Disclaimer:
Paul: Donna doesn't own Twilight. But if you send in a review for this chapter I will give you a hug. Donna says that I need more of those.
Paul was on the porch when Bella pulled up on Saturday. Bo sat next to him watching her with the same intense look that Paul was giving her. She stood a few feet away, not sure what Bo would do if she got any closer.
"Is it alright if he comes? I don't like leaving him here by himself."
"Sure."
"He tends to tear the house apart when I leave him alone."
"What do you do when you go on patrol?"
"He comes with me. He sleeps under the tree when I come to see you."
"Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Have you been going over the book with Sam?"
"Yeah," he acknowledged.
She climbed in the passenger side as Bo jumped into the bed. Paul slid behind the wheel as Bella turned to face him. She handed him the keys silently.
"The first thing you want to do is check your mirrors. If you can't see out of them they need to be moved."
He adjusted the rear view mirror then rolled down his window.
"How do I adjust this one?"
"Pull from the top first. If you pull it too far you can adjust it from the bottom," she instructed.
He adjusted it before resting his arm on the open window.
"Start it whenever you're ready. You want to turn the key away from you."
The truck rumbled to life and he put both hands on the wheel.
"You want to take the break off, and double punch the clutch as you move the truck into drive like I showed you the other day."
The truck rolled down the driveway and Bella told him how to turn right. He turned onto the main road and Bella coaxed him through the twists and turns to the store. They spent a few minutes in the store before waiting in line. Once they were at the register Quil rang them up without looking at them. Bella smiled gratefully before letting Paul pull her out of the store.
"Where do you want to go now?" she asked.
"We could go to the beach."
"Do you feel like driving? The hill is pretty steep."
"It's no worse than the one leading to Sam's. I want to try."
"Okay."
She guided him through the shifting of the gears as they drove slowly down the hill. Five minutes later they were sitting on the beach.
"I saw my dad for the first time in a year last night," he said breaking the silence.
"How did that go?"
"The same way it always goes. Nothing happened. He barely looked at me," he said with a shrug.
"How old were you when you left home?"
"I didn't leave. I was kicked out on my eighteenth birthday," he murmured, looking down at his hands.
"We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to," she remarked sympathetically.
"You need to know. Sam, Emily, and Leah Clearwater are the only people who know. I know that you won't tell anyone."
"I won't," she promised.
"My mom is an alcoholic and my dad was never around. He's a fisherman who spent his entire life on the water. He would rather ignore my mom's problems then deal with them."
"Was she violent?" she broached.
"She smacked me around more than a few times before I learned to defend myself. I spent a lot of time away from home. Sam's parents let me live with them for a summer while my dad was working. I acted out because I was starving for attention. I got brought home by Quil Sr. and Harry more times than I can count. I've never drank or done drugs, but that didn't stop me from causing trouble."
"Who kicked you out, your mom or your dad?"
"My mom, she told me that it was time that I learned to take care of myself. I phased for the first time that night. Sam and Leah let me live with them. Once Emily came into the picture Leah went off to college. Emily took care of me; she and Sam helped me get a handle on things."
"When was the last time you saw your mom?"
"The night she kicked me out, she spends most of her time at the bar. I've never stepped foot in there, so odds are that I won't run into her ever again," he said, his mouth forming a firm line.
"I'm sorry," she said putting a hand on his shoulder.
"It's not your fault."
"I can't imagine anyone neglecting their child like that. Why didn't someone do something?"
"No one else knew."
"No one noticed that your mom drank too much or that she beat you?" she asked in confusion.
"She only got drunk at home, and I was good at hiding the bruises," he explained.
"You dad never did anything?"
"He did when I was younger. Once I turned ten he taught me how to fight. I was able to stick up for myself."
"You fought your mom?" she asked with wide eyes.
"I wasn't about to take it. Ninety percent of the time I hadn't done anything wrong," he said with disdain.
"How long did it take to adjust to living on your own?"
"I've only lived on my own for a year. I'm still learning."
"And you obviously haven't learned to control your anger."
"It's a work in progress," he said with a shrug.
She turned to face him, taking in his features. There was a half-moon scar on his jaw, she wondered if his mom had put it there. He turned to look at her from underneath his eye lashes.
"I don't want you feeling sorry for me," he mumbled.
"I don't. I worry about you, there's a difference," she said with a shake of her head.
The wind blew her hair into her face and he brushed it behind her ear. He kept his hand behind her neck before leaning in. She held her breath as he brushed his lips to hers. When she didn't pull away he applied more pressure. She sighed silently as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She let him take over, loving the feeling of his lips on hers. His teeth pulled at her bottom lip until she opened her mouth for him.
His tongue stroked hers gently as his fingers tangled in her hair. She let herself relax against him once the kiss slowed. She put her hands on his shoulders, shoving lightly. He pulled away, his eyes searching hers. She had never been kissed like that before. He had taken her breath away and made her speechless at the same time.
"I've never seen anybody turn that shade of red before," he teased.
"You had to ruin it," she said as she rolled her eyes.
"Sorry," he said with a lazy smile.
"It's okay," she said before brushing her lips to his.
"I embarrassed you?"
"No. No one has ever kissed me like that before."
"Want to do it again?" he asked with a grin.
"Sure," she said with a laugh.
He leaned in, this time he didn't waste any time before going in for the kill. She threaded her fingers in his hair. He moaned into her mouth as she moved closer to him. He lifted her without breaking the kiss and placed her in his lap. The wind chilled her skin and she shivered. His arms circled her, warming her instantly. She pulled away with a chuckle.
"Okay, enough for right now. I'm going to lose all of my oxygen soon," she murmured.
"I could give you CPR," he offered.
"Easy big guy," she said putting a hand on his chest.
"Then again, this is nice too."
"Do you realize that this could qualify as a date?"
"It could?" he asked quizzically.
"We're not at my house, we've spent half the day together, and now we've made out. We're on a date," she pointed out.
"You're a cheap date," he stated, squeezing lightly.
"It doesn't take a lot to make me happy," she said smiling shyly.
He held her to him as she buried her face in his neck. He hadn't planned on putting the moves on her after telling her his life story. He hadn't even expected her to react the way that she had. It was almost like she was even madder about the situation than he was.
XXXX
Back at his house they sat on the porch with Bo sitting at Paul's feet.
"Are you hiding a secret love child in your house?"
"No," he said with a laugh.
"Then you won't mind if I go inside," she said as she stood.
Paul opened the door for her before turning on the light. The living room and kitchen were pretty much one room separated by a counter. There was no TV, only a slightly used oversized chair and a coffee table. A door on the right side wall stood open.
"Have a seat," he said as he crossed to the living room.
"What about you?"
"Do you all of the sudden have a problem sitting with me?"
"I guess not," she said indifferently.
She stood as he came to stand next to her. She sat in his lap with her legs dangling over the arm. She wrapped an arm around his neck and he wrapped an arm around her waist. Bo eating in the kitchen was the only sound.
"What's in your room?"
"My secret love child," he stated bluntly.
"I'm going in there," she said getting away from him.
He followed her to where she stood at the door. The room was bigger than she thought it would be. A full sized bed sat against the wall in the center of the room. There was a nightstand with a lamp with no shade on it. There was a door in the corner of the room which she assumed was the bathroom. There were two windows with a flat screen TV and TV stand in between them.
"Why do you have the TV in here and not in the living room?"
"I spend most of my time in here."
"It's nice. It's just big enough for you."
"It's all I need for right now," he stated.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and she stepped into the embrace. The whole tour of the house had taken less than two minutes. It was obvious that Paul was a person who didn't need a lot. He kept things simple, and for that, Bella was grateful.