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Jacob
Dinner was so freaking good. Esme and Bella worked together to make the biggest, most delicious feast I have ever had. And that says a lot because I now have had seven Christmas's with the Cullen's. Leah has been acting extraordinarily normal and happy all day. She and Rosalie even helped clean up together. I feel like I have entered a whole new dimension of weird.
Nessie looks beautiful in her red sweater and jeans. Her hair lays flat over her shoulders. The curls compliment her wonderfully. I can't help but wonder if part of why she chose to wear it down is because of the hickey I gave her a few days ago. I hope it is still dark against her pale skin. I want her to remember that moment since I replay it in my mind often.
"Everyone, gather around the tree! It's exchange time!" Alice shouts from the top of the stairs. She carries a few last minute gifts. I do as I am told. To be honest, Alice is kind of scary when you piss her off. My gift for Nessie is on my pocket. I want to give it to her when we are alone. It's more special that way.
As usual Nessie is bombarded with gifts. She is obviously everyone's favorite. I swear, every year she walks away with more clothes, CDS, DVDS, and gift cards than some the richest kids in the world get.
I get the usual. From Carlisle and Esme, I receive a $200 to a local restaurant. Emmett and Rosalie always get me a gift basket stocked with junk food and deodorant. Alice and Jasper get me some nice shirts and a few extra pairs of shorts. Bella and Edward are the only two who ever buy me gifts separately. Edward gets me the same thing every year-$1,000 in cash.
Bella, like everyone else, gets me something similar every year. In the past she has always gotten me books. I'm not exactly sure why. I mean I read what she gives me, but only because I sometimes get bored. I think she does it because it is a safe gift. It doesn't poke fun at me. It isn't anything that can bring up the past. It's just simple and nice.
This year she got me Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov. On the inside cover she wrote: To Jacob. Don't take this book as a metaphorical account of you and Renesmee. The resemblance between you and Humbert Humbert are merely coincidence. Love Always, Bella Cullen.
Bella knows that I don't believe in coincidence. I guess I will have to read this one to figure it out. I got Leah and Seth both gift cards to Red Robin. They got me a gift card to Olive Garden. We werewolves are pretty easy to please.
When everyone is finally done exchanging, the group breaks up again. Edward goes to the piano and plays some Christmas music. Carlisle and Esme disappear to the kitchen. It is my chance to get Nessie away from the family to give her my gift. She meets my eyes and nods toward the stairs. She heads down and I wait a few minutes before descending too.
The first thing I notice when I enter her room is the smell. Nessie has candles lit all over the place. They are all festive smells that parallel the season. "I've got your gift right here," Nessie says as she digs in her desk. She pulls out a medium sized package and carries it to me.
I shake the box and listen. Unfortunately I can't make out what is inside. Nessie waits expectantly until I sit on her bed. I tear the wrapping paper slowly to watch her squirm. I smile when she reaches over to pull at the paper. "Just open it already!" she exclaims.
I do as she says. When I open the box all I see is those little Styrofoam package stuffer things. I dig to the bottom and clasp something small and metal. I pull it out only to find an iPOD. "It's like a giant mix CD. I put all my favorite songs that remind me of you on it," she says shyly.
My stomach tightens a little. I love this girl so much. "Thanks, Ness. I love it."
"There's something else," she replies. I dig my hand back in and feel around. My hand grips a thin piece of cloth. I pull it out slowly already guessing what it is. I'm right. Nessie has given me back the very first gift I ever bought her. It's a small t-shirt with a wolf on the front. I got this for her on our very first Christmas together. She only could wear it for a few weeks, but she rarely took it off that whole time.
"Ness, thanks," I honestly exclaim. "But this is yours."
"I wanted to give it back to you. I know how much you loved that shirt. It's just a memento of our time together."
"I love you," I sigh as I smell the shirt.
"I love you too." She places her hand gently on my knee and squeezes.
I set the shirt down next to me and reach in my pocket for her gift. I pull out the little bracelet first. I made one of these for Bella a long time ago. The difference between this one and the one I made for Bella though is the meaning behind it. This one took me longer too.
I hold it out with a smile to Nessie. Her face lights up as she takes it from my hands. "It's like Mom's!" she exclaims.
"Not exactly," I say as I show her the little wolf carving. This wolf it a little bigger. The bracelet also is solid all the way around except for the spot where the wolf hangs. I did this to ensure that Edward doesn't go and intrude again. I also did it so I could get the silver engraved. "It's engraved too," I add as I flip it over in her hand.
She takes a second to read what I have written and a single tear slips down her cheek once she processes. "It's so beautiful. Thank you Jacob."
"You're welcome. And I mean it. You will always be loved." She pulls into a hug and I wait for her to break the contact. I could stay this way forever though. "There's one more thing," I add once she breaks the hug. I reach into my pocket and pull it out.
Nessie
Jacob pulls out a silver chained necklace with a small silver locket on the end. The locket is heart shaped with purple gems as an outline. "My dad gave this to my mom on the day I was born. It was a gift for her in celebration of finally having a son. When she died, my dad gave it to me.
"Now I want to give it you," he says with a smile. "I didn't take out the pictures I have had in it for years, but you are welcome to change them out if you don't like them. I know you already have a locket from your parents, but I thought it was time to give it to you."
As Jake rambles on about whether or not I want to wear the necklace, I open the locket up. On the left there is a picture of a slim woman with Jake's eyes and smile. Her dark black hair falls in curls around her face. She looks as if she was laughing when the picture was taken.
On the right is a picture of a small boy, probably around five or six years old. His hair is spiked up with what looks to be water. He also smiles big, showing each of his tiny baby teeth. "Is this you?" I ask Jake, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah."
"And your mom?"
"That would be her," he says. "She was beautiful, huh?"
"She was gorgeous," I admit. "I see where you got your smile."
"I wish I could remember more about her. I was just so young when she died. I didn't even really understand what was going on."
"I'm sorry Jacob," I reply because I don't know what else to say. I have yet to deal with loss. "I want to keep these pictures."
"You really don't have to if you don't want," he says with hesitation.
"No. I want to. I like to see you as a child. It makes me happy to know things about your life before me. And I have your mom to thank for having you. I wish I could have met her."
"She'd love you," Jake states with no uncertainty. "Rebecca told me once that Mom always would joke with Renee about Bella and I growing up and getting married. I find it kind of ironic that I fell in love with Bella's daughter."
"What did Charlie and Billy say about those jokes?" I ask.
"I'm not sure about Dad. But Rebecca claims that Billy would get upset and say Bella was never going to grow up and get married."
"That sounds like Grandpa," I remark.
"Anyway, all that aside, I love you Nessie. And I want to give you that locket as a token of you officially being part of my life," he says holding my hand tight. "Forever."
"I have one more gift," I say as the idea forms in my mind.
"Yeah?"
"Yep." I stand and plug my iPOD into the speakers. I search quickly for a song with a good beat. I stop on "Your Love" by Nicki Minaj. When I push play, Jake's eyes cloud over in the cutest way. He raises an eyebrow waiting for my explanation. "Stand up!" I command playfully.
He stands reluctantly and sighs as I come closer. "You said you wanted to do more dancing," I tease. "But we don't have to if you don't want to."
"Dancing? Is that what we are doing?" Jake mocks ignorance. "Well I am all for dancing."
"Good." Jake stands close and pulls my hips against his body. I begin to rock back and forth on the beat. Jake follows my lead. Soon I get a little more courage and slide my hips in small circles over him. He keeps right up with me. Jake's hands slide into the pockets on my jeans. He pulls out the twenty that I have stored in it since breakfast and pretends to pocket it. He slides it back in my pocket when he's done with his joke.
The song ends much too soon. Because it's on shuffle, it switches to "Down by the Water" by The Drums. Jake turns me around and pulls me close for a slow dance. I'm not sure how it happens, but Jake and I eventually end up kissing. He picks me up and lays me down on my bed. He then lies down on top of me where he continues to kiss me tenderly.
I lose myself in his kiss, forgetting about everything. A clearing of the throat startles us both out of the kiss. Jake rolls off me and I sit up. Esme stands in my doorway with a sheepish grin. "Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you would want to know that Edward is about ready to come down here and take your arms off."
"Thanks," I mumble as I fix my hair.
"I'm gonna go upstairs," Jake says to me before kissing my forehead lightly. "I better make sure Leah is behaving."
"I'll be up in a minute," I say to both Jake and Grandma. They leave me alone in my embarrassment. Before I head back upstairs, I put the locket and bracelet on. I'm ready to show off my awesome gifts.