob poked her thigh with his foot, having finished his apple. She didn't look up. He did it again, daring to test the beast.
"What, Jacob?" Leah didn't look at him still, but at least this time she responded.
"Do you work today?" He was pretty sure she didn't, she rarely did on Sundays, but he still felt the need to ask.
"No."
"What are you doing then?"
"Well, it's Sunday, and we have patrol tonight, so I was probably going to take a nap. Is there something you want to do?"
There were a lot of things he wanted to do but he'd settle for napping with Leah.
"No."
"Good. Because I'm tired." Without saying anything else, Leah got up and tossed her apple core into the trash. Jacob stood up and followed Leah up the stairs, not bothering to wait for a formal invitation. He knew she wouldn't mind.
When they reached Leah's room, Leah fell onto her bed with a dramatic sigh. Jacob chuckled and curled up next to her. Immediately, Leah twisted against him and before Jacob could react, he felt her lips on his. For a few minutes, they did nothing but kiss, then, without warning, Leah rolled them over, so that she was hovering on top of him, giving him an excellent view of her breasts.
"I thought we were going to nap," Jacob teased breathlessly as Leah moved to straddle him. She ground her hips against him, creating friction that drove Jacob crazy.
Leah shrugged before lowering her lips to Jacob's chin, "Changed my mind."
Jacob smirked as Leah pressed light, feathery kisses across his face and down his neck. He let his hands trace her back, dipping under her shirt each time they reached her waist. Leah's hips ground down on him, causing him to let out a soft groan.
"Where's your brother?" he managed to get the words out before he lost all sense of control.
"Probably at the Cullen's or something. Don't talk about him."
That satisfied Jacob. Within seconds, their lips were pressed together again, teeth clanging awkwardly as Jacob moved to slip off Leah's shirt. They pulled apart for just long enough for Jacob to get her shirt off and toss it on the floor before Leah's lips were back on his, desperate and hot like they'd never kissed before. Jacob managed to get Leah's bra off a few seconds later, flinging it on the floor to join her shirt. His hands went straight to kneading her breasts and she let out a moan that made Jacob smirk against her neck. Her hips ground against his again and there was that sweet friction.
It was good (okay, it was great), but Jacob needed to slow down, lest he embarrass himself. Jacob flipped them over so that Leah was lying flat on her back and Jacob was hovering over her, kissing down her neck and lower and lower. His tongue ran over her nipple, hardening in his mouth and she arched up against him. He was so focused on what he was doing and the taste of her skin, the sweet, sweet taste of her skin, that he barely noticed her freeze.
"Stop," Leah said suddenly, sitting straight up and pushing him off of her, "Someone's coming."
So distracted Jacob had been by the sound of Leah's shallow breaths and the feel of her skin against his that he hadn't noticed the sound of the approaching car.
"Fuck," he said. His dick was tight against his pants and there was definitely someone coming. Jacob listened carefully for a second before he finally recognized the sound of the car, "It's Charlie."
"Charlie! What the fuck?" Leah hissed. She grabbed her bra from the floor and put it back on, before reaching for her shirt. She gestured at Jacob's crotch, "Go deal with that. I'll go… deal with Charlie."
She sighed and kissed Jacob once more longingly on the lips. Jacob watched as she left her room fully clothed. He was beginning to think that they might be cursed.
After he finished, Jacob closed the bathroom door softly, determined not to bring any attention to himself. As Jacob crept down the stairs, as quietly as he could, he was hit by the sound of not one, but two voices. Seth and Charlie were discussing Charlie's latest fishing trip. Before he made it down the stairs, Jacob caught a glimpse of Seth sitting next to Charlie with a distinctly unreadable expression on his face.
Jacob had half a mind to try to sneak out the front, before he could engage in any conversation with Charlie, or worse, Seth. But before he could, Seth called out to him. It only made sense. Seth was a wolf too and Jacob had an awful feeling that Seth had heard everything that Jacob had been doing up in the bathroom that Seth and Leah shared.
"Jacob?" Jacob couldn't quite place the tone of Seth's voice – it was somewhere between shock, anger, and confusion.
"Oh, hey, Seth. Hi, Charlie," Jacob tried to sound nonchalant but failed miserably.
"Jacob. Didn't know you were where. Billy at the same meeting as Sue?" Despite Charlie's awkward pose, he still seemed more relaxed than Jacob had seen him in a long time.
"Yeah, he is. They meet every week. Should be over with soon, though, I'd bet." There was no set end time for the Elder's meeting each week. After they dismissed the wolves, they just carried on until they'd taken care of business or caught up on all the gossip or both. But it was nearly three in the afternoon and they were likely to be done soon. Maybe it was a good thing that Leah and Jacob had stopped when they did, even if Jacob was sorely regretting it right now.
"What are you doing here, Jacob?" The accusatory note in Seth's voice echoed through the room.
"Just hanging out," Jacob answered calmly.
"I'm trying to get him to go to Port Angeles to pick up his book list," Leah said as if that was an explanation.
"I better get going. Might drive by the Community Center and see if their meeting is over," Charlie spoke suddenly, standing up. Jacob guessed he could sense the tension in the room; Charlie had never done well with awkward, "Tell Sue there's fish in the freezer."
"Will do," Seth chirped happily, as he followed Charlie to do the door, leaving Leah and Jacob to exchange horrified glances with each other. They both knew what was coming, "Thanks again for the ride!"
Jacob leaned up against the counter, his arms crossed. Leah sat on the couch, her legs curled up against her chest. It was must have looked funny, Jacob realized, the two of them so scared of her brother's wrath. Seth wasn't a fighter. They were stronger than him. They could take him easily. But Jacob knew that they wouldn't fight him. And for a terrible second, Jacob wondered if Leah would end things with him if Seth
"Are you two dating?" Seth demanded bluntly as soon as he had crossed the small house and re-entered the living room.
"Yeah," Jacob said, at the same time Leah said, "Yes."
Seth's eyes lit up, "Really?"
Jacob knew then that Seth was just attempting an act. It was hard for Jacob to keep a smile off his face; he knew he was in the clear, "Yeah."
"Bout time!" Seth cried triumphantly, "I told Embry and Quil that something was going on between you two! And they didn't believe me!"
Jacob and Leah exchanged an awkward look. Unable to keep a secret, Jacob had told Leah about his conversation with Embry and Quil – minus the part where they questioned about imprinting, of course. He knew that was a conversation he and Leah would have to have at some point, but for now, he was happily putting it off.
"They already know, don't they?" It was a striking question.
"We were trying to think of the best way to tell you. Sorry, kid," Leah did sound genuinely apologetic.
"I can't believe I was the last to know!" Seth cried, dejectedly, "I'm family!"
"If it makes you feel any better, Mom doesn't know yet, either."
"Is it a secret or something?" Seth asked.
Jacob shrugged, "It's not a secret, exactly…"
"But we're not telling everyone, either," Leah said quickly. Translation: it's not Sam's pack's business.
"I can keep a secret," Seth promised, suddenly solemn. He looked around at the two of them, locking eyes with Jacob for a brief moment, "I know you two will do what you want but just… be careful, okay?"
It was hard to know what Seth meant, though Jacob had several guesses. Don't get your hearts broken, don't make Seth pick between the two of them, don't do something stupid, don't fall in love. There were too many possibilities; too much that Seth was asking for. And Jacob didn't know if he could do any of it.
Lucky for Jacob, Leah spoke first in a kind, caring voice, "We'll be careful, kid."
"And don't do anything gross while I'm in the house! Actually, don't do anything gross in the house at all!"
At the moment, Seth sounded like a twelve-year-old, and Jacob couldn't help but laugh, despite the pointed look Seth was giving him. Leah's cheerful laughter joined Jacob's. Seth was glaring at both of them, clearly not amused.
"It's none of your business, kid," Leah managed between laughs.
"You're almost twenty-one, Leah. You should move out and get an apartment or something and do… whatever it is you do there," Seth still sounded a little indignant.
"Sure, sure," Leah rolled her eyes at her brother before smiling slyly at Jacob.
"Whatever. I gotta go. I'm supposed to meet Brady and Colin… That's why Charlie gave me a ride back anyway," Seth shook his head at the two of them. At that moment, it was easy to tell that he was Sue's kid, "I'm leaving. Behave."
"No promises!" Jacob smirked, still laughing a bit, "Have fun with Colin and Brady."
"That went better than expected," Leah said lowly, as soon as Seth had walked out the door.
"We dodged a bullet there," Jacob agreed.
"He might be right, though," Leah mused, causing Jacob a momentary panic.
"About what?" Jacob asked cautiously.
"I am turning twenty-one soon… Maybe I should move out."
Jacob shrugged, "So what?"
"So it's twenty-one. I can legally drink – stop laughing!"
It was too hard not to. It was well known that not being legal had never stopped Leah from drinking before. "Sorry, Leah," Jacob finally managed.
"You better get me something," she warned, her eyes narrowing, "You can't ignore my birthday now, Jake!"
"I will, I will," he promised. But his mind was starting to reel. What would he get her? It felt like another test.
"Good," she smiled at him. She crossed the room and stood right next to him, "So should we go take a nap now that we have the house to ourselves?"
Jacob didn't hesitate, instead grabbing her and picking her up bridal style and carrying Leah up the stairs to her room, happier that she was his girlfriend than ever before.
Leah's words had been echoing through Jacob's head for three days now. He was only seventeen and his girlfriend was about to turn twenty-one. And he felt like he had to get her something meaningful. Something good. Something that proved his worth. So he drove himself to Port Angeles, picked up his booklist (Leah hadn't stopped bugging him about it), and started shopping.
It would have been easier if Jacob had someone to consult with. But since he was shopping for Leah, she wasn't an option. And while the entire Pack knew now and their relationship was an open secret, he wasn't exactly ready to ask them. Seth would complain, Quil would make a joke, and Embry would think too hard about it and ask Jacob too many questions. And it certainly wasn't he something he could ask Rachel. They'd never had that type of relationship and he had a gut feeling that she might freak out that her childhood friend was dating her brother. So he was left to fend for himself and hope that whatever he decided on wasn't a total disaster.
For a town he'd been to so many times, Jacob wasn't sure where to start. There were a handful of nicer stores that Jacob had never once set foot in. He wished he at least had an idea of what he was looking for, but when he looked online for ideas, everything seemed so impersonal. Leah so rarely wore jewelry that a necklace would be useless. One site had suggested a stuffed animal, but the only animal he could think of was a wolf and he knew that Emily had one of those from Sam and he thought it better to avoid that, just to be safe. There were always flowers, but what would Leah do with flowers? She wasn't so girly like that – that was one of the reasons he liked her.
The first shop he tried was a bust. It was full of nothing but fancy cooking supplies and while he had seen Leah cook before, it wasn't a passion of hers. She liked food more than cooking, just the same as him. She'd accuse him of being sexist if she unwrapped any type of cookware.
The next store was a tiny antique store and Jacob spent approximately thirty seconds in there before deciding there was nothing in there that he could afford and he didn't want to risk breaking anything. It was too stuffy for Leah, anyway, and felt more appropriate for a fifty-year-old than a twenty-one-year-old.
Down the main street, there was another store that Jacob stopped in. It was larger and he felt like he could turn around without knocking anything over, which was a good start. The store was filled with all sorts of things, but Jacob went straight to the home goods. It felt like as good a place as any to start. Maybe Leah would like a mug? Even as he thought it, he knew it wasn't right. She rarely drank coffee and it's not like she had much of a need for warm beverages. But nonetheless, Jacob found himself heading towards the aisle filled with various brightly painted mugs.
"Hey, Jacob," Emily's soft voice surprised Jacob, causing him to turn around from the mug selection. He hadn't seen her since the wedding; he wasn't even aware that she and Sam had gotten back from their honeymoon. Ever since the accident, Emily had so rarely ventured out of her house, much less off the reservation. Jacob wasn't expecting to see her here.
"Hi, Emily," Jacob recovered smoothly, "How are you doing? How was the honeymoon?"
"It was great!" She exclaimed. Emily put the vase she was holding back on the shelf, "So nice. We saw whales! Have you ever been down there? To Santa Barbara?"
"I haven't, actually. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself."
"It was a great time," Emily gestured to the vase again and showed it to Jacob, "What do you think about this vase? I need one to put flowers in and I want to put it on the mantle, above the fireplace. Do you think this one is good?"
It was just a vase. Jacob didn't even know what vases were used for.
"Uh, yeah, it's great," he said as convincingly as possible.
Emily laughed, "It was a silly question. Someone gave me a gift card for this place and I wanted to use it to get a vase. What are you doing here?" She asked the last bit of the question as if she was just realizing that this wasn't exactly one of Jacob's normal hang-out spots.
"I'm looking for a present for someone," Jacob answered honestly, hoping she didn't ask too many questions. He looked around the store and realized that there was nothing in here that Leah would want.
He met Emily's eye, trying to keep his face emotionless and blank. But that was hard when he was thinking about Leah.
"Oh," she said in that way she had, the one that felt knowing, "Anyone special?"
"No," Jacob said automatically.
"Well, you can never go wrong with a nice mug and fancy coffee, if you're in doubt, and in need of a generic gift that isn't special." The emphasis on the last word confirmed that Emily didn't believe him.
"Cool," Jacob muttered. It wasn't like it was helpful advice, but it was what he asked for. Jacob put down the mug he'd been holding and turned to leave, realizing that his actions were directly contrary to Emily's advice, "Thanks, Emily."
"Jacob," Emily stopped him before he could leave the aisle, "Leah really likes fancy chocolate. Dark chocolate. The ones with caramels and almonds. I know she'd love a box of those."
"Uh… thanks," Jacob managed. He stared at Emily, trying to figure out how she knew. It wasn't like she had an enhanced sense of smell like Embry or Quil. Maybe they just really were that obvious.
"Bye, Jacob! Don't be a stranger!" From the smile on Emily's face, Jacob guessed that his reaction had confirmed Emily's suspicions.
"I won't!" Jacob promised as he walked away. Emily really did have her uses sometimes, he thought to himself as he walked out of the store empty-handed. Lucky for him, he knew exactly where the chocolate shop was.
A/N: So I apologize for the wait - apparently Microsoft Word expires now and it took me some time to get it temporarily re-activated. If anyone has any suggestions for word processors that aren't Word, I'd love to hear them
Also, there's only one chapter left! I'm hoping the final chapter will be coming soon but I just want to say that I've loved writing Jacob and Leah's story and this has made me a little emotional as I'm wrapping everything up. Please let me know your thoughts so far as we approach the end!
