.iii.
Paul guides Bella with a hand at the small of her back, leading her through the tribe's pow wow. His friends look indignant when they spot the little paleface with him. Paul waves his hand in their direction to silence their catcalls and off-color comments and loud mutterings about doing favors and scratching backs.
Bella tries to keep her cool despite the hot blush she feels spread across her cheeks at their reference to back scratching and he throws her a secret smile.
They've been doing a lot of scratching lately and Paul has red welts the size of girl-fingers on the skin between his shoulder blades to prove it.