Struggling to be Honest
JacobxBella
Rated M
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers
Struggling to be Honest
Chapter 11
Bella and Jake were taking a walk along First Beach, hand in hand and enjoying the quiet. It had been a rather trying morning for Bella and Jacob wanted to take her somewhere to relax her. After all, he himself had spent many hours sitting on the beach contemplating his life, whether it had to do with Pack duties, his rivalry with the bloodsucker, or his undying love for Bella. Either way, just being here out in the open of the salty air and listening to the waves roll onto the shore calmed him, and he hoped it would do the same for Bella.
Speaking of Bella, she was breathing in the fresh air, letting it sink into her senses. She loved walking along the sandy beach holding Jacob's hand, the heels of their shoes sinking into the sand as they walked. She remembered how just a year ago she had been here with her high school friends and Jacob and his friends had showed up, and how she failed at her attempts of flirtation with Jacob as she pried any information he had on the Cullen family so she could figure out Edward's true nature. She was ashamed now that she had done that, using her best friend that way just because she was too stubborn to ignore the vampire. Bella knew Jacob had liked her back then and used it against him. It made her wonder if that made her a bad person. She had used her new boyfriend to learn about her old boyfriend, then let herself become completely immersed in his world and family, completely ignoring her other friends and by some extension her father, and then willingly allowed herself to be caught up in so much shit that she felt as if she needed to bend to others' will to keep the peace. Bella always had a bit of a low self-esteem, and then ends up dating a vampire that made herself feel even more inadequate. How messed up in the head was she?
But Jacob, Jacob made her feel beautiful and better about herself without any effort. Sure, he told her all the time that she was beautiful and worthy of him without her believing it, but now she did and couldn't be happier knowing that no matter what, Jacob wouldn't think any less of her.
"What are you smiling about?" Jacob's voice asked, breaking through her thoughts. Looking up, Bella found Jacob smiling as he looked at her, his eyes shining. She didn't realize that they had stopped walking until just now. Blushing she shook her head and answered, "Nothing really."
Jacob smiled and teasingly poked her saying, "Now come on, Bells. I know you better than that. Come on, tell me what's on your mind."
Bella giggled and said, "Alright, alright. I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you and how you helped me realize that I'm perfect just the way I am."
"Wow, Bella. That…that was so cheesy!" Jacob said, running away from his girlfriend when she hit him in his shoulder, giving chase to him the moment he began running.
"You jerk! You were the one who wanted to know!" Bella yelled after him, laughter on her lips as she listened to the young man's laugh. She slowed her run until she was standing still, her hand over her heart as she caught her breath. Jacob, who had stopped running as well, turned around and walked back over to Bella. Once he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and held her closely as he inhaled the sweet strawberry scent that seemed to be embedded in her brown locks.
Bella smiled contentedly and pulled away a bit to gaze up at Jacob before standing on her toes to press her lips against his. Jacob kissed her back sweetly before pulling away, a sudden serious lookon his face. Alarmed, Bella asked him what was wrong.
Jacob took a deep breath and sat down on the sand, gently pulling Bella with him until she was situated on his lap. When he made sure she was comfortable, he said, "Bells, there is something that I need to tell you. It's about what happened yesterday in the Taj."
"You mean the sex?" Bella asked with a slight blush on her cheeks. Jacob smiled a bit before it was gone, saying, "I mean what happened before that. Did you feel this really strong force when I looked you in the eye?"
Bella thought for a bit, remembering exactly what he had said had happened. She could distinctively remember that it had made her knees buckle. She remembered feeling grounded and at the same time like she was soaring. And furthermore, her thoughts only seemed to be full of nothing but Jacob.
Her eyes widened in realization of what had happened the day before. Holding Jacob's face between her hands, she whispered, "You imprinted on me."
A nod and a grin were her response, letting her know that she had hit the nail right on the head. Jacob kissed her cheek and softly said, "You see, Bella? I told you that there was only ever going to be you."
Grinning brightly Bella giggled a bit before pulling the young man's face to hers to kiss him passionately. Her kiss was returned with fervor and the two of them sat and made out for a while before pulling away for air. Putting her forehead against his, Bella whispered, "I love you, Jake."
"I love you, too," Jacob replied, kissing her lips once more. The two of them were in their own world, enjoying each other and the sensations that their kisses gave to each other when it was suddenly interrupted.
"Jake?" a voice said, catching their attention. Looking up, both Jacob and Bella felt their stomach's drop when they saw Leah standing near them with a very hurt expression on her face.
Author's Note: Happy New Year!