Thanks again for the wonderful reviews! It truly warms my heart to hear from you readers! I'm travelling tomorrow so the next chapter may be a bit late. Will try to post in the night or early morning if I can.

So this is one of my favorite chapters for Jake and Leah, it's short and sweet. I call it the Cucumber chapter. :)

I do not own Twilight! But I love me some pack.

FOURTEEN

For her parents' wedding anniversary Leah made a date for manicures and massages, a girl's day out with her mother. Jacob was taking Nessie to the zoo on a playdate with friends from school. He'd really wanted her to come but this felt more important for Leah to commit to. Her mother often got sad at this time of year and Leah didn't want that.

"So things with Jacob are still going well?" Sue asked, as their feet were being scrubbed by two Vietnamese women who themselves were very quietly chattering away in their native tongue.

"Yes Mom. I can't deny, he's been wonderful. I don't think Sam ever made me THIS happy before. Honestly, nothing gets to me anymore. I swear his sunshine attitude is starting to rub off." The only thing that got Jacob upset, that Leah could see, was talking about Bella.

"You're beaming Lee. I can see that you really mean it. As much as I worry that things are moving too fast, I'm happy for you. Maybe I should find myself a younger man too."

Leah laughed and swatted her mother. "Ask Sethy if he's got a friend – a doctor friend."

Sue shivered in disgust. "I take that back."

"But seriously though Mom. It's been so long, too long. Daddy would never begrudge you finding happiness again. Don't you want to go on a date? Have someone hold you at night?"

Sue sighed and nodded. "I do sometimes, and then sometimes I remember how it felt to do those things with Harry and I can't imagine replacing him. I still know what he feels like, even after all this time. It's hard to move past even when I think I want to."

"Oh Mom," Leah whispered, reaching out and clutching her mother's fingers. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how that feels."

"I hope you never have to either. But don't think I'm sad all the time. It's just days like these that are hard. I remember so many anniversaries, it's hard not to miss him."

"I miss him too, all the time. I remember his laugh, his smile, the way he talked. I carry him with me always. Jacob feels the same way about his mother. He tries to hold on to those little things."

"When did she die?"

"When he was nine. Car accident."

"Oh no, poor boy."

"Yeah…I admire him so much for how he's cared for his father all these years, since he was a young teenager. And then to become a father and a husband at seventeen? He's spent his whole life taking care of others."

"Wow. That is very commendable, shows so much about his personality – he's dependable. And the Black men are chiefs right? So that means that they're made of tough stock. That's the kind of man to settle down with."

Leah smiled at her mother, feeling as though she'd finally gained genuine approval.

Leah made good on her promise to take Donna out to meet Jacob and a suitable friend. She arranged dinner at her favorite Indian restaurant, a reservation for four. Embry was the lucky guy. He was the only one of Jacob's friends old enough to even be considered – he was twenty-five. Donna didn't seem to mind the age gap. "Hell, if you're cool with it, so am I!" was her response when Leah told her.

Leah was nervous for some reason. She took great care in choosing her clothing, settling on a forest green halter top pantsuit that dipped dangerously low in the front and had no back to speak of. The pant fit her bottom snug like a bug in a rug and then gradually flared to the ankles. She wore gold heels to match and her usual gold accessories. She was still getting used to the absence of her wedding bands, opting to wear another ring on her middle finger instead to satisfy her nervous habit of twisting her rings.

When Jacob arrived he whistled and shook his head. "Are you sure you can leave home like that?" He asked, slowly walking a circle around her. He himself was dressed in a navy button up shirt with dark khaki slacks and brown suede shoes which were a gift from Leah's most recent trip to the mall. She'd found herself picking up things here and there that she knew would look great on him, Nessie or Billy. Her next attempt would be to buy him a nice sports coat or something more semiformal for nights out like this, but realistically, Leah knew it would have to be custom-made, and getting Jacob to agree to that wouldn't be easy. He was large and his temperature naturally ran warm, so he preferred never to be over-dressed for personal comfort. He was simply a casual guy.

"Why wouldn't I?" Leah looked down at herself, confused.

"Leah, how do you expect me to keep my hands off of you let alone conduct adult dinner conversation? You can't be serious." Jacob snorted, holding his hands out to her in a helpless gesture.

She guffawed, shaking her head, expecting him to laugh along with his joke, but no. Jacob was still checking her out, and he seemed to be dead serious.

"I'll wear a shawl if that will help," she said smugly, adding an extra sway to her hips as she dipped into the hall closet for a Hermes.

"Oh hell no." Jacob yanked the scarf away and threw it back into the closet, not even bothering to hang it up.

"Hey! That's expensive!" Leah swatted his arm.

"So will my doctor bill be if I keep looking at you. I'm going to have a coronary episode." Jacob growled into her neck, pulling her against his chest where she could feel his erection against her bottom. The heels gave her an added height so they were perfectly fitted together standing up.

She gyrated a little, causing him to growl again. "I promise I'll give you a little special viewing when we get home."

Nessie was with Kim tonight so Jacob would be sleeping over again. They tried to make it happen at least once a week.

"We should cancel, let them go on the date without us. Embry is a big boy, he can handle himself, promise. I on the other hand, am dying here." He rubbed his rock-hard cock against her again. Leah stifled a groan, mustering her will to deny him what they both now wanted.

She pulled away and grabbed her coat. "No thanks, Donna will kill me if I ditch her. Come on, be a good boy and you'll get your reward later."

"When I say 'cucumber' that means it's time to go, no questions asked, no delays," Jacob warned as he followed Leah out into the garage, to the Mercedes.

Leah laughed at his choice of code word and slid into the passenger's side. Jacob loved driving her baby and she loved watching him enjoy it.

When they pulled up to the restaurant, Jacob secured his hand around her waist as they walked inside. Leah knew he was being territorial and didn't fail to notice the few looks of awe that did happen to come her way.

"Women are looking at you too you know?" She told him, hoping he'd relax.

"Yeah but they won't be so bold. I'm out of your league, these rich old men won't hesitate to throw play your way," Jacob grumbled as he adjusted his large frame in the seat.

"Ja-cob," Leah scolded. They'd had this discussion before. "We're evenly matched, don't you dare start that again." She leaned over and kissed his lips, then gently rubbed them to remove excess lipstick she knew wasn't there. That was for the benefit of all the people who couldn't mind their own business.

Jacob smiled and looked her warmly in the eyes, making Leah tingle with adoration. "I'll happily delude myself to think that since you are so determined to; you know that honey."

Leah rolled her eyes and shook her head at her man. "You're incorrigible."

"So you tell me."

Not long after, the other parties arrived and introductions went smoothly. The group of four started off with drinks and appetizers of samosas and phlourie balls with tangy dipping sauces. Jacob discovered that he loved Indian food and Leah promised to bring him back soon. She used to come to the place with Sam for her birthday and it felt strange coming without him, but also refreshing. Their dinners had never been this loud or fun.

Donna was always the life of the party wherever she went, and tonight was no different. She and Embry seemed to hit it off and were both matching each other with stories about Leah and Jacob. Donna and Leah really didn't go out much but there were enough stories from the office and gym for Donna to share. Most of them Leah didn't even remember – and most involved Leah telling off some guy or the other.

They were enjoying the main course of curried meats, roti, basmati rice and seasoned vegetables when Emily walked up to Leah at the table.

"Leah, hi." She said with a wide smile. The little scar on her right cheek shimmered under the light above. She'd gotten attacked by a dog when they were little.

"Hello…Emily, fancy seeing you here at my favorite restaurant," Leah answered coldly, marking her territory. Jacob looked up in surprise, wiping his mouth and instantly reaching his hand around the back of Leah's chair in a show of solidarity.

"Yes well, Sam introduced me to the place, turns out I love it too."

"Oh, what a surprise!" Leah deadpanned. Her cousin seemed to want everything that Leah considered hers.

"I'm just here with a couple of friends, Sam is away on business, you know how it goes," Emily continued. Leah knew that she wasn't trying to rub salt in her wounds. She was just showing off a little for herself. Emily was simple-minded and had come from nothing basically, and with Sam, Leah was sure she was living a life she'd never imagined could be hers. Leah had often wondered if that was why her cousin had no qualms taking her husband, or if she truly loved Sam. Maybe Emily just wanted to move up in the world by any means necessary, Leah figured.

Tonight she was dressed in a short and tight silver dress and heels which were nice and clearly expensive, but Leah didn't find the ensemble to suit her cousin's homely personality – or figure. It either had to be that Sam was trying to shape Emily into someone she could never be or Emily herself was trying her best to imitate Leah's style. It just screamed pathetic.

"Yeah I do know, and I don't miss it. So how's that going anyway? I hope you've found something to take up your time in his frequent absence?" With no degree Leah had to wonder what Emily did all day.

Emily rolled her eyes and smirked. "I'm doing just fine thank you. I've got a lot on my plate these days with charitable work and taking care of Sam. Anyhoo, I won't keep you from your dinner. I just wanted to say hi since we're both here and all. It would be rude not to speak, we are family."

Leah snorted. "No no Emily. We stopped being family the moment you ruined mine. But have a nice life." An imitation life, she almost added.

Jacob cupped Leah's shoulder and pulled her a little to him so that he could kiss her on the temple, his eyes never leaving the woman who was walking away from them. "You okay honey?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Leah took a deep breath then downed the rest of her wine. "Order me another, will you?"

"So, we finally get to put a face to that heartless bitch," Donna groused, her eyes shooting daggers across the room to where Leah figured Emily was sitting.

"She's got nothing on you, Leah." Embry offered.

"Thanks guys but I really don't want to talk about her – please," Leah requested, tight-lipped.

"Sure," Donna and Embry both answered, and turned back to their food.

Leah felt like her night was ruined and there was only one person who could turn it around and make her forget about her thief of a cousin. Only Jacob made her life happy and better than it had been with Sam; and right now, she needed him to show her just how much that was true.

"Cucumber," she whispered to her lover, not more than twenty minutes later.