Wednesday

I was on cloud nine the next day at school. After school, I met Jared and Kim at Jared's car, ready to meet Bella at the library. I had legit butterflies in my stomach.

I brought my backpack into the library with me. I kind of hid behind Jared and Kim.

"This is my boyfriend, Jared, I've told you tons about him." Kim was making introductions to Isabella.

"Nice to meet you," Jared leaned forward and stretched out his hand. Of course, Jared had met her before, the night that I imprinted, but it didn't sound like she recognized him.

"And this…" Kim turned to where I was standing behind Jared, "stop being a goofball. Stop hiding." Kim scolded me, pulling me away from Jared. "This is Jared's best friend, Paul."

Kim was grinning. Isabella was grinning too. "That was a dirty trick you played on me."

"How so?" I asked.

"You could have told me."

"I could have, but that would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, maybe. So did you finish the book I lent you?"

"I did." I said, sitting next to her at the table. I pulled it from my backpack to show her I remember to bring it. "The ending was, well, it was pretty hot. But I liked how she stayed true to her principles through all that."

"I know right? And he respected her all the more for it."

"Of course he did," I said, looking her in the eye.

She blushed. "What are you going to read next?"

"I'm not sure, got any recommendations?"

"Is there anything in particular you want to read?"

I ran my tongue along my bottom lip. "Kim mentioned something about Beauty and the Beast bodice rippers and that honestly sounds intriguing." I could see pink rising into Isabella's cheeks and it was so beautiful.

Jared facepalmed, shaking his head in disapproval. He said, "You're going to be reading these books for the rest of your life if you're not careful."

"Don't listen to Jared," Kim said excitedly. "He loves them. The last three romance novels I read were recommendations from him."

"They're addicting!" He said in defense.

"Kim actually got me into the Beauty and the Beast trope," Isabella said. "Hot stuff." I gave Kim a quick side eye. She had made it sound like Isabella had discovered those books on her own.

Isabella stood up and grabbed my hand. We walked to the romance section. She scanned the shelves with her finger until she had pulled out a few books. She fanned out three books in her small hands and asked, "Which do you want?"

"I don't know anything about them." I said honestly. "You choose one for me."

She picked one and put the others back where she found them.

"I don't have a library card here," I confessed. "How can I get one?"

"I think they're $10 per year for non residents. Do you have your id on you?"

"Yeah, I'll grab my bag."

And that's how I got my first public library card.

"How have you gone so long without a library card?" Isabella asked me. "Are you not much of a reader?"

As she walked me back to our seats, I answered, "Oh, I read. I have a library card for school. And I'm pretty sure my aunt had one when I was little because we came here a lot. My dad buys a lot of books for when he's out at sea and he mails them to me between contracts to lighten his load. I've always had plenty to read without needing a library card here."

"It must be cool reading the same books as your dad. My parents aren't big readers."

"It is cool," I agreed. "It means we always have something to talk about, something in common even though we live very different lives. And he puts notes in the books, highlights his favorite parts, stuff like that."

"It sounds like you two have a unique relationship. So I've given you two book recommendations. Would it be asking too much for you to lend me one of your dad's books that you think I'd like?"

"Absolutely not," I answered quickly. " I would love to do that. There aren't a lot of bodice rippers among them. There are quite a few romances though."

"I read a lot other than romances. They're just a comfort when I'm going through a rough time or need a pick-me-up."

"You're going through a rough time?" I thought things were going pretty well between us.

"Well, yeah. Alice Cullen was my best friend and she left without a goodbye. Even though I don't care for Edward anymore, the way he dumped me was brutal, dehumanizing. I think…" she looked down at her lap and said, "I don't know, if I hadn't met you it would probably be a lot worse."

"So, I've helped?" That was encouraging.

She looked up at me again. "Of course, yes, you've helped a lot. You make me question what I even saw in him. Sorry. Am I being too forward? We're not even official or anything."

"Official?" I asked.

"Like official boyfriend and girlfriend," Jared explained.

"How do we do that?" I asked Jared.

"You just ask her if she wants to be your girlfriend and then you'll be exclusive." He said this like it was supposed to be obvious or something.

"Exclusive like we don't see other people?" I asked.

"Exactly," Jared confirmed.

Isabella was smiling nervously. I hoped that meant she wanted to be official.

Only one way to find out. I asked, "Isabella, do you want to be my girlfriend, and then you won't date any other people besides me?"

Kim giggled quietly. Jared facepalmed. "You won't see any other people beside her either, Paul."

"Obviously!" I said to him, exasperated, "you know I don't want to be with anyone else."

"You've got to tell her that! She doesn't know that!" Jared was talking to me like I was an idiot and I didn't like it. But he was right. I hadn't told her that.

"Right." I conceded. I turned back to her, my heart racing now. "And I also won't see other people and I'll be your boyfriend. What do you say?"

She hugged me. "Yes!" Then she kissed my face a bunch of times until her lips landed on my mouth. Before I knew it, we were making out in the library. It was pretty hot. My arms were wrapped around her. She had one hand in my hair, the other stroking my bicep. Hot.

Jared cleared his throat after a few minutes. I pulled away from her and sighed.

"Am I your first girlfriend?" She asked me in a whisper, sucking me in with that intense eye contact.

"Yeah. How can you tell?"

"Just by the way you asked. So how are you such a good kisser? And dancer?"

"My aunt taught me how to dance. And, um," I looked away for this part, ashamed, "I've been with a lot of girls, I just haven't wanted any to be my girlfriend before."

"Oh."

"Is that ok?" I asked, my eyes returning to hers, my heart pounding. Did I fuck this up before I even began?

She answered pretty quickly. "Yeah. My past isn't squeaky clean either."

I let out a huge sigh of relief.

Then she leaned over and whispered to me, "but I am a virgin, so I'll need you to be gentle."

I was speechless. My wolf was jumping for joy, but I was just stunned. I looked her in the eye and just nodded. After a minute, my ability to speak returned. "We'll take it slow," I promised, "as slow as you need."

She smiled at me. "Good."

"So what do you girls usually do at these library get-togethers?" I said, looking at Kim, then back at Isabella. "I hope Jared and I aren't ruining the fun."

"Definitely not," Kim said, beaming at me. "This is the most fun I've had here in ages.

Isabella glared at her, like she had let too much slip with that comment. "We usually just gossip while pretending to do homework."

"So what's the gossip?" I asked.

Kim giggled. "At Forks High or at the rez school?"

"Jared, you pick," I told him.

"I already know all the gossip, Paul. So you pick."

"Ok, what's the gossip at Forks?" I asked.

"That I got dumped by Edward Cullen," Bella started, "and that I've been spotted making out with this super hot guy from the rez."

"Is that all?" I asked.

Isabella scoffed. "It's a pretty big news story. I was the only girl Edward dated while he lived here."

Jared added, "and they're calling you 'rebound from the rez.'"

"That's got a certain charm. But I'm not a rebound. I'm the real deal," I said confidently.

"But they don't know that, not yet." Isabella said, holding my hand with both of hers. "I love how warm you are."

"Jared's warm too. It's so nice," Kim said. Kim was holding Jared's hand on the table.

"So what's the gossip at the rez school?" I asked, a little nervously now.

"The girls are mostly talking about you, Paul," Kim said. "They're saying you're probably gay and that you were a flirt before as a mask."

I laughed. "Good, that's good. Then they'll leave me alone."

Kim continued. "But Anna saw you with Bella so she's dispelling that rumor. Now she's telling everyone that she's pregnant."

"That Isabella is pregnant? Where did she get that idea?" That didn't make any sense. I turned to Isabella. "How does she even know you?"

Kim rolled her eyes. "No, she's saying that she, Anna, is pregnant."

I scoffed. "Doesn't she have a pregnancy scare like, every month? That girl needs to track her cycles better."

Jared laughed. Isabella did not. She and Kim exchanged a look.

Isabella squeezed my hand. "She's saying it's your baby."

"Ha! Fat chance! We always used protection and it's been a while since I was with her anyway. Anna gets with lots of guys. She's just mad because I turned her down. I'm not worried."

Isabella gulped. "I hope you're right."

"And she was really drunk when I turned her down last weekend," I continued. I did not want Isabella worrying about this. "If she were pregnant, why would she be drunk?"

"She's not known for making the best decisions," Jared commented.

"Fair, I still don't believe it. She's just butt hurt that I'm not a man whore anymore." I turned to my Isabella, "you should know that I was a man whore before I met you and I have regrets about that now."

"I understand," she said. She looked like she did, too, like she wasn't holding it against me. That was surprising, but I remembered Kim was the same way. Maybe it was the soulmate part of the imprint that did allow her to actually understand me this easily.

"I think we'll need to talk to Sam on Sunday ok?" I said. She needed to understand about the imprint, but I didn't know where to begin. "He'll help me explain everything better."

She looked hesitant. "Sam's kind of a buzz kill."

I laughed. "Oh I know! He is a buzz kill! But he's a good guy deep down and he'll help us come to an understanding."

"I feel like we have a pretty good understanding." She was rubbing her thumb along the back of my hand.

"There's a lot we're not saying, Isabella, on both sides." I held her eye contact while saying, "I know there are things you're not comfortable talking to me about. I have things that I just don't know how to talk about. Sam will help us clear the air. It's not urgent and it won't take long on Sunday."

"Ok," she nodded, "if that's what you want."

I nodded. "We have to. So you work tomorrow? We won't get to hang out at all?"

"Yeah, and I work on Saturday."

"Maybe I could take you out to dinner on Saturday?" I asked. "That's kind of a long time for me to not see my girlfriend."

She smiled at being called my girlfriend. "Could we go to the diner in Forks?"

"Yeah, when do you get off of work on Saturday?"

"6:00 pm."

"So I'll pick you up at your house at 6:30, does that sound ok?"

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"And I'll be in Newton's tomorrow. I'm running low on those granola bars."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I don't know how you're doing that. Unless you're running to my house in the middle of the night."

Kim snorted.

"You're not!" Isabella was looking at me, clearly thinking about whether or not that was even possible. "Is that why you were in the tree?"

"I admit that I came to check on you the time you caught me in the tree. I'm not admitting to anything beyond that."

She rolled her eyes. "Will this be revealed when we visit Sam?"

"As long as you don't dump me before we get to that part."

"Deal." I think that meant our relationship was secure until Sunday, even if it was just to have her curiosity satisfied.

"We should really get going," Kim said, looking at her watch. "My mom is expecting me back in like, twenty minutes and I'm already gonna be late. Jared, help me check out my books." Jared nodded and followed Kim to the service counter.

I looked at my Isabella. "The more time I spend with you, the harder it is to let you go."

"I know, it's kind of intense."

"Yeah, but I like it."

"Me too." She brought her lips to mine again, and it was so good. I could kiss her forever and be content.

"Time to go, bud," Jared said, packing up my backpack for me.

I pulled away from Isabella. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, but it was too soon. But I did love her! She was wife material for sure!

No. She needed to know about the wolf pack first. If she didn't dump me, I could tell her that I loved her on Sunday, after we talked to Sam.

She stood up when I did. I hugged her, not wanting to let her go at all. I whispered, "Sweet dreams, Isabella."

"You too, Paul."

In the car, Kim kept on commenting about how cute we were and how Bella seemed so happy. It was nice to hear, but I knew we still had a pretty big hurdle in front of us. We needed to talk about the pack and the Cullens. It wasn't going to be an easy conversation. Every time the Cullens came up, she had a fear response. And I hadn't even been able to bring myself to speak about the pack even once.

I started reading the book Isabella recommended when I got home. It was an interesting premise. The main couple was an odd pairing, but the chemistry was intriguing. I could see how Jared had gotten himself addicted to these books. I wasn't going to tell him that, though.

The rain was pouring down that night in Forks. The ground was too wet to sleep on comfortably. I slept on the Swan's porch. I hoped this wouldn't cause any trouble.