Chapter 11

Nessie POV

Jake and I rolled about the tent floor, unclothed and giggling. We were currently engaged in a passionate kiss and as he broke away from me he smiled down at the exact spot where I was dripping wet.

"It feels good to know that I can make a girl feel that way," he whispered into my ear, and I shivered, not because of the slight breeze which had picked up outside the tent but the sexy, husky way his voice sounded right now.

Jake promptly lay flat down on the floor, his legs curled up, and started licking me clean dry. That move only made me wetter, and he swallowed everything to the last drop without complaint.

He sat up on one of the beanbags, hoisting me on my knees beside him, and bit down hard on one of my nipples while he fingered the other sensually, then switched places with his lips and hands and gave each side the same treatment.

There would not be anyone for miles, unless Leah had suddenly decided to come back because she forgot something, which was unlikely. Part of my brain wondered what she was doing now. Was she packing, driving, sobbing, or what? I'd never seen Leah shed a tear before, with the iron-woman-and-smug-sneer-exterior she always had around me, with that snide air. But deep down inside, right in her heart, wasn't every woman the same? Every woman was emotionally inclined, and soft on the inside no matter how hard up she trained herself to be outside.

Jake teased me for awhile, adjusting himself around my most sensitive parts. He was being careful; but I didn't want that. I wanted no holding part on his side today, especially since I'd waited for this moment all my life.

When he knew I couldn't take the teasing anymore, he stuck himself right up into me. Waves of ecstasy washed over me the moment he did that. Although the difference here was larger than the Grand Canyon, I had experienced it before, with Sebastian. Only with Sebastian, I'd been a virgin at the time and experienced mostly pain…Well, not that I would have felt any sort of pleasure with him in that environment, or in any environment for that matter. Apart from Jake being, of course, my one and only true love, I had been forced to do it with Sebastian. Now, I was all but reluctant. Anyone would have to had been blind to say that I was unwilling at this moment.

"God, Ness, so…tight…" Jake muttered as he slammed harder into me, hitting spots I never knew existed. "Hey, sorry, I forgot to ask you the question."

"What?" I asked, oblivious at first. Then I realized what he was driving at. "Oh, no, Jake, I'm not a virgin, but you have to understand." He stopped what he was doing while I explained to him the whole story of Sebastian, before and after. He was practically shaking in anger when I was done.

"Looks like I might have to commit another murder," Jacob joked, laughing bitterly. "I can't imagine what it would be like to have lived a life like yours. I'm so sorry, Nessie, but life has been cruel to you, hasn't it?"

"Maybe," I yawned, feeling suddenly exhausted. "But where it has been cruel, at least it wasn't unfair. At least, for where it has been cruel, it has made everything up to me by letting me find you…fall in love with you…and have you love me back…"

The following weekend, Jake asked me out to dinner. No, no, not the kind of expensive restaurant buffet dinner, but just a simple dinner. It was just pizza and Coke in his old garage, he explained, nothing special.

Leah had left a note for us in the morning, explaining her absence. As she'd told us near the cliffs that afternoon, she was moving to Copenhagen to help Seth out again, just like all those years she'd done before Jacob had taken her back to Forks. Chocolate Fantasy was expanding mainly in Europe, but there were several chain stores in the States as well. Some months after Leah had left, Seth had moved the Chocolate Fantasy Main Office and Headquarters to Copenhagen from Apeldoorn.

The thing was, Leah had decided to leave her Forks mansion for us, as a "token of her love for Jacob", in the hope that "he would realize that Renesmee is not the best woman in the world and that he will come to love me someday". The last part is really mushy and I'm not going to read it out to you, but seriously…I had no idea Leah could actually write this stuff. Women are all soft inside, but Leah had never shown this "softer" side of her in front of me before, or at least she'd never dared to. The note had been found in Jacob's bedroom, so perhaps she'd assumed that he would have read the note alone.

While Jacob was out working, Rachel came over again, another unexpected visit. She wanted to know all the things that happened when Jake and I were alone in the tent that day, and I told her, but kept the more private, romantic details to myself. No need for her to know that.

Rachel learned of Jake's invitation. Despite my protests that it was only a casual, very simple dinner, Rachel insisted on choosing the perfect outfit and doing my hair. Amber was booked for the day, so Rachel did my hair herself instead. Fortunately, I got rid of one "beauty point", as Rachel liked to call it, by putting up a good argument against Rachel's pleas to allow her to take me to the Canthacey District again to do my nails. She had also "thought of the perfect style of makeup for a casual dinner".

On the day of the dinner, Rachel visited me again.

"You did great the last time, Ness," she gushed admirably, staring me up and down. "See? I told you…Jacob would have chosen you. I'm happy for you, of course, but also really thankful that he successfully got rid of the bitch. Imagine if I could get rid of her with a couple of words! Simple as that, I would have done it long ago."

Rachel reached into the walk-in closet to pull out a gauzy, translucent purplish-blue blouse with a curved-shape cut and gold petal rhinestones trailing down one side. She pulled out a tight gray tank-top to go underneath the blouse, and bland gray three-quarter pants to match, with spunky bright-yellow heels with a pointy front flat.

"There," Rachel announced triumphantly as she made me put the clothes on. "That's what you wear for a casual dinner. Tell me he's not going to do anything else with you tonight." She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the room. "I'll leave you to change and then I'll be right back with the makeup."

When I was done changing, Rachel forced me into a chair and wheeled it directly in front of the mirror, where she started dabbing my cheeks with faint blusher, not too heavy to keep the whole look light and natural. After all, it was a casual dinner. Thick mascara and jewels were unnecessary but a presentable outfit was. The old Renesmee would have thrown on a simple tee with jeans and running shoes with a worn-out Converse bag and left.

For my eyes to shine with the natural look, Rachel only accentuated my lashes and brown irises with powdery pink-brown eyeshadow containing the slightest bit of glittery shine. My eyebrows were then drawn carefully in a thin line with an extremely fine marked pencil, my lips glossed in a smooth once-over.

Rachel, once again, drove me to Jacob's old house. How can I thank her? If not for her, I would have long fallen into the hands of Death, not knowing of Jake's love for me. If not for her, I would have been the old, ugly Renesmee. If not for her, I would never have gotten to Jake's appointed meeting venues on time.

Billy, Jacob's father, had flown to Disneyland last June to attend the wedding ceremony of his beloved daughter, Rebecca Black. Since then, Rebecca had moved in to live with her Spanish husband in Pontevedra, Galicia. Billy had bought another house in Seattle and rarely came to visit. When he did, it was to lounge in front of the TV for half a day, or to go fishing with his old friend, Charlie Swan. The garage of this old, nearly abandoned house was Jacob's sort of workplace. He hadn't given up his hobby of fixing cars up ever since I'd met him years ago, and if his time wasn't being spent with me, at Leah's, or at the office, you would undoubtedly find him here. Leah had left us, left her sprawling Forks mansion, with such grand luxuries we couldn't possibly have afforded on our own, which certainly we did not need. I was considering selling the house and moving into Billy's old house.

Jake was waiting for me in the garage. Rachel had stopped the car a couple hundred feet away from the front door to avoid awkwardness at having a girlfriend in the middle of the driveway, embarrassed.

The pizza and soda was already waiting for me as well, along with Jake. How could I have cared about mere food when he was here, near me, loving me…

I smiled when I sat down beside him on the raised wooden plank two steps above the garage ground. I felt slightly overdressed next to him, even though neither of us commented, or at least bothered to comment. Jake was dressed casually and simply, in a navy tee with white shoulder stripes and cute faded jeans. He smiled back at me in a relaxed manner, and as a gentlemanly act offered me some pizza. I politely accepted a piece but stopped short when I saw the soda.

"One soda, one straw?" I questioned perceptively, raising one eyebrow and not meeting Jake's gaze.

He shrugged in response. "I thought you might enjoy it that way. You know, everything to make up for what I've done. You might have already forgiven me, but I haven't forgiven myself yet. Maybe spend some 'couple time', you know, together…" He trailed off, staring into my eyes.

"Right," I agreed easily. The thought of spending time with Jake – alone – made me understandably happy.

After we had our dinner, the sun had already set. For some reason Jake tugged me into his room, to "show me something".

"Come on, Ness, there's something important I gotta show you," he said. His voice contained lots of emotion. I placed it somewhere between eagerness and anxiety.

Confused and slightly bewildered, I followed Jake up to his old room, the room he had slept in his childhood days. I gasped when I saw the sight.

Multicolored strips of sequined banner hung from the ceiling, with traditional Japanese lanterns adorned with fake cherry blossoms and balloons hung among them. The room was lit up in a spectacular glow, and we didn't turn on the real, too-bright white lights in the room. Scented candles – vanilla, lavender, and rose – lit up the room as well, adding a romantic aroma which drifted between us. The walls had been plastered with midnight-blue-and-sapphire wallpaper, with glow-in-the-dark stars stuck randomly on it to create the classic night-sky effect.

Fresh roses – white, red, and pink – could be seen in every single corner. The whole setting was undeniably romantic, whether on sight or smell. "Jake, you did this?" I gasped breathlessly, still clutching on his arm.

Jake nodded. "You like?"

"Yes…" I whispered softly, taking in my new surroundings.

"That's not the real surprise yet," Jake said in a teasing voice, nudging my shoulder. He lifted me up onto the bed, which was adorned with fresh roses as well, and adjusted himself in a comfortable kneeling position next to the mattress.

I gasped again as realization sank in, but was unable to find the words to express my astonished feelings. Jake pulled out a box draped with red velvet from his jean pocket and slowly opened the box before me.

The thin silver band did not seem capable of supporting the diamond above it, which had to be at least 3 carats. The diamond wasn't the large, extravagant ones as those of the royal family, but it shone brightly even in the dim light, each individual facet separating into millions of glittering tiny ones, sparkling in all its glory.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen," Jacob said in that husky voice any girl could die for, "will you give me the honour of being your husband and make me the happiest man in the world by marrying me?"

"Oh, Jake," I cried, "yes!"

He slipped the ring onto my finger and our lips met once more.

"Thank you, Renesmee Black," he whispered into my mouth as we rolled onto the bed.

Subconsciously, we both smiled against each other's lips.