I woke up before the sun rose at 5:00 am for patrols. At 7:00 am I went home, took a shower, and ate breakfast. Then I packed my dad's car with snacks, drinks and fishing gear. I was at the Swan's by 8:00 am.
Charlie had a pile of stuff that was ready to be packed in Harry Clearwater's station wagon. I got right on it. Isabella came out to keep me company… or maybe to heckle me.
"The coolers need to be on the top, especially the beer cooler. They need easy access."
"If they're so picky, why aren't they packing the car?" I asked.
"This is a test. I'm just trying to help you pass."
I moved the beer cooler to the back seat. "Now it can be unloaded first."
"Fishing gear goes last because it's delicate but you need to leave a lot of space for it."
I groaned. "Right. Do the back seats fold down?"
She grinned. "Now you're getting it."
I had to unpack the cooler to fold down the seat.
"Chairs also need to be readily accessible," she reminded me. "Where will they sit while you set up camp?"
I shook my head and pulled out the chairs. "I feel like I'm unpacking more than I'm packing."
"That's the beauty of fishing."
"I don't get it."
"I don't either. All I know is that these two stand around bickering about where things go for ages. It would just be quicker to pack things wrong but that's never an option for them. I'm just trying to prepare you."
"What if they think I do a good job?"
"They won't," she answered quickly without having to think about it. "There is no good packing job with these two. There are simply bad and worse packing jobs."
"So I'm aiming for bad?"
"Absolutely."
"Thank you, that's a big help."
"You're welcome." She stood on tippy toes to give me a kiss. I kept it hands free since her dad would be out any minute. I pulled away when I heard the door swing open.
Harry and Charlie both walked over to the station wagon and looked it over from all angles. In unison they said to each other, "better than your packing job." They both laughed.
Charlie said to me, "you follow us there, ok?" Then he and Harry got in.
I gave Isabella a really quick kiss. "I'll see you at 6:30!" I called as I got into my car. I pulled out onto the road then followed them. The drive was only 30 minutes, but it was 30 minutes further away from La Push. So that would add an extra hour of driving to get ready for my date. Worth it.
When we arrived, I set up camp while they set up their fishing spot.
They did pack a chair for me but no drinks, only beer. I don't know if they were expecting me to drink their beer or what. I brought out my own drinks cooler, which I don't think they were expecting. Light hazing indeed.
I tried to remember everything I could about fishing. I really didn't need to. Charlie and Harry were telling me everything they knew, a lot of conflicting information, too. Still, I focused on the line and caught my first fish in years.
It was bigger than Charlie's!
Next was the lesson on gutting. Thankfully, step one was bleeding the fish so that gave me time to get used to step two: gutting. It wasn't as gross as I remembered as a child. In fact, some of the guts smelled delicious to my wolf.
"No fishing license, huh, Paul?" Charlie said when I was done. He was suppressing a smirk.
Shit. Was this entrapment? I must have looked like a deer in a headlight. "No, sir."
"I have a guest pass," he said, "but you'll want to get a license soon. A hunting license, too."
I sighed. "Thank you, sir."
"Thank you, Paul," Charlie said seriously. "I despised that Edward kid. Bella is alive again. She's herself and happy and it's really great. I don't ever want to see you kissing her like that again, but I'll put up with it to have my little girl back."
Harry was nodding. "She's doing much better."
"But if you hurt her," Charlie continued, "I will never forget."
Harry elbowed him. "I already told you, you don't have to worry about that with Paul. She's more likely to hurt him than he is to hurt her." So that was why Charlie had said that, because Harry knew about the imprinting.
"And I'm trusting you about that Harry, but I've got to warn the boy."
I smiled at Charlie. "I understand, sir. I'll do what I can. I'll try to make her happy and keep her safe and care for her."
"And maybe try to show her how to make that cheese sauce," Charlie added.
I sighed. "I think you hurt her feelings about the cheese sauce, sir. She's an awesome cook."
"Did she say that I hurt her feelings?"
"No, it just really bothered me that you said that."
"So I hurt your feelings?" He was trying to hide his smile.
"I didn't say that. I just don't like people belittling her hard work, even when it's her father."
He looked at me a little sternly.
I continued, "And she agreed that my cheese sauce was really good. You can complement one thing without putting down another. Like saying it tastes like your mother's. That was really nice. You didn't have to go on about Bella's being better than boxed, you know? Just say mine reminds me of your mom's and leave it at that, get what I'm saying?"
Charlie and Harry exchanged a look. Charlie said, "I'll keep that in mind next time you cook like my mother, Paul." Then they both laughed and I wasn't sure I had gained any ground at all.
Harry nudged Charlie. "Save me some of that mac and cheese. Your mom's mac and cheese was the best."
"Harry, you're lactose intolerant."
"Worth it."
"No promises." Charlie turned to me. "Paul, can you get the lunch cooler?"
I retrieved it from the station wagon. On top were three Tupperware containers with last night's dinner equally divided. Charlie handed one to each of us. As we ate, Charlie bragged to Harry about how Bella and I made everything.
After we ate and I packed everything away, Charlie asked, "Do you know what Edward cooked during their six months of dating?"
"Isabella said he peeled potatoes… badly."
"Yeah. I watched him peel a potato once. The kid is supposed to be smart but he could not distinguish between potato and peel. The potato was the size of my big toe by the time he was done."
"Huh," was all I could say without laughing.
"And he never ate a damn bite. I swear he was putting it in his pockets because his fork never went to his mouth."
"Weird."
"Weird isn't even the half of it. He was so creepy."
Harry gave me a warning glance, like he didn't want me to talk to Charlie about this.
"Am I always going to be compared to him?" I asked.
Charlie laughed. "No, but I will always make fun of that boy. Always. And I hope Bella does too."
I nodded.
"You're the only person allowed to call her Isabella." Charlie sounded a wistful. "I'm a little jealous. I love that name."
I agreed. "So do I. It suits her, beautiful and elegant but not pretentious. It's really charming."
Charlie was nodding.
"I like Bella," Harry said. "It's short."
"Sure, it's fine," I said, "and Bells is nice too, but Isabella is my favorite."
"Keep calling her that," Charlie said. "Maybe she'll let other people call her that too."
"I will, as long as she lets me." I looked at the position of the sun. "I really should head out. I definitely need a shower after gutting that fish. Is there anything you want me to take to lighten the load for you guys."
They looked at each other and shook their heads.
I packed up my cooler, then Harry spoke up. "Take the fish we've caught so far. You can have them."
"You sure?"
"Yeah," Charlie said. "We always catch more in the morning and these should be refrigerated or frozen sooner rather than later."
"Ok, thank you."
"I'll see you tomorrow for that mac and cheese," Charlie said.
"And I'll steal a bite," Harry chimed in.
"What time should it be ready?"
"6:00 is fine. I'll be home before then."
I drove home and scrubbed and scrubbed in the shower. I could still smell the fish. I used dish soap and that actually helped. I put on a button up polo shirt and khakis. I was planning on washing my white button up shirt but I had no time today.
I had to stop for gas in the business district. I picked out the best looking rose in the convenience store.
I got to the Swan's house right on time. She opened the door and she looked stunning. She had a light jacket over a black dress. Her legs looked so good. All of her looked so good.
"You look really pretty," was all I managed to say.
"You look nice, too." She took the rose and found a vase for it. "Thank you for this."
"Sure, I wanted to wash my button up shirt for our date but I didn't have time."
"So you had fun with my dad?" she asked.
"I did, yeah. I caught a fish."
"Congratulations."
"Thanks." I walked her to the car. Like a real gentleman, I opened the door for her then got in the driver's side of my car. "How was work?" I asked after turning the ignition.
"Pretty boring. I didn't get any sexy visitors."
"That's disappointing."
"And Mike asked me out again."
"The owner's kid?"
"Yeah, he does that sometimes. I guess he was hoping that the rumors about you and me were wrong."
"I'm pretty sure he saw us making out in your truck on Thursday."
"Maybe. I really wasn't paying attention to him at the time." Her hand was on my thigh again and I had to deliberately focus on the road. Thankfully the diner wasn't far.
The place wasn't too packed. We were able to get a booth without a wait. Isabella and I sat on the same side facing the door. I had my arm around her.
She ordered a salad with chicken. I ordered two burgers with fries and a milkshake with two straws. I made Isabella choose the milkshake flavor.
She chose strawberry. "To prove that I do like berries."
"We'll see," I said.
"Your dad didn't make fun of my packing, so thank you for all your help with that. And he bragged to Harry about your cooking when he brought out the lunch."
"You sure he wasn't bragging about your cooking?"
"I felt like he was bragging about us as a team. I had a lot of fun cooking with you like that."
"Me too," she said, smiling up at me. "I was thinking about it and I don't think I've ever cooked with someone like that before, where we were at similar skill levels and I trusted you to do stuff."
"Who taught you how to cook?" I asked her.
"My grandma, mostly. That's my mom's mom. Was it your aunt?"
"Yeah, although my dad can cook too but he didn't always have the patience to teach me."
"It made me feel like we were really compatible," she said, almost cautiously, "us working together like that."
"I think that's true."
"It made me wonder about the mates thing. Can you tell me more?"
I leaned my head back, thinking about what to tell her. "Do you have any specific questions?"
"How did you know?"
"I looked into your eyes and it was like all the things that were important in the universe were being reorganized in my head, and caring for you, protecting you, that was at the top now."
"Is that how it was for the other guys?"
"That's my understanding, yeah."
"But you didn't love me right that second?" she asked.
"No, I didn't realize I was in love with you until, I think, Tuesday or Wednesday."
She smiled up at me and whispered, "I love you too, Paul."
"I'm sorry. I didn't say it right. I love you, Isabella. I wasn't going to say it until after we talked to Sam, and that was if you didn't dump me."
"Why would I dump you?"
"Well, that's the part I'm scared to tell you about." I said. The waitress put down our drinks and straws.
"Tell me anyway. Be brave."
She was bold. I liked it. "So I've been worried that your feelings for me we're because of this magical connection, that they're not genuine. So I've also been worried that you would be afraid that my feelings for you also were not genuine."
"Do you think that's true about your feelings?"
"They feel real to me."
"Mine do too," she said, "so I feel like we can put that fear to rest."
"Ok."
"Anything else you're scared of?"
I looked down at her and I loved her so much. "No." I kissed her quickly and hugged her to me.
The waitress put the salad down first, then the two burgers with fries.
"Please help yourself to fries," I said to Isabella, already munching on some.
She took one. "Thank you." Then she ate her salad. I ate my first burger mostly in silence.
"The appetite, is it because of…"
I nodded and swallowed. "It takes a lot of energy, the transformation. The extra body heat takes energy too. I don't really understand the body heat, what purpose that it serves."
"Does it let you stay outside longer?"
"In the winter, sure, but it's annoying in the summer. And we can stay out in the cold as a wolf anyway with the fur coat. Real wolves have the same body temperature as humans so it doesn't make sense to me at all."
"Yeah, that sounds like a waste of energy."
"It really does. But I can't change it. I just have to live the life I have."
"Can I see the wolf?"
"Yeah, after the talk with Sam, ok?"
"Ok. You're making me nervous about that talk again."
"I'm nervous. But we need to do it. I know I haven't explained it well enough yet."
"Well enough for what?"
"For you to decide."
"Decide what?"
"If you actually want to be with me. I mean, like forever."
"Do I have to decide that now?"
"No, of course not." I said, looking at her tenderly. "There's no pressure. We can take it at your pace."
"Ok. I definitely feel like I'm missing something."
I polished off my second burger, then said, "Yeah, probably. That's why we need to talk to everyone else. I know I'm not explaining it all properly. I don't know as much about it as they do."
"Yeah, ok."
"Help me finish the fries before the milk shake melts."
She took a few more fries while I ate them by the handful.
"We could have just drank the milkshake before the fries."
"Blasphemy! Fries are always first because their texture goes off the quickest. An exception can be made if I'm very hungry, like tonight. But never milkshake before fries."
"If you say so."
"Let's drink the milkshake at the same time, like in the movies," I suggested. I had always wanted to try that.
"You're adorable."
"You are! You ready?"
She nodded and brought her lips to her straw.
"Go!" I said and started drinking. I saw only a little bit go to her straw compared to the constant stream entering my mouth.
I stopped drinking and kissed her. "Mmm. You taste like salad."
"You taste delicious." Then she started drinking for real.
I paid the bill but Isabella insisted on paying the tip. That was fine with me. I drove her home.
"Do you want to come in?" she asked.
"I can't make love to you until after we talk to Sam, you understand that, right?"
"Ok. Maybe we could just fool around and snuggle?"
"Hell yeah."
I basically kissed her all the way up to her room and then I froze. The whole place smelled like leech, way worse than the rest of the house. It was concentrated on the bed and rocking chair but it was everywhere.
She saw me sniffing around, scrunching up my nose. So she explained, "Edward used to watch me sleep."
"Can I take you to my house instead?"
"Yeah, let me pack an overnight bag." I watched her pack clothes and pajamas and toiletries. I had never had anyone stay overnight before.
We listened to music during the ride to my house. I was legit nervous. How was I going to have her in my bed and not fuck her? She seemed cool as a cucumber.
At the house, I showed her where the bathroom was then waited while she got changed for bed. I went in and brushed my teeth, washed my face and peed.
She was in my bed when I got out.
I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into bed beside her. I was so thankful for the new mattress. It would carry her scent alone.
We were facing each other, heads on the pillows when she attacked me. Her tongue was practically down my throat and her hands were aggressively roaming my body. I put both of my arms around her, holding her close. I kissed her back just as deeply.
She came up for air a minute later. She was so beautiful in my bed.
"Can we do that thing where we rub against each other with clothes on?"
"Dry hump? Yeah."
I relaxed my grip on her then noticed a wound on her upper arm. She had stitches. It looked recent.
"What is this?"
"Oh, it's from before I met you," she said, trying to wave the question away.
"That doesn't answer the question. What happened?"
"It was an accident."
"Ok. What happened?" I asked again.
"Promise you won't freak out?"
"Nope. I'm already freaking out."
She laughed. "It's stupid. I told you I was clumsy. Well, I went to the Cullen's house for my birthday and I got a paper cut."
I looked at the stitches again. "That is not a paper cut."
"No, it's not. One of the Cullens had bloodlust from the smell of the paper cut and charged at me. Edward threw me back and protected me from his brother."
"Threw you back?"
"Yeah, he threw me behind him. I crashed into a cabinet and there was glass. I told you I was clumsy." She smiled meekly.
I hugged her so close. "None of that story was about you being clumsy. That story was about you being abused and bullied by vampires."
"I guess."
"There's no 'I guess.' I'm worried that you don't see how badly they treated you."
"I do. I just don't think that was an example. Edward forgot his own strength in the moment but he did protect me. It's better to have this than be dead or turned."
I let out a sigh of relief. "I can agree with that."
"Can we get back to us, please?" She pulled my face to hers. My hand was on her back. It wandered to her boob. It was perfect. It fit in my hand and responded to my touch. Perfect.
Isabella lied down flat and pulled me over her. I positioned myself between her knees. I rubbed my hand along her crotch. She was not wearing panties. Fuck. It was so hot. Her sleep shorts were short and left a lot of space for access. My boxer shorts were the only thing between us.
I went right back to kissing her while grinding myself against her. It was crazy hot. She wanted me here, between her legs and I was pleasuring her. It felt so good. After making out like that for a while, I could feel her face changing as we kissed. I looked at her and she was fucking orgasming! It was so beautiful!
"I'm going to go to the bathroom." I said, bouncing off of her when her orgasm had peaked.
"Wait!" she cried. "There's tissues. We can take care of it here."
I laid back down and looked her in the eye. "We?"
She grinned and grabbed a few tissues. She pulled down my boxers and freed my erection. "I've never done this before." She sounded a little nervous.
"There's almost no wrong way to do it. Be gentle and have fun."
Her little hands wrapped around my cock and started stroking up and down.
"That's really good."
"Stuff is coming out."
"You can lick it if you want." I was such a bastard but I really wanted to see her lick it.
She did. "Mmmm. Tastes sweet, almost like the milkshake."
That was perfect. Then she'd like it.
She put the tip in her mouth while she continued to stroke the shaft with her hands. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen and it felt unreal. I could feel my cock tighten before the release. "I'm gonna come. You might want to move back."
She did not move back. She kept licking the tip all over with her tongue. She swallowed. She was so fucking perfect.
I pulled her up to me so we were face to face again. "That was incredible!" I said to her, kissing her.
"I liked it too," she said, a little timid. "I've never touched one before."
"A penis? Fucking awesome! You did awesome."
She nuzzled into my shoulder. I don't know who fell asleep first but I slept great.