Chapter 18

Bella was standing on the Rialto beach down La Push. She was going to do the Rialto Beach Trail run, and she was doing slight warming up and stretching before heading to the trail. She had planned to do the trail run since she was at the beach with Ailani and Sarah. The track was about 14 miles long, the first leg was on the beach, and the second was in the forest, mainly following the shoreline.

The day was perfect for running, cloudy, and around 62F. She had water and little snacks in her little back bag, and she was ready to go. She felt the excitement spreading through her body. She loved this area so much, and to be able to spend the whole day there if she so wished, was a thrilling prospect.

Paul had wanted to go with her, but he could not come today, and Bella wanted to do the run right now. And she felt the need to spend little time on her own, to think and just be alone in her head. Her life had changed quite a bit last month or two, and she just had to contemplate, and the best way for her to find peace in her head was to run or dance, but now she wanted to run, and her dance mates weren't around anyway.

She did a couple of more stretches and took off.

There were some people around but not too many.

As soon as she got into the flow, her mind started wandering. She was so happy to be with her dad again. She hadn't realized how much she missed his calm personality and no-fuss attitude towards everyday life. His simple but firm parenting, not that she needed that anymore as such, but knowing that she could trust him no matter what was soothing after living with her immature mother. She would never want to live with her again. Being happy and content in Forks was something she had been expecting from her move.

But she hadn't expected Paul to happen. How on earth she could have expected Paul. No one could have expected Paul. Jesus, that man was a force of nature. She had never met anyone so full of life. Someone full of charisma radiating miles away. Someone as sexy but gentle and thoughtful. He was so much fun to be with, and he wanted to share her passion for reading and marine life. The way he was willing to discuss the books she was reading melted her heart. He had read one or two books she had recommended to him. And there wasn't anything as gorgeous as Paul in his kitchen in his cooking attire with that concentrated look on his face. Not to mention his skills on the bedroom department. She was so spoiled.

No, she really hadn't expected Paul. And sometimes, she had to pinch herself when she was with him: was he real? Sometimes he just felt too good to be true.

She was running closer to a big crowd of people, and she sped up, wanting to get past them soon. But they were watching something, and when she came closer, she saw a pod of orcas swimming close by.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

There were at least seven of them. Their dorsal fins were sliding majestically past the amazed crowd. And all of the sudden one of them jumped from the water. Bella screeched with surprise.

All people were shouting in excitement.

Where are you, Ailani, when I need you?

She had never seen anything like it. And then another one jumped too. People with cameras were shooting like crazy. She didn't even try with her crappy phone camera. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She stared at to animals hoping to see one more jump.

"Wasn't that amazing?" a young man asked her.

"Oh yeah, I've never seen them jumping before," Bella answered. She was still dazed. To see those huge animals rocketing out of the ocean was absolutely breathtaking.

And then they were gone. People were chatting enthusiastically and showing photos to each other. Bella started to feel a bit chilly, so she continued her run. She still had around four miles on the beach, and after that, the track would dive into the forest and turn back towards La Push. She decided to have a little snack on the beach before going into the woods.

Her mind turned back to herself. She was excited about moving to Seattle. Her apartment was so cool, and she was waiting for her studies to start, not to mention her new job. She would miss Armchair Books and Peter, but Book Attic was a place with a great vibe, and she had liked Paula. They had chatted little at the shop and longer on the phone. Paula had told her that Peter had called her and encouraged her to hire Bella. She had to thank Peter for speaking for her. Things were looking good.

She had thought a bit about what would happen to her and Paul. But she had decided that time would tell. It wasn't like she would move to the other side of the country or the other side of the world. Seattle wasn't so far away. So, it wasn't impossible if they wanted to keep seeing each other. Just not all the time like they now were.

She hadn't planned to start anything new when she had left Honolulu, well, of course not, at that time she had been with Bane, but not after dumping him either. Well, she hadn't thought much of anything after dumbing Bane, and then Paul had shown up before she had time to realize what had happened.

And with Paul ... you just don't have time to ponder and wonder you just go with the flow or with the hurricane; in Paul's case, she really felt like a shabby beach hut in the hurricane when it came to Paul. He had swept her off her feet, both literally and figuratively speaking. She giggled at that thought, remembering how they first met at Jake's party.

Bella sped up. She had so much energy in her, and she felt like flying.

Paul had his lunch break at the work site. They were on a tight schedule, and their boss had asked them to have a bit shorter lunch breaks for a week; they would get the time back next week. He was, as usual, thinking about Bella as he munched his sandwich.

Bella giving him head last night had blown his mind as much as his balls. He shivered just thinking about it. It was like an ultimate fantasy coming true. Didn't all males dream about having their cock sucked while doing something they loved?

He was thinking about her hands on his back, the kisses on his spine and her slowly grabbing his dick into her small hands… He closed his eyes and saw her kneeling in front of him, her pink lips around his cock. Her eyes, when she had looked up at him through those thick lashes, cheeks flushed...

Damn.

Them having dinner at his place had become a game for them; as soon as Bella finished her food, Paul would snatch her and have his way with her or she with him; there really wasn't saying who had a whose way with whom. They just had, and it was fucking incredible every time.

Yesterday after tension-building dinner, Bella jumped off the table at the click of her fork on her plate and tried to run outside laughing. But Paul had grabbed her before she could open the door, and they had fucked against the door. It was good he didn't have any close neighbors. It'd been hot as hell and so fucking loud. They really had lost it last night. And Damn how he'd loved that.

He groaned silently. His jeans were fucking tight, and even he didn't jerk off these days; no need, he had to keep his hands in check not to start palming himself right now. Yes, Paul thought about sex all the time and wanted to have it pretty much as often, but it wasn't just the most fantastic sex with Bella that had stolen his heart. He had often wondered what it was about her that had caught his attention on the beach over a month ago other than that she was fucking gorgeous. But it wasn't just that. He had had his share of beautiful women, but Bella had something more, and the way she was gorgeous was different from any other woman he had ever seen or met.

She was gorgeous without trying to be one and not realizing it herself. He had never given a fuck if women wore make-up or not, as long as they looked good and more often, they had make-up on than didn't. But with Bella, he actually couldn't even think how she would look with make-up. She never wore anything else than some light-colored glossy thing on her lips. It tasted like raspberries. The natural look, the freckles on her nose and cheekbones, her wild hair, so fucking beautiful just the way she was, pure and natural.

The way she dressed was also so effortless but hot as fuck. It was her gorgeous body, of course, and she would look good in a potato sack, but he loved the way she dressed: tight jeans or shorts that showed those long legs of hers and her gorgeous round ass, plain t-shirts or tank tops often showing her turtle or the nose of the dolphin, usually both. And those thongs with starfish, green toenails. Plainly said sexy as fuck without trying to be one. And he loved that pearl she always wore on her neck. Yeah, he loved absolutely everything about Bella.

But even more than her looks, it was how her eyes had sparkled when dancing and having fun with her friend. After getting to know her, he'd seen that same sparkle every time she'd gotten excited or felt otherwise strongly about stuff. He was mesmerized by that sparkle, and it came with that damn hot smile that made his heart stutter every time. Her excitement was infectious, and he loved to get excited with her about loads of stuff, not just sex.

After mommy Holly had died, he hadn't had anybody with who he could talk about stuff. Sometimes he and Holly had spent hours just sitting in the living room or at the beach talking. He missed talking with mommy Holly, but Bella filled even that void. She was intelligent and loved to discuss all kinds of things with him, not just her own interests.

So, this woman was a goddamn treasure, heaven-sent and just perfect for him in every possible way, and she was moving to Seattle in two months. Fuck!

"Is it Bella?" Bella heard someone saying behind her. She was at the general store in the Rez. She had done the run, and after getting her breathing to even out, she hopped into her truck and drove to the shop to get a quick snack. She was red as a lobster and sweaty and icky, but she had to have something to eat; she was feeling nauseous; the run had been more demanding than she had thought.

She turned around and saw an elderly Native American lady she hadn't seen before. Her hair was all gray, and she wore a dress with pink roses. On her nose, she had yellow-rimmed glasses. She looked adorable.

"Yes, I'm Bella," she answered and smiled at the lady.

"Oh, I thought you were. I've seen your picture on Paul's phone. I'm miss Silaigo, but call me Apony," the lady said.

Oh, this was Paul's miss Silaigo.

"Hello, miss Silaigo, I mean Apony. Sorry, I'm all sweaty. I did some running," she tried to explain her terrible state.

What happened next surprised Bella; miss Silaigo came to her, hugged her tightly, and said, "Thank you! Thank you for saving Paul."

Miss Silaigo took her face between her hands and looked straight into her eyes, "meeting you had been the best thing for that poor boy. I've never seen him so happy, so full of life, and it is all because of you." Miss Silaigo kissed both her cheeks, and she saw tears in her eyes.

Wow, this was heavy. She didn't know what to say. So, she didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you, but I just couldn't help myself," miss Silaigo then said and sifted a bit further from Bella, "Paul is so special to me, and seeing him happy makes me so happy."

"I'm not embarrassed just a bit surprised, is all," Bella said. She was feeling quite overwhelmed hearing this lady saying those things.

"I've been asking Paul to bring you over, and I guess he will ask you today. Would you two want to come over later to have some tea and chat? I want to get to know you better. Paul had told me quite a bit, but it is still better to hear straight from the horse's mouth, don't you think," miss Silaigo giggled.

"Yes, sure, I'm happy to. I need to have something to eat quickly and get a shower, but I'm free after that. I think Paul will be home just after six. Would 7 pm be ok for you?" Bella asked.

"Yes, that suites me perfectly. I'll see you later then, dear," miss Silaigo said, patted her arm, and left the store.

There was one more thing about Paul: he had a big heart.