Chapter Four: Reactions
Oh, this man just pisses me off so much. What? I have no right to be here? I mean, I know it's the middle of the night, but can't a girl sleep over at her best friend's house? He's just so controlling sometimes. What claim does he think he has on me, huh? If it were anyone else, I probably would've started swinging fists. As it were Jake couldn't take rough housing very much anymore, but that still doesn't give him the right to get mad at me for being here. I stared defiantly up at him. I'm not taking shit from anyone, not even him. Especially not him. He's my best friend. We should be able to work this out as equals. I mean, he's not my alpha, not in the commanding sense anyway. Unfortunately for me, Jacob stared right on back. We were two dominant people who didn't take shit from each other, not that it ever got us anywhere.
We must've been standing there for minutes, neither one of us willing to give in. Except, for once, I was actually considering giving in at this moment. My leg was fucking killing me from standing so long. I shifted to my good leg. Jake smirked as he noticed the small movement. Dammit. He knows I'm struggling. Any other time, I would just push the pain away except…. Hmmm… I could use this to my advantage. Jake never could stand seeing me in pain, so I shifted back to my bad leg, placing all my weight on it. Jake's eyebrows creased in confusion.
I let the pain grow. Holy shit, it hurt. Come on, come on. I've been crying non-stop for the past twenty-four hours, and now when I need to bring on the tears, they're just not coming. I focused on the pain. God damn. I wasn't sure how much more I could take of this. Meanwhile, Jake was starting to look more and more concerned. Finally, tears began to well up in my eyes. My plan worked perfectly. Jake broke.
Jake pulled me into his arms, resting his cheek on the top of my head. I was no longer standing, thank God! I buried my face in his neck and breathed in his scent. It was the best smell ever: woodsy mixed with the scent of fresh water like from a running river. Oh, man. I was getting lost in him. I love his scent. Jacob's scent. I could stay here forever.
"Can we talk somewhere where we're alone?" I whisper.
I felt Jake's body shift as he began walking away from the pack. I heard the back door slide open and the cool air hit the back of my neck. He set me down on the swing sitting on Seth's back porch. The movement created by Jake sitting down next to me is soothing. I pull my good leg up and sit on it with my other leg dangling over the edge of the seat. I'm facing Jake, so I just watch just watch him staring out into the night. After a few moments, he emerges from his trance and turns to me.
"Hey," I whisper.
"Hey." He's still short with me.
"This is how we should've greeted in each other in there," I try to joke to release some of the tension.
"Mmm."
Come on, Jake. Say something else, something more. This is not good. He's obviously still upset about earlier. Oh, man. I'm going to have to apologize. I am not good with apologies. Not even a little. I hate apologies.
"Jake, about earlier, I'm.." I pause. I just can't bring myself to say it. He's just looking at me, expectantly. Could he make this any harder?
I duck my head and take a deep breath. When I look back up, I see a huge smile on his face and he's barely holding back laughter. Apparently, he could make it harder.
"What? What's so funny?"
"I'm just…" he's practically choking. He clears his throat and says, "Nevermind." However, he still has that stupid grin on his face. "Go on, please."
He's clearly enjoying this. "I'm sorry, okay?!" I blurt out. "I didn't mean what I said. I love you care about me. You're my best friend, and you're everything to me. You're my dog," I laugh while ruffling his hair. He starts to laugh again.
"Okay, seriously Jake, what the hell?" Here I am trying to apologize, and he just keeps laughing. He knows me too well. He knows I'm uncomfortable with this.
"I'm just trying to guess what your reaction will be. It's kinda funny to think about especially since you're already uncomfortable after apologizing." He's in hysterics, now.
"Reaction to what?"
He suddenly becomes serious. "Well I don't have much to lose anymore, so you're reaction to this."
Jake rests his hand on my cheek. What the fuck is he doing? His hand is so warm. Maybe he's trying to torture me. Before I can comprehend what is happening, his lips are pressing against mine. Hard.
Oh. My. God. I can't think. I can't even move.
When he pulls away, I can tell he's trying to gauge my reaction. I, however, know exactly how I feel. I raise my hand and place it on his cheek. I feel Jake's lips slip into a grin.
Then, I take my hand away and slap him as hard as I possibly can.