CHAPTER 7:
"Say cheese!" I cried, pointing the camera at Jacob.
"Oh, give me that!" He laughed. I snapped a picture of him reaching towards the camera.
We were just fooling around in the park, taking pictures of random things. We'd been here for about 3 hours, walking and talking.
That's the nice thing about Jacob and I. We don't need much to do- as long as we are together, we keep ourselves entertained. And we are happy that way.
"Okay. Make your silliest face, Nessie." Jacob instructed.
I laughed, sticking my tongue out and crossing my eyes, making the weirdest-possible expression. He quickly captured the photo before falling to his knees laughing. I dropped down beside him, laying on my back.
"Can I... see that... photo..." I managed to say between giggles.
"No, I'm keeping this forever!" He just sat there, chuckling as he looked through all the pictures we took.
I sighed and put my head back. We lay there on the grass for a while. I looked around me. It was a really nice day. The sun was shining bright, but the huge canopy of trees around us was keeping the light out of our eyes. There were actually plenty of people here today, eating lunch and watching their kids at the playground.
I started daydreaming about Jacob - as usual.
I guess I need to tell my family that we finally kissed. I mean, I'm sure they heard us talking or whatever. But they'd like to hear it from me. I can tell they've been waiting for this for a while. My mom will probably be pretty interested to know my... feelings. And I'm certain that my aunt Alice will freak out, wanting to know every single detail. I sighed. I guess me and Jacob could be considered 'dating' now. Does that mean he's my boyfriend? I liked the thought of that.
I wondered... has Jacob ever had a girlfriend? Like, before I exisited? I'm sure he has, I mean, he's been around so much longer and he's been the same age for a while. And he is... well, extremely attractive.
I was lost in my thoughts, so it caught me off guard when I heard Jake's voice. "Hey - Lizzie, right?"
I sat up, taking in my surroundings. There was a pretty, red-haired woman walking down the path beside us. She looked over as Jacob called her name from beside me.
"Oh... hey. You're the guy with the stolen car." She joked.
He laughed, "Good memory. The name's Jacob." I looked over at him curiously. Who was this girl? A past girlfriend, perhaps? That couldn't be - she didn't even know his name. I was so confused.
"And this is my girlfriend" he smiled, gesturing to me. "Renesmee." He beamed, and looked at me with such fascination.
I blushed, and looked up at the beautiful freckled girl. "Hey Lizzie."
She smiled at us. She was so gorgeous. "Hi Renesmee." She turned to Jake. "Well, it's nice to meet you again! It's been a while. It looks like you're doing...better."
"Yeah, thanks. I'm doing fantastic." Jake grinned. "Hope to see you again, Lizzie."
She started walking away, "Yeah, see you around then."
I watched her fade into the large crowd of people, and looked at Jacob questionably. That was random.
"Who was that?" I wondered aloud.
"Oh... just a girl that I'd met a while ago..." He was deep in thought.
"What? I don't understand."
He snapped back to reality. "When your mother was pregnant, I had driven here to... sort out my thoughts. We ended up meeting and talking for a bit." He shrugged.
"Oh, I see." I muttered. "She's so pretty."
He looked at me and rolled his eyes. He had noticed the jealousy in my tone. "Are you kidding me? I mean yeah, she's cute. But nothing compared to you."
I was the one that rolled my eyes this time. "Thanks Jake."
"Should we head out now?" He stood up, holding out his hand to me.
"Sure.. let's go." I agreed, grabbing his arm. He pulled me up into a long hug. I breathed in his musky scent. I haven't realised it until now how much I loved the way he smelt.
We ran back to the parking lot - at normal human speed, of course. It was hard to race him when I was trying to go slow. He beat me, and teased me the whole ride back. But he didn't bring me home; we stopped at his house.
"What are we doing here?" I asked.
"Can't we hang out at my house once and a while?" He teased.
I shrugged, getting out the the car and walking up to the lot.
Shortly after Jacob imprinted on me, he purchased his own house only two minutes away from me and my parents. (He wanted to be as close to me as he could - my mom told me that he had suggested moving in with us, but my dad refused.) It was a pretty old shack when he bought it, but he's been doing renovations. It's starting to look like a cozy little home.
I twisted the doorknob, and it swung open.
"Jake, it's not safe to leave your doors unlocked!" I scolded him.
"Oh yeah right - who would want to break into this piece-of-crap dump? There's nothing to steal. Plus, it's basically in the middle of nowhere..."
I skipped up the ricketty staircase that lead to the only room upstairs; his bedroom. It was definitely my favourite place in his house; he had personalized it with photos and his favourite things. Inside there was a desk with an old laptop, a big bed with red blankets, and a corner where he plastered the wall with all his photos.
I looked over his wall of memories, noting each picture. There was one of the old wolfpack, before it got complicated and grew. I knew all the faces, but there were about twice as many members now. There was another one of me and Jake when I was about a year old. We looked really cute; me tugging at his hair and him poking my face. I laughed aloud.
"What's so funny?" Jacob suddenly breathed at my ear. I shivered.
"These photos are just so great."
"That's why they're up there. Oh, I'm going to print out the photos from today!" He proclaimed. He left my side and started fiddling with the computer and camera.
I continued to study the photos in the corner. On the left, it looked as though he had added some sketches. They were drawings of charms and necklaces. There was one that looked very similar to the gift he gave me. There were more; some flowers, wolves, and keys. They were beautiful.
"Jake... these are amazing." I said. "I never knew you could draw like this."
"Oh.. thanks..." He said absent-mindedly. "There's one of you, too." I could hear the smile in his voice.
I searched for the sketch he mentioned, and gasped in awe when I located it on the wall.
It was a portrait of my face. I could definitely tell it was me, it was so detailed and... perfect. It could easily be a photograph from a camera. In the drawing, I was smiling wide, my eyes sparkling and my face glowing. My long dark hair was blowing in the wind. I looked... pretty.
"Holy cow, Jake..." I stared back at him.
"Cows aren't holy. But thanks." He turned and winked at me. "These photos are just finishing..." He mumbled. When the printer was done, he took the stack of pictures and sat on his bed. I joined Jake, looking through all of them.
We giggled as some funny one's turned up; him nearly falling out of a tree; me laughing at him for who-knows-what; him licking my face - then me looking at him in disgust. Today was a good day at the park, I'm glad we had so much fun.
"I'm going to post them up on the wall." He smiled, standing up and pinning them beside the other photos.
I was starting to feel tired; it's been a full day. I looked out of his window - it was starting to get dark.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"It's about... 7. Want to go home now? It's been a long day." He smiled, basically reading my mind.
"Yeah, sure."
I grabbed my camera from the desk, then hurried downstairs and out the door. I followed Jake to the car, and then I had a thought.
"Hey Jacob..." I hesitated. "Do you think I could drive?"
He swiftly looked at me with fear and anxietly. I almost laughed aloud at his expression. He looked so torn. It was just a car, for goodness sakes.
"Oh... Ness..." He groaned.
"Come on! You trust me... right?"
I could almost hear his internal struggle. He wanted to trust me, but he just loved his new car so much. He couldn't live through anything happening to it.
"It's okay... I understand." I faked a pout.
"Ugh! Fine. You can drive." He growled. He couldn't stand me feeling the least bit upset. I lit up, surprised. Really? He would let me?
"Wow - Thanks Jacob!" I skipped past him to the drivers side, and hopped in. I stroked the wheel, waiting as he struggled into the passenger seat. He looked a lot grumpier.
"Oh, Jake. It's okay. I'll be fine." I assured him. He sighed, and nodded.
"Ok - do I need to show you how to work everything?" He started.
"No. I've driven my auntie's car a couple times. I've got this." My aunt Rose has a Vanquish too, although it's yellow and not a convertible.
I started the engine, and slowly backed out of the driveway. At first he looked anxious, but once I started moving at a faster pace - what we're used to - Jake calmed down; he recognized my smooth driving.
It took me a minute and a half to drive up to our little cottage of a house. I cut off the engine, and turned to grab my camera from the back seat.
"Don't forget about our little rendez-vous tomorrow, Ness." Jake reminded me. "I'll be waiting here for you in the morning."
"Right. Okay."
He kissed me softly on the lips before I stumbled out of the car and let myself into the house, listening to him take the wheel and drive off.