The next three months went by in a blurry of long hot days spent at the beach and warm nights lying on Jacob's roof staring at the stars talking about any and everything. But then came August and Kali had to go back to school.
"Do you really have to leave? I mean, what am I going to do with myself?" Jacob asked for the hundred times as they sat on Kali's couch. He had her wrapped up in his arm as she cuddled into his side. She sighed and looked up at him. She loved this man more than she ever thought she would love anyone. And now she had to pack up and move back to her college, it was only a couple of hours away but still too far from Jacob. She was going to miss him like crazy.
"At least I'll be a senior! Only one more year and then we can move in together and get on with our lives." She said. This would normally freak out most guys, but her and Jacob talked about their futures all the time. They loved to sit up at night just planning where they wanted to live, what kind of house they wanted, how many kids, what kinds of dogs. Everything. She was never afraid to tell Jacob her desire to be with him forever, and as much as she couldn't believe it, he seemed to feel the same way.
There was still a small voice in the back of her head that worried about what he would do when she was gone. There were plenty of girls that had been eyeing Jacob up and down all summer. She just hoped he really did love her as much as she loved him.
"I can't wait," he leaned down and place a sweet kiss on her lips. She never got used to the warmth of his skin, but loved it all the same. What started of as a small peck soon turned into much more. Kali sat up and pushed herself into him, Jacob pushed her back until they were lying down with Jacob on top. He pulled away but only to continue a trail of scorching kisses down her chin to the back of her ear. Suddenly a moan escaped her lips, causing Jacob to freeze. He leaned away to look her in the eyes. Mortified she threw her hands over her face to hide her now bright red face. He slowly pulled her hands away from her face so he could look at her properly.
"Don't hide from me." He said with a smile. "Do you want to stop?" He asked softly.
"Is it bad that I don't? That I never want to stop?"
"No." As simple as that he pick her up and carried her into her bedroom. They spent the whole night memorizing every inch of each other, knowing it would be a long time before they would get the chance again. She felt no regret as she gave everything she had to offer the man in her bed. She waited her whole life for this moment, never having been with a man this way. She was pleased to find out Jacob was in the same situation.
When she woke up to her alarm telling her it was time to load up the car and get on the road. She groaned and rolled over searching the sheets. She frowned when her hands came up empty and sat straight up. Her worse fear coming true, he had left.
Just as the thought crossed her mind she hear the toilet flush in her bathroom. She felt a sigh of relief escape her and laid back down. She heard him wash his hands and the door open. He hadn't bothered to clothe himself, he stood in all his glory in front of Kali. She giggled and covered her head with the sheets.
"Jake! Put some clothes on!" She screamed.
"Why? It's not like you didn't see it all last night! Your turn!" He ripped the cover off of Kali exposing her naked body to his hungry eyes.
"Real mature." She rolled on to her back no longer attempting to cover herself. He smiled down at her, his eyes glazing over. "Like what you see?" She raised her eyebrows at him with a smirk.
"Very much so." He threw himself onto the bed next to her and pulled her into his side.
"I have to pack the car up." She reminded him as he traced small circles on her back.
"I know. I'm going to miss you." He kissed her shoulder leaving his head there.
"You'll find something to do to entertain yourself I'm sure." He raised his eyebrows at the tone of her voice. It sounded almost angry.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I won't be here. And the girls here have been staring at you all summer. They'll think we broke up or something and you'll forget all about me and-" He cut her off with his mouth pushing her back.
"Kali," he said when he pulled away, "I love you. More than anything else in this world. I don't even see other girls, and when I do, it's because I'm comparing them to you, and they never even come close. Never. You have nothing to worry about. I'm the one who should be worrying!" She smiled as he starting thinking about God knows what.
"Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You are five times the man than any guy I might meet at school." He didn't seem completely relieved but let it go.
"Come on, lets take a shower!" He said picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder as he walked into the bathroom.
It had been a month since Kali left for school and Jacob thought he was going to go crazy. He still hadn't told her the truth about where he came from and what he was. He was terrified she would get freaked out and leave him. This also meant that he couldn't explain the bond he had for her. The need to be around her all the time. The pull he felt whenever she was away toward her. He tried to keep himself busy at work and on the weekends he sat alone in his apartment and thought about Kali. They video chatted whenever she wasn't busy with class or her friends and texted throughout the whole day. This still wasn't enough for Jacob.
He didn't want to come off clingy or needy. But damn, he needed her! He felt his phone vibrate and felt an overcoming joy as he saw her picture on his phone.
"Hey, baby!" He answered the phone. He was sitting in the main office of the auto repair shop. He stepped outside to not disturb the people in the waiting room.
"Hey, Jake! How are you?" Her voice almost brought him to his knees.
"I'm alright. As good as I could get without you here." He said unable to hide the truth from her. Well this truth anyways.
"Well I have good news for you! I'm coming home this weekend. It's gonna be me you and my bed all weekend, baby!" She said the last part in a whisper making Jake think she was in public.
"Really? You're coming home?" He felt the excitement bubble within him.
"You betcha! I'm leaving here on Friday afternoon around three, so I should be there by five. You wanna go to dinner and a movie?" He couldn't talk he was so happy. So he nodded dumbly not realizing she couldn't see him.
He finally found his voice. "Yes, that sounds great!"
"Okay, I can't wait to see you! I gotta go, my class is about to start! Love you!"
"Love you too!" He replied as the dial tone took over. Today was Tuesday, he only had to make it three days before he got to see her again. He could do that.
The next day Jacob sat in Kali's family restaurant where they met all those months ago. Her father, Michael, came up to him with a smile on his face. He had accepted their relationship the first time Kali introduced them to each other. He could tell that Jacob cared very deeply for Kali. More than even he could understand.
"Hey Jake, how are you?" Michael asked as he grabbed him a beer and a basket of peanuts.
"Better now that I know Kali is coming home this weekend." He said happily as he took a sip of the beer. Even though Jake was technically only eighteen, his body was a mature twenty-five year old, and his fake ID said he was twenty-three. No one ever questioned him.
"Yeah, it'll be great to see her again. You would think I would get used to her being gone, this being her fourth year and everything. But I miss her everyday like it was her first." His voice suddenly filled with emotion but he turned his back on Jacob before he could see anything incriminating.
"Thankfully she'll be done soon and we can find somewhere to live..." Jacob trailed off. He hadn't thought of that yet. He had spent many hours daydreaming of their future together, how many kids, dogs, the kind of house they would have. But he never put much time into where that house might be. He wanted to go back to Washington eventually. When everything with Bella had calmed down. But now that he found Kali he didn't seem to care as much about Bella's situation. Of course it saddened him to think of her ending her life that way, but she had made her choice and there was nothing he could do to make her change her mind. He didn't have as much of a motivation anymore. He missed his father and the pack more than ever and wanted them to meet Kali and fall in love with her.
"Well, there are plenty of houses available in the area with the way the economy is now. I'm sure y'all can find a suitable first house to move into." It pleased Jake to see how comfortable Michael was with the prospect of them being together for a long time. But it also bothered him that Michael assumed they would live in the area, of course Jake couldn't blame him for assuming that outlook, he had never spoke otherwise.
Jacob didn't respond other than to nod his head. He looked down at his watch to see it was time to go back to work. He went to throw a couple of dollars down to pay for his drink when he saw Michael shake his head and roll his eyes. Jake smiled and left the money there anyways. He had no idea how many free drinks and meals he had gotten from Michael, but the thought he might be taking his daughter very far away for a very long time made Jake feel extremely guilty.
Jacob continued to pounder over the future all the way to work as he drove. He decided the best idea would be to visit La Push first, see if Kali even liked it there. She would have to be willing to get used to the cold before he even asked her to leave her warm sunny home of the south. He wouldn't take Kali anywhere she wouldn't be happy.
It was Friday afternoon and Jake was practically bouncing with excitement. Only one more hour until Kali would arrive at his apartment. Kevin wasn't home for the weekend as he went on a vacation with his current girlfriend. He ran through the apartment cleaning everything he touched. He even lit candles, more for fragrance than romance but figured it wouldn't hurt. The sent was Kali's favorite, Beach Sunset from a little candle shop in town. Sooner than he expected he heard a car pull into the drive way. He peaked out of the curtains to see her step out of her Jeep. She wore dark wash jeans and a oversized coral sweater. Her hair was up in a ponytail and minimal makeup. Just like Jacob liked.
He opened the door before she reached the stairs beaming at the most beautiful girl he has ever saw and ever would see. The moment she saw him she dropped her bag and sprinted towards him. Hitting his solid stomach with a loud thud as he picked her up and spun her around. He placed gentle kissed on the top of her head before setting her down on her feet and continuing those kisses to her temples, down the side of her cheek and finally on to her plump pink lips.
She put every ounce of passion she had in her tiny body into that kiss. It had been way too long- she needed Jake. She needed him now. She attempted to push him back but it was like trying to move a mountain. He understood what she wanted though and picked her up bridal style, never once moving his lips from hers and carried her into his bedroom kicking the door close.
He gently placed her on the bed and climbed over her. She pulled his shirt over his head and looked his body over. He smirked down at her, "Like what you see?" He questioned not giving her time to answer before his lips were on her again.
She knew that if she didn't stop now, she never would. So with high reluctance she pulled way from him again to see him frown down at her.
"We have dinner reservations in twenty minutes!" She answered looking at the digital clock on his nightstand. He sighed and nodded his head. He stood up and pulled his red polo back over his head. He reached a hand down to her and pulled her up to stand in front of him.
"Hi." She said simply with a smile.
"Hi." He answered leaning down to give her another sweet short kiss.
"How was your drive?" He asked reaching down to hold her hand as he pulled her out of his room and into the living room.
"It was alright, long and boring. But I'm so happy to be home. I missed you." She said pulling on his arm. He turned to look at her.
"I missed you too, baby. More than I thought possible." He smiled at her before going over to the bar to blow out the candles.
They drove to a nice seafood restaurant by the water, Jacob never letting go of her hand. Once they were seated and had ordered their drinks they began to catch up. Even with the constant communication Jacob could listen to her talk all day long and never get bored with what she was saying. She was finishing up a story about how a guy on a bicycle almost ran her over on her way to class and she saw that he was actually an old friend from middle school. She was laughing at her story but she stopped when she looked at Jake.
"What's wrong?" She asked rubbing her thumb across the back of Jacob's hand that was placed on the table in between them.
"Nothing, nothing. I just like looking at you." He smiled to reassure her.
She giggled. "How's Dad doing? I don't get to talk to him much."
"He's doing alright. He still misses you like crazy, he can't wait for you to be done with school so you can come home."
"That makes two of us."
"Make that three." They smiled at each other and Jake felt the question that had been bothering him since Tuesday pass through his mind again. Where would they live? Just as he was about to ask, their waitress came by to take their order.
When she left Jake opened his mouth to ask again.
"Wow, she was rude." Kali said frowning. This caught Jacob off guard. Kali never frowns- she's always smiling. She noticed his confused expression and explained.
"She was totally flirting with you! It's pretty obvious we're on a date together but she practically had her boobs in your face!" Her voice was shaky as she tried to control her anger. She knew that Jake could have any girl he wanted and was terrified that one day he would realize the same thing and leave her. She shuddered at the thought. She was annoyed to find Jacob laughing. She cut her eyes to him.
"Babe, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I don't even notice other girls. After I met you they seem to no longer exist. Trust me, it's me and you forever." She attempted to smile but she couldn't help but worry anyways.
"Anyways, I was going to ask you if you would like to come up to La Push during your Christmas break and meet my family?" Jacob asked with hope pouring through his voice.
"That would be nice, I always forget that you're so far from home. It must be hard on you." She said rubbing his hand again, sympathy in her eyes.
"Yeah, I get a little home sick every now and then. I do really miss my father and my pac- my friends but I really want you to meet them." He almost slipped up. He knew he would have to tell Kali eventually what he was but not tonight.
"I would love to come to La Push with you! How long would you want to stay?" She asked just as they brought our food out.
"However long you would like. I'm sure you'd like to be back here for Christmas, which is fine." He answered taking a bit of his salmon.
"We can stay in La Push for Christmas, if they'll have me. I'd love to actually have a white Christmas!" She said with a laugh. It was November here and still in the high sixties low seventies on a regular basis.
"I can pretty much guarantee it will snow at some point!" He laughed with her.
The continued talking about La Push, places he wanted to take her, people he wanted to introduce her to. When they were done eating they left for the movie theater. They had to drive a little out of the way to get to the small building that only played four movies at a time.
They stood outside of the ticket booth and looked over their options. There was a children's movie, an action movie, a romantic comedy, and a horror movie playing. Jacob expected her to ask for the romantic comedy but surprised him when she suggested the horror movie.
"What? It's been a long time since I saw anything scary!" She explained when she saw his bemused look. He laughed and when to the ticket counter paying for their tickets. Once they walked in she headed for the theater room with the title Devil's Road above it. Jacob, however, pulled her to a stop in front of the concession stand.
"You're still hungry?" She laughed as he nodded his head.
When it was his turn to order he couldn't help but notice the guys wondering eye. Kali was well covered but that didn't keep him from staring. Jacob tried to ignore it as he ordered a large popcorn, candy, and two drinks. He paid and pulled Kali away trying to hide her from the creeps view. Kali looked at Jacob's angry expression.
"What's wrong?" She asked once they sat down in the middle of the theater, they were twenty minutes early so it was empty besides one other couple.
"Nothing." He said taking a full hand of popcorn and shoving it in his mouth. Kali didn't buy it but decided to let it go. That was one thing Jacob loved most about her, she didn't press the way other girls did. She accepted his answer and moved on.
"Can I stay at your place tonight? Shelly's not home and I don't want to be alone after watching this." She asked placing her head on his shoulder.
"Of course. Kevin's gone for the weekend too, so we'll have the place to ourselves." He smiled at the though of what they could do with all their free time.
"Good." They sat in silence until the movie started just enjoying being with the other. It was a comfortable silence that never felt awkward.
Kali never moved her body away from Jacob throughout the entire movie and would occasionally hide her head behind his shoulder whenever it was too gory. Jacob definitely didn't mind. He actually enjoyed that Kali felt so safe with him without even knowing what he was. When something would jump out in the movie she would give a little squeal and then laugh at herself, another thing that amused Jacob. When the movie was over Kali finally leaned way from him to stretch out her arms and fingers.
"Can you believe it was just the old man? He seemed so sweet!" She said shaking her head at the thought. To be honest Jacob hadn't really been paying attention to the movie, all he could think about was getting Kali home. So he simply nodded his head and leaned down to pick up the empty popcorn bag.
They left the theater room and Jacob went to go throw away their trash. When he turned back around he saw the guy at the concession stand was now talking to Kali.
"If you're free tomorrow night I could take you-" He was asking when Jacob came up behind Kali.
"I'm not free tomorrow. Or anytime after that. I'll be spending the week with my boyfriend." She said the last word with heavy emphasis. Jacob wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled at the guy in front of them.
"Oh, okay then." He walked away his shoulders slumped.
Kali turned around to face Jacob. "Was that what was bothering you earlier?" She asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, but I didn't think he would actually come and ask you out, so I let it go. What an ass." He said wrapping his arm around her waist and walking out of the theater towards his car. She laughed and he looked down at her confused.
"We both get hit on in one night! How strange..." Jacob walked around to open her door for her and help her in. Once she was seated he leaned down to kiss her. She placed her hands on the back of his head and pulled him closer tangling her fingers in his hair. She moaned when he pulled away to kiss down her jaw to her neck.
"Take me home." She whispered seductively in his ear and he felt chills run down his spine.
"Gladly." He ran around to his side and started the car up. He raced them back to his place and all but carried her to his room.
"This never gets old." Kali commented as she pulled one of Jake's oversized T-shirts over her head. She laid back down beside Jake and place her head on his bare chest. She traced small circles on his hot skin as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"You can say that again." He said kissing the top of her head. It wasn't long until the circles stopped and he felt her breathing become deeper. "I love you." He whispered in the darkness and closed his eyes. He was happier in this moment than he ever thought possible.
He woke up to the smell of bacon and groaned searching the bed for Kali. When his hands came up empty he sat straight up, eyes wide open. His mild panic stopped when he heard her voice coming from the kitchen. She was singing to herself. He got up, sliding on a pair of jeans and walked into the kitchen. She was still in his T-shirt standing in front of the stove. He leaned against the doorframe and watched her dance from side to side singing some recent pop song. She turned around to get something from the refrigerator and jumped when she saw him standing there.
"Good morning." He said with a smirk.
"Good morning. Thank you for the heart attack." He pushed away from the wall and walked toward her wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her to him. He leaned down placing his forehead to hers.
"You're quite welcome. What are you cooking?" He placed small kissed on the side of her face down to behind her ear. She moaned when he nibbled on her ear and he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.
"Breakfast." She said breathlessly. He pulled away from her and looked over at the stove where she was frying bacon and had a pot full of grits. He smiled and went to sit down at the small round kitchen table.
"How did you sleep?" He asked as Kali grabbed the carton of eggs out of the refrigerator.
"Like a baby. You?" She was attempting to reach a bowl from the top shelf and the shirt she wore rose up ever so slight. Jake didn't realize he was staring until Kali cleared her throat and he looked up at her face. "Some help, please?"
He stood and walked behind her to grab the large plastic bowl.
"Thank you." She smiled up at him and he place a quick kiss on her plump lips.
"You're welcome. So what do you want to do today?" He asked and walked back to the kitchen table.
"I was thinking we could go out to the beach for a while. I need some salt water in my system." She had her back to him as she cracked the eggs into the bowl. She stopped to turn the bacon over. She knew that Jacob liked his bacon chewy.
"That sounds nice."
"Then we could probably stop by the restaurant to say hello to Dad." She began to beat the eggs together and took the done bacon out of the pain. She picked the hot pan up with a potholder and pour the extra grease into a mason jar in the sink and placed it back on the stove. The pan made a sizzling sound as she poured the eggs into it. She then stirred the grits noticing they were done and took them off the hot eye and onto one that was turned off. She went back to the eggs stirring them slowly around the pot, Jake ate six eggs by himself and she normally ate two. When they were done she poured them on two separate plates, grabbed Jake six pieces of bacon and a healthy serving of grits. She handed him the plate giving him a kiss in the process. She fixed her own plate and went to sit next to him. She already had her cup of coffee and noticed Jacob staring at it longingly.
"There's some more in the pot." She said standing up to make him a cup. He grabbed her forearm.
"I'll get it. Eat."
"No I'll get it. After last night you probably need to eat more than I do." She smirked and walked over to the cabinet where he kept the cups. She grabbed a blue coffee mug and poured him a half full glass. Then grabbed the sugar and put two tablespoons worth of sugar stirring the liquid until it was full dissolved. She grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator and filled the remainder of the glass until it was a light tan color. She put the milk back and stirred his coffee once more before handing it to him. He took a small sip, as it was still hot, and smiled at her.
"Perfect. As always." He said and dug back into his breakfast. She ate slightly slower taking her time to chew. She didn't want to rush this time she had with him.
When they were done Jacob picked up both their plates and rinsed them off in the sink. Kali went to pick up the dirty pots and pans but Jake stood in front of her, blocking her path.
"You cooked. I'll clean. Go relax." He said and pointed to the living room.
"No, I want to help. I made the mess." She said stubbornly and tried to walk around him. He stepped in front of her once again. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds before she gave in with a sigh.
"Fine, but I'm sitting in here." She walked back over to her seat at the kitchen table. He began to clean up and they chatted about different things. Kali seemed to be doing most of the talking. He wanted to hear everything, school, friends, and homework. So she told him not thinking anything she said was particularly interesting. When he finished drying the last pot and put it away he stood in front of Kali.
"I could listen to you talk all day long." He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes in response.
"I have a better idea." He raised his eyebrows. She stood up and grabbed his hand leaning him into the bedroom, she didn't stop until she reached the bathroom where she leaned over to turn the shower on and looked at him pointedly.
"You do smell kinda bad." Was all Jacob said before he nearly shoved her in the shower."
They were now sitting on the sand, Kali in between Jacob's legs. They faced the water in a comfortable silence. Happy just to be with each other.
"You want to get in? The water was still warm the other day." Jacob suggested placing his head on her shoulder.
"Let's do it!" She said standing up and pulling her loose T-shirt over her head and sliding her jean shorts off. Jacob watched with admiration, she really was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He ripped his shirt off as well and followed her into the surf. He stood in the warm water up to his waist. Kali dove into the next wave loving the way the water felt on her skin. It had been too long. When she resurfaced she was surprised to see how close Jacob was. He wrapped her up in his arms and pulled her as close to his body as possible. His warm skin, the warm water, and warm air was the most erotic feeling Kali had ever experienced.
"I love you." She said simply, looking him in the eyes. "I want to spend the rest of my life loving you."
"I love you. I will never let you go." They stared into each other eyes, Kali had her legs around his waist as he balanced them for every wave.
"Hey! Kali! Hey!" A loud voice broke them from their retrieve. They both looked toward the voice that seemed to be coming from behind Kali. It was Derrick. Great.
"Um, hey Derrick." Kali replied attempting to slid down. Jake kept a firm grip on her waist not allowing her to move.
"Oh...I see you two are still together." He was now standing in front of them. His face fell at the sight of them together.
"Yes, and extremely happy." Jacob stated a little forcefully.
"Well...I'm happy for you then." He didn't look happy at all. "Um, I don't know if you remembered our not, but my birthday is tomorrow, and I'm having a little get together at my place around eight, and you're more than welcome to come...and you can bring...Josh."
"Jacob." She corrected.
"Right, so you in?"
"Um, I actually have to leave tomorrow afternoon. But thanks for the offer. Have a good birthday." Kali answered.
"Oh, right. Okay, see you later. Nice to see you again, James." He began to swim away.
"I hope a shark eats him." Kali stated watching his retreating figure. She felt Jacob laugh and looked to see what could possibly be funny. "What? He's an asshole!"
"You are probably the sweetest girl I have ever met, and to see someone make you angry is a rare opportunity. Makes you feel a little more human to me." He explained placing a hand on the side of her face and stroked his thumb across her cheek.
"Are you saying I'm not human?" She mocked horror.
"You're too perfect to be human." He laughed and leaned down to places a sweet kiss on her lips.
They spent the rest of the weekend never leaving each other's sides. They stopped by to have dinner with her parents and brother's family. They spent one last loving night together before the next day when Kali slowly packed her bags once again and left to head back to school. They shared a longing kiss before she got into her Jeep and drove off, leaving Jacob behind with the annoying pulling sensation, like half of himself was in that car with her.
That's when he decided it was time to tell his father and the pack about Kali, and to prepare him for his return in December.