CHAPTERr 6: BOOKS, BEACHES AND BOXES

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

I led Bella to the lip of the pool, holding her hand tightly. The deck was wet, and therefore slippery, and well, with her history, you can see my concern, right?

Walking slowly down the steps and into the water, I wrapped my arm around her waist. I promised Charlie to watch out for her, cringing at the thought of having to call with the news—well, it was like this; she slipped on the steps on her way down into the pool. She only needed a few stitches, and the doc said the head injury was minor. Yeah, that would be some conversation. I could almost see his face all purple, and feel the virtual bullet hole in my chest.

Thankfully, she didn't push me away, and instead closed the distance between us. Embry and Leah splashed and laughed with each other, then swam to the edge overlooking the beach. Leah yelled to us, "C'mon, guys, ya gotta see this. The view is spectacular."

"Don't let go of me, Jake," Bella pleaded. Like I would ever …

The water was getting deeper, and Bella moaned, "Maybe I should stay here. You go on."

"Oh no. I am not gonna let you miss out on one single, freakin' moment of this vacation. Just loop your arms around the back of my neck, and I'll get us to other side."

Bella hesitated, and I wondered if she would actually do it. Be still my heart. The rate went up to a thousand RPM's as her little hands wound about me. I couldn't see her face since she was floating along behind me, but I could imagine that she just might be smiling.

Leah and Embry were still lined up, lookin' at the green-blue water, beyond the edge of the pool. It was hard to imagine that this was the same ocean outside of La Push. Our ocean was a murky, slate-blue, practically gray color, and icy-cold to boot, not that the temperature bothered me any.

When we swam nearer to our friends at the pool's edge, I reached back with one arm to bring Bella around to my side. Surprisingly, she latched onto my bicep like—excuse the expression—a leech ... not that I was complainin' or anything, but jeez ...

"Bells, honey, relax. The water's only waist-deep here."

"Oh."

I felt the tension leave her body as she loosed her grip, and her eyes opened wide, takin' in the view. Like Leah said, it was spectacular. But the girl right next to me was quite a spectacular sight too, as far as I was concerned anyway. That cute little polka dot bathing suit she was wearing had me droolin'.

The ledge at the back wall was about six inches wide, and Embry climbed up stretching his legs out in front. Not to be outdone, I followed his example, and Bella suddenly looked terrified.

# # # # #

Jacob had great control over his body, especially balance, but when he sat on that thin, little ledge, I felt my heart rise up in my throat. It was more than a twenty foot drop to the beach below for gosh sakes. Why did Embry have to challenge Jacob's masculinity by displaying this reckless behavior? Every slight movement he made, had me panicked.

I smiled, trying to make light of it, but he was scaring the life out of me. "Jake, come down from there, okay?"

"Why, I'm comfortable?"

"I'm not. I'm afraid you'll fall to your death. Please … Jake, you're making me nervous."

Leah sauntered over to me, and huffed, "Thanks a lot, girl. What about Embry? He can slip and fall too."

"Embry's your concern, Jake's mine. He's my best friend. I don't want anything happening to him."

Leah pointed at me. "Ah-ha! You do care, more than you're willing to admit."

I felt my face heat up at that remark. Leah shook her head, and commented. "Told ya so."

Jacob swung his legs around quickly. I let out a gasp, and covered my eyes.

I heard a splash and in an instant, Jacob was peering down at me, pulling my hands away from my face. "Hey, Bells. Look, I'm off the wall, okay. You don't need to freak out."

Not thinking, I buried my face in his chest, clinging to him. When I lifted my head, I gazed into that million dollar smile. I slapped him on the shoulder. "That was not funny, mister. Don't you ever scare me like that again."

Kissing my forehead, he pulled me to himself once more. "You got it, Bells."

We stayed a few more minutes, Jacob swimming the length of the pool, and me hanging on his neck, lazily coursing through the water. Our stomachs were beginning to rumble, so we left the pool, changed clothes and went off to a nearby restaurant.

Being a water baby increased my appetite. The boys took notice, and asked if I had enough to eat. I don't think I ever ate so much in my life. Everything tasted so good.

With lunch out of the way, we walked back to the hotel. Jacob held my hand and I didn't protest. I felt it was the least I could do to show my appreciation. Embry on the other hand was fooling around, chasing after Leah. When he caught up with her—she being so fleet-footed—he lifted her up in his arms, amid her shrieks, and ran with her to the entrance.

"Looks like they're having fun," I observed.

"Yeah … so you want me to chase you too."

"No thanks. With my luck, I'd get two feet, and trip. You'd be landing on top of me."

His face lit up with a grin. "Now that does sound like fun."

I sighed, and Jacob responded with, "What?"

His little innuendoes irritated me at times, but I didn't want to spoil the afternoon, so instead, I wound up saying, "Nothing, I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Well, I can fix that in a hurry."

The big lug let go of my hand, and scooped me up off my feet.

"What do you think you're doing, Jake?"

"You said you were tired. Anyway, what's the sense of havin' all these muscles, if I don't get to use them, huh?"

"Show off!"

# # # # #

The room was empty when I got there, and Embry's swim trunks were gone, so I figured he'd changed back into them. He and Leah were probably already sitting out on the beach. I hurried to do the same.

Rapping at Bella's door, I raised my voice a little. "Hey, Bells, you ready yet?"

"I'm coming! Hold your horses, will you?"

The door opened, and she stepped through. "Geesh, what's your hurry? You know, I'm not a shifter. I can't do things as fast as you guys."

"Sure, sure, point taken." I stared at the tote hanging from her arm. "Have you got your sunscreen?"

She flippantly remarked, "Wouldn't leave home without it. Let's go, wolfboy."

We heard them before we saw them. Jeez, the moans were embarrassing to me, let alone, my girl. Leah and Embry were lying on a straw, beach mat seriously suckin' face. They were twisted so snugly together, it would take the whole wolf pack to pry them apart. I looked at Bella, and shrugged. What could I possibly say to wipe away the traces of red on her cheeks? Now, not that I'm a prude or anything, but damn, this PDA was borderin' on … well you know.

"Break it up, guys, or get a room," I blasted. Embry jerked away from Leah, lookin' mighty pleased with himself. He kissed her once more, and said, "I guess we better cool it, huh? Our up-tight chaperones have arrived."

Smartass.

Leah smoothed her hair, and added, "They're just jealous."

They both sat up. "It's all yours, kids," Embry brayed. "C'mon, Lee, time for a dip."

I nodded, affirmatively. "Yeah, I think you two need to cool off … and then some."

Embry muttered, "Spoilsport."

I sat on the mat beside the mortified girl, wondering what the hell to say. "Bells, I'm sorry …"

"Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault. You can't be responsible for their actions. The thing is, they seem to really like each other."

"Ya think?"

Bella gazed at me with those chocolate eyes. Uh-oh, she looked dead serious. "Jake … you love me don't you? For the life of me, I can't understand it. Why? What is it about me?"

"You got me. If I knew the answer to that question, then maybe I could figure out a way to stop loving you. But 'til then, my heart is in your hands."

I went through the ritual of spreading the sunscreen on her neck and back, relishing every minute of it, and offered her my hand. "You wanna take a swim with me."

"You go ahead. I'm going to sit here and read awhile."

"Seriously? You're sittin' on the beach in paradise, and you're gonna stick your nose in a book?"

"Yes, mister smarty pants. I'm going to read a book."

I grabbed her tote, and rifled through it, retrieving the volume. "You gotta be kiddin' me. Pride and Prejudice? Again? You've read that thing, like about a bazillion times."

She frowned; that little line between her eyebrows popping out in irritation. "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to read something once in a while."

"I get that, but not when the beach at Waikiki is callin'. You comin' with me, pleeeeaaaase?"

She clicked her tongue, and took the book from me, setting it on the mat. "You win."

Shootin' her a wink, I grasped her hand and raced with her to the shoreline. We played in the waves for a good half hour, then she sat her rear end down, where the foam edged the sand, lettin' the salt water tickle her toes. I waved at her from out in the ocean. At least I got her away from that freakin' Jane Austen chick.

# # # # #

Leah and I were getting ready for bed, when she started rummaging through her luggage. "Damn, where is my nail polish remover? Sh**, it's in my missing bag." She yelled at me while I was brushing my teeth. "You wouldn't by any chance have some, would you?"

"I think so. It's in with the rest of my toiletries."

She began muttering again, as she rummaged through my bag. I rinsed my mouth, and heard her exclaim, "Ah-hah! What have we here?"

Returning to the room, I spotted Leah, with the box of condoms pinched between her thumb and forefinger, waving it in front of me. "And what the hell is this doing in your bag? Was little Miss Innocent thinking to get lucky this trip?"

Leah grinned wickedly. "Whoo—you have designs on that boy, not that I blame you. Wait'll I tell Jake. He'll be a happy camper."

Horrified, I pleaded, "No, please, don't say anything to him. He'll get the wrong idea."

She laughed. "Hmmm, and what idea would that be?"

I reached for them and she pulled her hand behind her back. "Give them to me please."

"Not until you answer my question."

"It's not what you think."

With a jiggle of her head, she snarked, "Oh, no? Wait … don't tell me. You saw a craft on Pinterest using condoms, right?"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "My mom made me put them in my bag, okay? She wanted me to be safe in case something happened."

"Smart woman."

I blustered at her, "I don't intend to use the darn things, Lee."

"Well good, because I might need them … and my supply is in that damned bag that got lost."

My hands flew up in the air. "Oh, for cryin' out cucumbers. Go ahead and keep them then. I won't be needing them anytime soon."

Her arms dropped to her sides. "Well that's gotta be the saddest thing I've ever heard. I don't get you, Tink. I'm not saying you should use them, but gawd, you could give the poor boy a break. A kiss or two wouldn't kill ya, would it? You're purposely avoiding a life of happiness ... Jake's happiness too. "

"That's right; it's my life, and I'll run it the way I see fit." I slid into bed, and pulled the covers up to my chin.

"I'll forget you ever said that stupid statement, and chalk it up to insanity."

Leah tossed the box into her suitcase and closed the lid, then she placed the luggage back in the closet, turned out the light and climbed in beside me. I heard her murmur before I drifted off, "What a loss."