All characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

A/N: Before you start reading, I wanted to warn you that this chapter starts off with a bang and it just gets dirtier and grimier the further you read lol I'm still not over Paul and Bella finally getting together just like the rest of you, but I do calm down a little bit in the next few chapters... kinda. Let me know what you guys think, just as always, and thank you all for reading along as I write. Happy Sunday!

Chapter 14

I moan loudly, already feeling the building tension in my legs. I slip my hands into his hair pulling him further into my center.

Paul moans in response, the vibrations hitting me right where I need it the most, his finger making an appearance to tease the rim of my opening.

I push my hips down toward his hand and mouth hoping it'll be enough to force it to slip inside. It does, but just ever so slightly, definitely not enough to bring me the pleasure I need. And then suddenly he takes his mouth away from me altogether, moving to my side and propping himself up on his elbow.

I verbally complain, feeling my orgasm slipping away from me.

He just chuckles, his tongue coming out to trace my glistening arousal around his lips as he watches me.

I groan and not in a good way. "What are you doing?"

"Watching." He says simply.

"Not nice."

"Want me to be nicer?" He teases wickedly.

Before I can respond a long finger slides into me. I close my eyes and moan.

Paul can't resist and I feel his lips kissing my bare side while he adds another finger.

I throw my head slightly back.

"That face. God, I love it so fucking much." He groans, his excited breath gliding over my skin.

"Still not nice." I mumble, but I'm starting to feel out of breath again.

"So impatient." He chastises but I can hear the smile in it.

I refuse to smile back, I don't like being frustrated. So ignoring the way his fingers start rubbing just at that spot that makes me melt, I abruptly sit up and push him onto his back. I slip out of his hold and without warning I grab his member and slip it into my mouth.

"Oh, shit!" He curses, his body strung tight.

I smile internally. Unlike him, I'm aggressive in the taking. I want him to get there fast. I want him just at the edge like he just did to me, and then I want to yank it away from him just before he can tip over.

It doesn't take him long to get there, not when I slip my hand under my mouth and stroke his sack. Before he can stiffen hard enough to explode I pull my mouth away.

He groans in pain and sits up. "What–"

"Not nice right?"

He covers his face with his hand and rubs, but before he can move, my hand is pumping him again but keeping it at a teasing rhythm. His abs flex, the muscles in the rest of his body doing the same. There's tension, but not the kind that precedes before coming. This is a frustrated one, the one he shows when he's exercising some sort of self-restraint.

"Bella, if you don't–"

"Don't what?" I ask, squeezing the root and following the pressure up to the tip of his shaft.

He closes his eyes and groans.

The sound produces a shiver out of me and my hand instinctively moves in response, sliding my fingers down my body until I reach my clit and start rubbing. A gasp leaves me, my finger making a noise as I'm literally dripping onto my bed.

At the sound Paul opens his eyes again and forces himself up into a sitting position, just enough to see what I'm doing. When he catches my hand in between my legs he bites his bottom lip and growls.

"Let me make you come." He practically begs. His eyes laser focused on my moving hand.

"You had your chance." I say breathlessly, closing my eyes for a second before I pry them open again. I tip my head forward and trace the tip of his cock along my lips, his pre-cum coating my lips before I slip my tongue out and lick my lips clean.

"You're playing a dangerous game." He threatens.

I look up into his eyes and smile deviously, a silent form of invitation. The green in his eyes light up just a fraction, his eyes on me intense. I shiver at the connection, feeling it transferring an almost electric pulse into my bones. My heart quickens under my rib cage.

He growls and moves towards the edge of the bed until I'm pushed off of it. On shaky legs I settle my knees on the floor, still moving my hands and mouth, our eyes never leaving each other for one single precious second.

"I'm going to come on you. That's your punishment." He tells me matter-of-factly. "Do not swallow."

I close my eyes and groan around him.

He tenses again. "Keep your eyes open." He orders me.

I pry my lids open, following his instruction. "Slip your fingers inside." He says next, his eyes on my hand still pleasuring myself.

I moan at the firmness of his commands. His instructions seeping into my bones and weaving their magic inside, forcing my limbs to do as he pleases.

"Just your mouth."

I release my hands from him and he takes over. Squeezing his root and stopping right where my lips reach around him.

"Move your other hand. Circle that delicious clit of yours." I do as he says, but not up to his standards apparently, "Faster." He corrects, his voice sounding out of breath.

I moan at everything combined, feeling just at the cusp of an orgasm. My mouth is still moving on him but it's moving unconsciously, doing its own thing now but doing exactly what Paul is calling it to do.

I gaze at him with half open lids, the fierce expression on his face as he watches me. The tension now seeping into him going far beyond a tensing of his muscles, I almost hear the grinding in his bones as he prepares himself to release.

"Suck harder."

I do.

Ten pumps later and I feel his cock hardening to steel in my mouth. I gasp when he suddenly pulls out and then I feel the wetness on my chest. It starts to slowly drip lower and my eyes instinctively look down pried away from Paul's glorious expression.

I watch his cum sliding down my stomach. I've never done this with anyone before, never found the appeal of it, thought of it only as icky and degrading. But with Paul doing it to me now… it feels the complete opposite. I find it so erotic. The commands, the feel of his cum on my skin… it makes me feel truly desired. One line drips straight down and into my folds, I feel it on my finger as I'm still rubbing my clit.

That's what finally does it for me. I close my eyes and come hard.

There's a deep growl above me and suddenly my body is thrown on the bed and Paul's lips and tongue are lapping at me greedily taking the physical proof of my orgasm. His hands on my body are fierce and urgent. My lower belly tightens again, having had my orgasm drawn out by his unrelenting tongue when I start feeling another tension knotting my insides.

"Oh, shit!" I exclaim, my body curling inwards when I feel a second orgasm about to interrupt the first.

Is that even possible?

I get the answer a few seconds later when Paul purses his lips around my clit, his groan rumbling deeply out of his throat and through his lips and tongue as it massages my clit.

My hands slap down on the bed and I grip the sheets underneath me as I explode again, my breath stopping completely. It isn't until I start seeing stars behind my closed lids that I realize I'm not breathing. I take a deep breath, then another, until I catch up. At least enough for me to stay conscious, though I'm still panting. I can still feel my heartbeat pounding in my eardrums long after my body starts to relax again.

When I come to, Paul's mouth is still on me, now lapping delicately on my hypersensitive flesh. Featherlight. Seeming to repel the idea of interrupting my high.

I release a sigh and find the strength somewhere inside of me to lift myself up onto my elbows. I watch him on his knees on the floor, his tongue delicate on my sensitive skin.

He looks up from his focus on my skin and smiles. His eyes shift down from my face and then his pupils dilate again. Rising from his kneeling position, he starts liking up my stomach and chest, cleaning the mess he's made on me until he reaches my mouth. He slips his tongue into my mouth and I taste the combination of both of our orgasms. The most delicious taste in the entire fucking world.

It's addicting, it's overpowering. It makes me want to grab him again and flip him onto his back and ride him. He's probably ready already, he usually was. It should be impossible, but not when it comes to Paul.

But there's still a heaviness coating my limbs, like I'm being covered by a weighted blanket. I'm still not ready for more, my body falling back onto the mattress and Paul covering me with his body a clear indication of that.

His hands start kneading my limbs knowing what I need. That I need him to coax me back into my body somehow. He knows me inside and out, far more than I expected him to this early on.

He's spent all weekend with me at my mom's rental since Friday. If he wasn't at work, he was here with me. On Saturday I tried going back to the bar but only managed an hour or two before I was too exhausted to stay any longer after everything Paul and I had done the night and morning before. Sleeping had not been a priority, not that either one of us had given each other a chance. He'd practically had to pry himself away from me the next morning only because he had to clean the mess we'd left in his office before Jared accidentally found it.

After I'd arrived home from the bar Saturday night he'd woken me up and we'd gone at it again. After that I hadn't bothered showing up at his bar Sunday night, too exhausted to do more than sleep while Paul was working again. Needless to say he'd been back here Monday morning and night too. It was now Tuesday afternoon and I was leaving to pick up my mother from the airport in a few hours and I needed a shower badly.

I couldn't remember when I last took one... I think yesterday morning? I couldn't really recall, the last few days I've been stuck in an orgasmic blur. I remember Paul filling up the tub and bathing me while I was semi-conscious sometime during the weekend. Yesterday we'd had sex in the shower… at least I think it was yesterday?

But it was a new day and I needed another shower before picking up my mother. I was sure I reeked enough that she could probably smell Paul on me even with her normal human nose.

"Shower", I mumble, somewhere in between kisses.

He chuckles and pulls away. "Can you walk?"

"Probably not."

He chuckles again before he asks, "Bath?"

"Sure." I say, shrugging my shoulders, or at least I think I do… but maybe not.

I hear his chuckle yet again and then Paul disappears. I hear the water running in the bathroom and I groan, turning onto my stomach and digging my face into the pillow.

I'm exhausted and relaxed all at the same time. I wonder how that's possible but it never fails to happen whenever I'm with Paul. When his skin is touching mine, when his hot taut body burns my skin with its touches.

Just at the thought I'm dripping again.

The bed moves from underneath me and I feel Paul's lips on my round bottom, gliding up and over the curve of my back. It's wet and soothing with just a hint of need mixed in as if he's purposefully stopping himself from taking it deeper.

I feel his chest rumbling as his nose traces along the curve in the middle of my shoulder blades. "God, you're wet again. I could easily slip inside and fuck you again."

My hips involuntarily lift up, grinding into him. I don't know how when I'm exhausted beyond measure, but it does as if it has a mind of its own. He slips right in between my cheeks and I moan.

Shut up, Bella. I chastise myself, because at my moan I feel him twitch. My body automatically responds and I do it again. Suddenly his body is gone before I can do it a third time and I'm flying in the air. I release a squeal.

"You can't tempt me like that, Bella. One of these days I won't be able to restrain myself and I'll hurt you."

It's a warning, but I don't take it as one. I kind of want him to hurt me. To make it rougher, to pin me onto the bed even when I'm exhausted and take me to new heights. He would make it better. Make it hurt while making it feel more than just wonderful.

He carries me into the tub with him, settling me on top of his body and leaning my head on his shoulder. I leave my eyes closed and relax back into him, reveling in the warmth of the water and the heat his body exudes underneath me soothing my muscles.

We stay like that for a good while until I open my eyes… and then I laugh.

"Took you long enough."

I tilt my head back and to the side to get a look at his face. Just as I expected, it's bright and happy, so full of mischief I can't even be mad at him.

"I didn't think you'd noticed." I say, lifting my hand to hover just over the water, watching the ripples I create with the droplets falling off of my fingertips.

He'd added a bath bomb turning the water in the tub just as pink as the one I'd used the first day I'd visited him while he was fighting his imprint.

"I noticed, alright. I just didn't have the energy to comment on it at the time." He says quietly.

I remain silent as I think about the past. How I felt like I could physically feel his pain radiating off of him. It had been one of the worst days of my life. Watching the man I'd only ever seen strong, vibrant, and so full of life being reduced to a bag of skin and bones. It'd been horrible. Remembering the deadened look in his eyes when we'd first made eye contact would haunt me for a very long time.

As if sensing my inner sadness, he lifts his hand out of the water too, sliding his fingers over my wrist until they're draped over mine. He intertwines our fingers and closes his hand with mine inside.

"Don't think about it that way." He says lowly. "I needed to go through that to get to a better place. I'm on the other side now and I've never been happier."

"Still." I respond just as quietly, "I hate that you had to go through it at all. It's not right."

"It's not right, but it happened. Someone once told me I'd never be at peace with myself if I didn't accept it. And you should too, make peace with what happened and move on. Besides, it won't happen again. I promise."

I smile a little at hearing my own words thrown back at me, to know that what I've said to him in the past has made a difference even without me knowing it. But I quickly sober up with my next words. "How can you really be sure that it won't happen again?"

Our hands are still connected as he guides them underwater, pressing his hand against the back of mine to press our stacked palms against my stomach. "I told you…" He voices quietly, almost at a whisper. "My wolf and I are in this together, which means we'll make that decision together too."

I frown up at him. "Like when you choose your next imprint?" I question curiously, wondering how exactly it works. It was weird. Something unprecedented that's never happened before in the history of the Quileute shapeshifters. Elder Ateara, himself, was completely baffled. Paul was in uncharted territory, so how could he know for sure?

"I'm not sure if it'll happen that way." He says quietly, his eyes straying to a single spot on the wall in front of us. "I don't think I have the ability to imprint again. I'll just choose for myself… that perfect woman who completes both me and the wolf."

'That perfect woman…'

I feel a pinch in my gut at his words. I can't identify the feeling. It's uncomfortable and I hate it. It's like the feeling you get when you're on a roller coaster and the car you're trapped in is rising higher and higher towards the top, click by click, your heart stuck in your throat and that sick feeling squeezing your chest. It's not thrilling for me, it's anxiety inducing.

"So you'll just know?" I finally question, squeezing the words out of my throat.

"We'll know." He states unequivocally. His hand tightens in mine, inch by inch reaching closer to the spot in between my legs. He pushes his index and middle finger against my own, guiding my hands as if they were his own to start a slow circle around my clit.

I moan and instantly forget about what we were talking about, my eyes instinctively closing and my chest rising out of the water as I try to breath through it. I feel his hardened shaft underneath me, stiff and already forcing its way in between my cheeks. My legs lift and I dig the balls of my feet against the bottom of the tub to push up over him.

He curses, and in an unexpected moment he glides our fingers lower, catching his cock as it's about to enter me and leaving our fingers there to physically feel him gliding into me.

I stop breathing, so does Paul, his hard body behind me taut but curved around me cradling me on top of him.

"Shit, always so fucking perfect." He curses, more to himself than for me to hear. He's so close to my ear I can't help but to hear it.

I flatten my feet at the bottom of the tub to help me move. When I do, I hear the whoosh of breath that leaves his body, followed by a rumbling in the middle of his chest vibrating inhumanely. But he's not shifting, not right now. His eyes are closed and he has the side of his head resting against the side of mine, then he starts nuzzling the side of his face into my neck, rubbing it back and forth along my temple, ear, and neck. His left hand wraps around my hips to help me move even more and his hand on mine starts a rhythm on my clit. I drop my head back onto his shoulder, lifting my face up toward the ceiling. His mouth opens and he trails kisses along my neck.

"I could be here forever." He whispers shakily, his breath ghosting over my wet skin forcing a shiver out of me.

My mind skips over those words focusing on the feeling of him all around me. He's everywhere, all over my skin, inside of me…

You'd think I'd be used to it by now. I've lost count of how many times we've done this. It never feels enough and it always feels like the very first time. It's inexplicable. It's both confusing and thrilling. Paul has this uncanny ability to make that confusion to slip away at any moment, turning my brain into mushy soup whenever his skin is touching mine, when his mouth and tongue are pleasuring me, when he fills me up and makes me feel like I'm no longer on this earth.

"Tell me you're close." He whispers raggedly into my ear.

"I'm close." How could I not be with his warm body touching every bit of my skin?

"God, you're so tight. So swollen. Like your pussy is hugging me, milking every inch of me. Do you know how much I want to coat your insides? How much I want to leave my mark imprinted inside of you? It'd be perfect."

All I can do is moan, to leave myself pliable for him to take me over.

And he does.

He always does.

I feel the tightening starting at my lower extremities, the feeling quickly rising higher and higher until I feel even my skin tightening preparing for the high.

"Fuck, you're there. Let go with me, Sweetheart." He says softly, groaning against my ear.

My body quivers under his ministrations and I let go. My body losing the tension I'd accumulated to release in one swift breath. I feel him let go underneath me. His hips moving erratically until he's done.

I relax back onto him as we both catch our breaths. I smile and nuzzle my face into his neck.

"You should have gone home yesterday. I don't know how I'm supposed to drive all the way to the airport on shaky legs."

My body moves up and down as he laughs, the vibrations in his chest against my back. He kisses my temple and suddenly sits up, grabbing my loofah and pouring a pump of body wash to bathe me. "I told you I could take you."

"And have you sitting in the same car as my mother for hours while we drive back to Forks? No way! I wouldn't dare let you suffer through that."

He remains quiet for a long while and then he tentatively asks, "Is it because you don't want me to meet your mom?"

There's a hidden vulnerability in the question, I can sense it somehow, like an insecurity he hadn't wanted to admit but couldn't help but to question.

I move on his lap, turning to face him as I explain to him the complications of our mother-daughter relationship. "It's not that. I've told you a little bit about my issues with my mom but honestly they go much deeper than what I've told you. It's… really complicated. I haven't seen her in three years since I moved away to college. I've also refused her invitations to spend the holidays with her. I just think it's going to take us a while to get back to our 'normal' and I want us to get there just her and I. Not having other people witnessing the absolute shit-show that is our relationship."

His eyes scan my face and I see the understanding in them. He lifts his hands and tucks the wet strands of my hair behind my ears, leaving them there to frame my face. "I get complicated parental relationships. I have one with my father too… though you're a much better person than I am. I pushed my father away completely out of my life, but at least you're trying."

I guess he was right, I could have easily cut all contact with my mother but I didn't. I still loved and cared for her… I just refused to let her keep bulldozing her way over my life. She couldn't continue to be my number one priority when it was only natural for me to put myself first.

I also think Paul's issues with his dad went a lot deeper than mine and my mother's. I mean, his dad had technically abandoned him. Ignored him for the rest of his childhood after his mother's passing. At least my mother was always there with me. We'd sometimes spend time together. We'd travel a lot, visiting places in the U.S. not many other people have had the privilege to do themselves. My mother tried, in the only way she knew how but she tried nonetheless.

"Yeah, I guess so… Anyway I'm pretty sure you'll meet her sometime on this trip. I'm not planning on keeping her away from you guys. I just think for the next week or so it's going to be a bit awkward between us at first, at least for me it will be." And then I smile and nudge his nose with mine. "But thank you for putting yourself on the line of fire for me. I really appreciate it."

He grasps my chin before I can pull away and his lips softly touch mine. I weave my fingers into his wet hair and kiss him too, moving our lips delicately against each other.

He pulls away just an inch and speaks, "If you need me… I'll be there for you too, Bella. You know that, right?"

I smile and press my lips against his one last time before I have to go.

"Yeah… I know."

"Baby!"

My breath leaves me in one painful whoosh as my mother's body hits me like a boulder.

"Hey, mom." I manage to greet back, wrapping my arms around her to hug her back. She's squealing into my ear, loud enough to cause a ringing in my eardrum and to make the people around us turn in our direction.

I forgot how much I hated this about her, her attention seeking behaviors. She loved to be the center of attention in any situation, so contrary to me who loathed having stranger's eyes on me. I preferred to go under the radar much like my father preferred to do.

She pulls away and then grasps my hands, lifting them up away from our sides as her eyes scan me from head to toe. "Oh, sweetheart, you are so beautiful!" She yells, her eyes falling onto mine. "But you need to get more rest, there's dark bags under your eyes."

My first thought is All Paul's fault, but instead of saying that I say, "Yeah, I'm still getting used to the new house. I'm having trouble sleeping on a bed that's not mine."

"Oh that's too bad." She laments. "I'm so used to traveling with Phil whenever I can that I've gotten used to sleeping in different hotels all the time."

"That's nice. How is Phil, by the way?"

"Oh, he's fine." She says brightly, then waves her hand in dismissal. "But let's not talk about him. How are you? How were finals?"

"Great actually. I got my final grades for half of my classes already."

"That's wonderful!" She exclaims again, then she grabs me by the hand and pulls me toward baggage claim, chatting excitedly about how great it is for us to be together again.

I try to match the sentiment but I'm too tired to muster up the same level of excitement… not that I ever have before. In the past I've only tried but never succeeded, my mother's jovial moods were incredibly hard to replicate. An impossibility among many other things I found impossible to match her in. Namely, this almost sick-addiction she had for love. It's why I was so happy she had found Phil, it seemed to have finally worked to settle her in some way… or as much as Renee ever could be.

She hauls her pink luggage off the baggage carousel one by one while talking the entire time until we're gathered around four large suitcases. I hadn't expected her to bring so much, sure she was staying for a couple of months but I doubt it required her to bring the four full fifty-five pound suitcases she had with her now. Even when I'd moved here for college I hadn't brought as much.

"Mom," I start questioning, looking at the multiple bags surrounding us. "Why did you bring so many bags? You're not moving here."

Her laughter echoes around us, able to be heard loud and clear even with the noise coming from the baggage carousel and all of the passengers milling about still waiting for their own luggage to appear.

"It's not that many! You're exaggerating!"

"Uh, I'm really not. You really don't need so many clothes. We have a washer and dryer in the rental home."

"So? You know how I love my clothes, Bella. I couldn't decide which ones to leave behind so maybe I did bring more than I should have but I just couldn't help myself!"

That was true. She usually did pack much more than she needed whenever we went on trips together. But we were visiting new places and taking hundreds of pictures because my mother loved asking strangers to take pictures of us. However, she wasn't going to explore new places. She was going to Forks. The same place she escaped once before because she couldn't go shopping without an hour and a half commute from her home to the closest mall. It still hasn't changed today.

Something seemed to be so off about it though, hitting me with that nagging little feeling again. The same one I always got when I felt like my mother was trying to hide something from me. Like possibly the current demise of whatever boyfriend she was dating at the time, or when she had to tell me she was going on a girl's weekend with her friends and I'd be left home alone to take care of everything. It was always the precursor to some sort of bad news. And so I couldn't help but to be suspicious of it now.

Of course, I've only been around her for less than ten minutes and therefore refused to bring up that conversation now. I'd told myself I'd give this a chance, that I'd give her the benefit of the doubt. I shouldn't be thinking these kinds of things already. I wasn't helping anyone with all these negative thoughts.

"If it's because you don't want to lug those around with you, I'll rent a little cart. Deal?"

I force a smile onto my lips deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Deal."

On the long drive back to Forks, my mother talks my ear off about every inconsequential thing that has happened in her life since I've been away. In some way I feel as though she's actively trying to make me feel guilty for my absence from her life. As though it wasn't already obvious.

I bite my tongue. Nodding along to let her know I'm listening, laughing when it calls for it, and asking questions so she knows I'm not just listening but also paying attention.

It's exhausting.

When we finally make it home she yells again, her face breaking out into a thousand colors as she looks at the modern styling of our rental home. I take the bags from the back of the truck and take them inside, showing her where her bedroom is located and informing her that I've taken the room on the other side of the house. Of course she insists on looking at my side of the house too and I oblige, secretly thankful I'd taken the time after Paul left for work to fix up the mess we'd made in my room.

"Don't you just love the privacy?" She gushes, opening up my closet and pulling open the drawers of the dresser under the T.V. I'm assuming to check for clothes, making sure I've kept my word on staying to live with her for the summer.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. My mother was neither sneaky nor smart.

That sounded wrong… she wasn't an idiot.

"Yeah, thanks for keeping that in mind. I love the place." I say with a dutiful smile.

She finally comes to me and pulls me into another hug, less aggressively than the one at the airport. This one is soft… almost comforting, reminding me of the time when I was little and just a hug from her could chase away all my fears and doubts. I was so different from that little girl who trusted her mother to know better…. She'd disappeared somewhere around boyfriend #4.

"I'm so happy we're finally together again." She whispers, her voice taking on a watery edge, as if she were trying really hard to hold back tears. "I've missed you so much and I know it's mostly my fault. That I pushed you away by not supporting you from the beginning the way I should have. I'm sorry, Bella."

This time when I hug her, it's genuine. The first real emotion I've felt from her and from myself. "I missed you too. And thank you for apologizing. It means a lot."

She pulls away and caresses the hair by my temple with her thumb. "I really do want to try this again, Bella. Me and you. I–" She pauses and takes a breath as if centering herself. "I know I've messed up a lot. I know I didn't give you the proper attention I should have. I just need you in my life, Sweetheart. You're my only daughter and I love you."

Her eyes are shimmering with tears and I feel the twist in my heart at watching my mother like this. She's never really emotional, she hates being sad or thinking about depressing things. It's why she's always so chipper, so happy and giddy over every insignificant thing. I've known that about her always, her way of hiding her discontentment in life and how harrowing it's romantically been for her. So I know she means what she says now.

"I love you too. And I'm really happy you're here, mom." I say sincerely this time.

We stay like that for a good minute in a half-embrace, her hands grasping just above my elbows with mine on her forearms until the front door dings and the connection is lost faster than it'd been present.

Her face brightens into a happy smile and she squeals, "Visitors already?!"

I'd almost forgotten I'd invited my dad, Jacob, and Embry over for dinner to welcome my mom to Forks.

She lets go and rushes out of the room and towards the front door.

I sigh and rub my face with my hands. The hug had been too fleeting. I'd wanted to hold onto it just a bit more…

As always, I shake my head and let it go heading to the front door too.

She's just letting go of Embry when Jacob steps in between them.

"Wow, Renee!" Jacob hollers, "If I didn't know you were Bella's mom I would have thought you were her sister!"

My mom literally vibrates with the attention. "Oh, you're such a kidder!"

"No really. You look amazing! You should stop hitting the gym so much or I might just–"

It's followed by a smack to the head by my dad whose looking annoyed as hell by Jacob's overdramatic compliments. "Reel it in, Jacob." He grumbles.

My mom giggles and I chuckle too.

"It's good to see you again, Renee." My dad greets much more calmly then even Embry.

My mom nods, her eyes taking my dad in.

He's wearing his customary jeans and flannel so I'm not sure exactly why she's watching him with so much interest. Though I guess it has been many years since they've last seen each other…

"You too. You look great. The police force keeping you fit?"

My dad chuckles. I swear there's now a hint of pink behind the beard and mustache. "Yeah, guess so."

"I don't know about that Renee…" Jacob comments, slipping his arm over her shoulders. "Just yesterday I saw him taking his lunch break at the diner with a big fat steak and fries on his plate. I wouldn't exactly call that healthy eating."

"Says the guy who just shoveled three burgers and a bag of fries at the same diner just before we picked up Charlie to come here." Embry adds helpfully, saving my dad from having to defend himself. "And he still thought it was a good idea to order more food so we could all eat together." Embry says, holding up the two bags in his hands. My dad was holding another two, Jacob one himself.

"I'm a growing boy!" Jacob answers back, guiding my mom to the kitchen table.

I roll my eyes, moving to greet my dad.

"Everything okay?" He asks, his eyes looking down at me and analyzing my face for any signs of distress. He more than anyone knew how I felt about my mom.

Charlie has always been good at reading my emotions through my face, I think it was because he was the head of police in Forks and it was a requirement for his position. I've never been able to hide my true feelings for my mother, and my father has known for a very long time how hard it has been for me growing up with her.

"So far so good." I sigh out, slipping my hand around his waist and following after Jacob and my mom.

Embry swiftly kisses my temple to show his silent support as he moves ahead of us to place the loaded bags onto the dinner table.

"Bella says she's gotten some of her grades already. What about you two kids?"

"Same." Embry answers, unpacking the food.

"All good I hope."

"Of course!" Jacob practically hollers, "We don't just have the looks, we also have the brains to go along with it."

"Oh, barf." I gag, playfully sticking my finger into my mouth.

He lets go of my mom and grabs my hand from across the table. "Don't be jealous, Bella. You know you're my number one, girl."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, so you say."

"Aw, don't pout, my sweet."

"And now I'm gonna barf." Embry says now, throwing Jacob a disgruntled look.

"Me too. Will you shut up already and eat?" My dad adds with annoyance too.

My mom laughs. "They're just flirting, Charlie. Always have. Please tell me you've finally gotten together."

My mother, much like Jacob's sisters, has always thought Jacob and I would end up together too. She loved to joke around and make playful innuendos about the two of us. If you haven't noticed already, my mother loved to act more like my friend than my actual mother.

I roll my eyes and Jacob barks out a laugh. "If Bella and I ever got together I wouldn't be able to ask you out on a date, Renee."

This time my mom rolls her eyes too. "Maybe Charlie is right. You should start eating."

We all laugh at that as we each take our food. We make casual conversation as we eat. My dad stopping to eat throughout dinner just to slap the back of Jacob's head when his compliments get too inappropriate.

"So what happened to you this weekend?" Embry asks out of nowhere. "You left the bar early on Saturday and you didn't come at all on Sunday."

Right, that. I hadn't thought of a good excuse for that. I guess I could just use the same one I'd given my mother. "Just tired. It's weird sleeping in a bed I know isn't mine."

His eyebrow quirks in question, giving me a doubtful look. He knows I've been sleeping on Paul's couch every weekend before that so he knows that's not true.

Ooops, I'd forgotten about that.

They actually don't even know I'd been sleeping on Paul's bed, not the couch either. After my first weekend there Paul had insisted I take his bed. Said his sleep was erratic most days and didn't want to disturb my sleep if he happened to wander into the kitchen or living room during one of those restless nights. I hadn't really fought him on it. His bed was much more comfortable than the couch. I could've managed fine but nothing beat an actual bed.

Thankfully my mom butts in just then to derail that line of questioning. "What bar?"

"Paul's bar." Jacob clarifies. "He just opened it up this past weekend. It's been packed every night since then. Even during the work week it's been pretty full too."

"Who is Paul?" My mom asks curiously.

"An old friend." Embry answers this time. "He grew up in the reservation with us until he moved away with his dad back when we were kids. He's back now, opened up a bar in La Push and everything."

"You should go." Jacob suddenly suggests, "We'll take you."

I glare at him from across the table. What the fuck?

"Oh it sounds like so much fun! I can't wait!" She thrills.

Fucking Jacob…