Chapter 65

EPOV

Before I had even opened my eyes the dull thud in the back of my head told me what I already knew - last night I drank more then I should have. I don’t normally indulge in excess alcohol. In part because I don’t like the feeling it gives me of being out of control. It also puts an end to any D/s play. Cardinal rule number one for any Dom is: excess alcohol on the brain equals no submissive in your hands.

It’s not like I have never gotten drunk, my college days were the same as everyone else. Weekends were for parties, bars and women. I had my fair share of waking in my bed with an unfamiliar woman who I would promptly get rid of before going back to bed to sleep off the effects of the night before.

This time could not be blamed on youthful stupidity it was a calculated activity all in the name of having a good time. When I had mentioned to Bella that we were expected to attend a fire burning revelry, I didn’t realize how spot-on that assessment was. I think they did everything except howl at the moon and rut in the sand and even the howling I’m not too sure about.

Once Bella had rejoined me at the table, I told her some of what Leah and I had spoken about. She was upset and wanted to tell her sister to mind her own business. I however thought that our small talk had been a good thing. Leah had gotten some of her concerns out in the open, I wasn’t sure if she was asking me because of her lack of trust on Bella’s part to not hide anything or if she strictly wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Either way I think that the few minutes we talked diminished some of Leah’s worries.

I could have said more to her on the subject and there was part of me that wishes I did. Thinking that the more enlightened Leah was the more accepting she would be. Although I remember my father talking to me about sex, he would only answer what I asked-when I asked, not elaborating any more than necessary. His thinking was that if he answered honestly without giving more information than I was ready for, I would feel secure enough to ask something else when the time came.

I was sort of using the same philosophy, keeping the doors of communication open in hopes that Bella can keep the relationship that she has with her sister. I know that over the past few weeks Leah’s withdrawal has been hard on Bella, the last thing I wanted to do was to be the cause of a rift between the two sisters. Leah said that she was willing to trust me and for the time being that was enough.

When we joined everyone else they still seemed to be segregated into their own groups much the same as everyone was during dinner. Clusters of chairs were scattered around the fire pit taking up their places on the beach for the night. On the far side in front of a larger rock Billy sat in his wheelchair next to Charlie and their friends each with a beer in their hands. We were on the other side situated between the fire and volleyball area. I’m not sure whose pickup trucks we were using but with the tail gates down and blankets to cushion the steel, it became a perfect space to spend the evening with friends.

They were friends, I was comfortable with them and for the most part they seemed to have accepted me, if for no other reason than to placate Bella.

Music came through the speakers attached to the pavilion where the lights had been dimmed. The only true brightness was cast down onto the volleyball area where the games were still going on. The other illumination came from the large blazing fire where the twelve graduates stood throwing things into the flames. Books, papers even some clothing all went up in smoke. I suppose it was like a rite of passage, burning the past to begin a new future. There was a lot of laughing and yelling as each one took their turn at destroying what they no longer deemed necessary.

Sitting on the corner of the truck, Bella stood between my legs with my hand wrapped around her waist holding her back against my body. The kids around the fire seemed to be finishing up when Sue came over to ask Bella if she could speak to her. With a kiss on my cheek the two women walked a few feet away to converse. I wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around me because my focus was on the fire. Someone had handed one of the kids a glass jar with what looked like a light amber liquid inside. Each one took a drink before passing it to the next person. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was but my best guess would have been homemade alcohol.

Quil who was sitting next to me handed over a similar jar, nodding his head as if to give me the go ahead.

“What is it?”

“LAHB…Plum juice.”

Taking a whiff of the contents it didn’t smell like anything, especially plums.

Looking back over across the beach it seemed like every group had their own jar and I figured ‘hell if the teenagers are drinking it, it can’t be that bad.’ Bringing the jar to my lips I should have stopped there when they started to tingle. I heard Bella yell, “Don’t drink that!” and a second later she was standing in front of me but it was too late.

I’ve heard of homemade liquor being called firewater and now I knew why. The tingle on my lips was nothing compared to the burn in my mouth or down my throat as I swallowed. My eyes watered as it felt like someone had taken a hot poker searing my insides. I couldn’t sputter or spit because all I could do was guzzle down the beer in my hand as fast as I could. When my eyes finally focused it was on Bella’s wide eyed gaze that I saw. She had both her hands clasped over her mouth in what looked like fright. At least I thought it was fright until she spoke.

“Are you ok?” the words of worry were mixed with humor.

I didn’t want to breath too heavy for fear that the heat from my breath would singe her eyebrows. Bella was biting her lip in nervous anticipation of my response. My body shook slightly as the last of the effects wore off and I could talk. “What the hell is that shit?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Bella’s words were cut off by Emery who took the jar out of my hand giving it to Bella before patting me on the shoulder, “Now you’re truly one of us.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, “If I have to drink that shit I think I’d rather be an outsider.” As I said the words my eyes widened in amazement as I watched Bella take a rather large gulp before passing the jar to Claire.

Emery laughed, “It’s an acquired taste, and you’ll get used to it.”

Bella stepped back between my open legs still looking rather amused yet apologetic as she wrapped her arms around my neck, “I should have warned you.”

My arms embraced her around the small of her back holding her body close to me as I questioned, “Acquired taste?”

She giggled, “kind of like pâté.”

My eyes narrowed while Bella bit her lip trying to contain her merriment, “Oh…I see how it is.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose…honest I didn’t.”

The sincerity of her words were belied by the humor she still showed. But I didn’t care because her lips were so close that I couldn’t help myself. The kiss was soft and sweet until Bella’s tongue ran over my bottom lip. Opening my mouth I had to keep myself from groaning as I tasted the residue that was left from the alcohol she just drank. The normal tingle I felt whenever we touched was intensified by the strong liquid and I felt like I was melting into her. The only reason I was brought back to my senses was the heavy breath that came out of Bella. It wasn’t a whimper more like a needy shuttering that made my body respond with its own desire.

If we kept going there was no way I would make it through the rest of the night without having to take her somewhere to allay the craving that was building. My hands moved down to her hips pushing them away from my growing dick, Bella got the message and pulled her head back. The soft innocent blush that covered her face was worse on my hard-on then the kiss was and I did softly groan.

“You’re going to fucking kill me one day.” Bella tilted her head in confusion. I didn’t want to be crass and put her hand on my dick so she could feel what I was talking about. Instead I pulled her hips back to me smashing my hard-on against her thigh. Bad mistake because my dick throbbed even more with the contact and the blush that deepened on her face.

Bella put her forehead against my shoulder nuzzling her nose into my neck sending more shivers through me as she whispered in my ear, “Death by boner, is that possible?”

Dipping my head so that my mouth was against her ear, I growled quietly, “Hmmm…if he could fucking drown inside your wetness, little Eddie would die a happy man.”

Bella straightened up while she laughed so hard a snort came out as she mumbled ‘little eddie’ making me laugh along with her. The twinkle in her eyes increased as the tears from her laughter filled them. After a moment the laughter settled and with amusement she asked, “A happy man, uh?”

“Happiest man alive…or would he be deceased?” I asked with a chuckle.

Bella moved to kiss me once more with restraint and when she moved back I stared into those beautiful soulful brown eyes and couldn’t help the words that came from my mouth, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The loud groan disrupted the moment, “AHHH…can you two stop? I’m getting nauseous over here!”

I wasn’t exactly sure who said it but my money was on Paul. Bella rolled her eyes and I chuckled at the blush that crept back over her cheeks. Jacob however took the opportunity to seek forgiveness, “Since you’re so full of love over there, are you going to talk to me now?”

Bella turn her body back around resting her back once again on my chest giving me a chance to see the expressions of the women staring at us. The smiles on their faces left no doubt that they approved, especially Leah who grinned wider when Bella responded with a resounding, “No, I’m mad at you.”

“Come on Bella, where’s the love?”

I grinned as she huffed ignoring him. She really could be stubborn, but I knew it wouldn’t last much longer.

The relationship she had with Jacob seemed much tighter than what she had with Leah. Not that Bella didn’t love her sister it was more of a closeness that radiated off of her and Jacob. Bella shared something with him that was special and she was much closer with Jacob than with any of the others. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was that bonded the two of them together and I was sure that there were never any romantic ties. Yet it seemed to me that the two of them sometimes existed in their own little space that few people (if any) penetrated. It was like they fed off of each other, needing the other in a way that I didn’t understand.

Kim’s words brought me out of my own thoughts, “Bella what beach are you going to?”

Bella tipped back the bottle of beer taking a drink before answering, “I’m not sure.”

Her admission earned some laughter, “You don’t know where you’re going?”

Her head turned to me with a questioning gaze making me chuckle, “We’re going to Lincoln City in Oregon.”

“Is that where?” I nodded as she gave her attention back to Kim.

“We were supposed to go down to California, but there was a problem with the number of rooms that were needed, so the destination changed.” Bella shrugged “It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Who else is going?” Leah wanted to know.

“Just Edward’s family.”

Claire spoke up, “So you get along with all of them?”

Bella nodded and while she was talking I half listened while answering Quil’s question about how long of a drive it was, and Emery’s response that they had a great golf course there. I was beginning to think that anywhere we went Emery would be able to tell us where the best golfing was. Bella was filling the women in on my family dynamics, giving names and basic information, and then she seemed to have thought of something.

“In fact Claire, you might remember Alice. She went to PACC with us, and would sit in on some of our study groups. Petit girl,” Bella held her hand up at shoulder level, “dark hair - real perky. In fact once you told her that she should lay off the caffeine.”

I had to chuckle at that because I often told my sister the same thing. Claire however shook her head in ignorance. Then after a second recognition came to her, “Wait! Was she the one who was supposed to go to Chicago to that fashion institute, but stayed here to be with that guy who was in Med School?”

Bella nodded taking another drink from the bottle, “Yes…that’s her.”

“Ohhh…yeah, she was annoying.”

I chuckled while Bella became serious, “Alice is Edward’s sister.”

Claire gave me an embarrassed expression, “Sorry…” then she justified her words, “She was just always so bubbly it was hard to believe that anyone had that much energy.”

“No problem,” I told her holding up my hand, “there are times when even I would agree with you.”

Clair however redeemed herself by being interested, “She is still with that guy?”

Bella continued to fill in the blanks while I talked with Quil and Emery. Leah’s question is what caught my attention, “Do you want us to take Seth? Then you don’t have to worry about him.”

Bella looked back to me; I gave her a shrug because it didn’t matter, whatever she decided was fine. She leaned forward looking over towards Jacob. “That depends on if your husband is going to take my baby trolling for bitches in the park.”

Leah giggled while Jacob became indigent, “I told you it was once and done…”

“I’m not even talking to you!” the words were spit at him with venom making me chuckle. Then Bella turned to me all sweet and gentle, “do you want another beer?”

“Sure,” I nodded watching her walk over to the large buckets where the cold drinks were.

Jacob sighed heavily, “Ok…enough of this shit.”

He followed Bella across the sand, but it looked like she was still ignoring him while he tried to use reason. My attention went back to what was happening around me when the jar reappeared.

Are they doing this on purpose when Bella isn’t here?

Eyeing the jar I passed it to Clair who was sitting on the truck bed between Quil’s legs she wasn’t paying attention and automatically took a drink, I shivered from the effect while she showed no reaction at all. Apparently Quil seen my response because he laughed, “There is a trick to LAHB, babe give me one of those sugar packets.”

He held his hand out while Claire pulled a small white packet from the pocket of her hoodie. Quil then proceeded to explain what to do. “It sounds gross, but get a good bunch of spit in your mouth then dump the sugar in it.”

I still wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to do but I figured it was worth a try. Quil handed me back the jar, “Now move the sugar to the back of your tongue and take a small sip, swallowing real fast.”

The wad of sugar kept me from taking very much of the liquid and it still tingled on my lips but the burn wasn’t as bad as it moved down my throat. When I gave Quil back the jar he smiled like he knew that this time around was much better than the first. There was no sputtering and my eyes didn’t feel like they were going to pop out of my head so I was able to talk, “Thanks that was much better.”

Quil smiled, “Sorry about before dude, I just figured that being around Jake so much that you would have some experience with Juice.”

“It’s alright,” I assured him. “There was no LAHB?” I questioned the pronunciation, and Quil understood giving me a nod as I finished, “the few times we got together.”

He seemed to take my words in disbelief and I would have questioned him but I heard Bella yelling, “Jake put me down!”

Looking over he had Bella hanging upside down over his arm like a trapeze artist. She was still insistent but laughing as the two shirts - my shirts - she had on bunched down around her rib cage. While her hands clutched to his leg as he walked slowly back over to us. “Jake I’m serious, my shirt is falling down!”

“Then I guess you better start talking, because Charlie is coming over and he’s going to see that tattoo,” I looked up and Charlie was nowhere to be seen, however from Bella’s position she wouldn’t have known.

“Jake! Come on I’m getting dizzy.”

“You are not and you’re not getting up until you talk to me.”

“No…not until you say you’re sorry and mean it!” By this time they were only a few feet away and Bella tucked her head against his leg and Jacob yelled, “OWE! Fuck!”

Bella started wiggling more and I was afraid he would drop her. “Jacob.” It was all I said while motioning for him to hand her over.

With a sigh his arm swung in my direction, “Take her she bites.”

Chuckling I bent down to grasp Bella under her arms pulling her up and into my body. Her arms and legs wrapped around me as I sat back against truck, “Did you bite him?”

“It was only a little nip,” she assured me while eyeing Jacob with a sideward glance

“I have sensitive skin,” Jacob tried to defend himself.

“Sensitive skin my ass, you’re a big baby.”

Their eyes locked for a moment as something passed between them. I felt like for a second I was intruding on a private conversation, which was fucking weird in and of itself, and it irritated me because I didn’t understand what was going on. If I didn’t know any better I would say they were lovers. Except Jacob was married to someone else and Bella was clinging to me for all she was worth. My eyes went to Leah who didn’t seem to be paying any attention as if it were all ok.

Was it ok? Is this normal behavior for them?

I didn’t want to come off as the possessive jealous boyfriend yet I was beginning to feel like a third wheel.

Jacob leaned down kissing the top of Bella’s head in an intimate gesture that was slowly becoming a habit for them, “I’m sorry na-WAY-th.”

Bella sighed and seemed to relax against me even more as if a weight had been lifted, “I forgive you, but don’t do that again.”

Turning back to me Bella seemed to remember that I was there as she kissed my cheek, “My hero…you saved me.”

“Saved you? I handed you over to him.”

“No you didn’t…Edward took me from you.” The exchange they were having was playful in nature and even though I was at the center of it, I wondered if Bella’s words were more truer than I originally thought.

Had I taken her from him?

“Not that I needed rescuing,” she told me pointedly. “I can handle Jake,”

Jacob laughed, “Only because I let you.”

“Na ah…I know your weakness.”

Bella giggled and their talk was back to playful banter, yet there was a truth behind what she was saying that nagged at the back of my mind. I had a sudden need to take Bella away from there, to keep her from the intimacy that she was sharing with another man. It was stupid and irrational that I should feel that way. I had seen the two of them interact several times, heard and seen the closeness that they shared, yet I hadn’t realized until that moment how close they really were. And it unnerved me as I wondered for the first time if it would be possible for me to ever be to Bella what Jacob seems to be.

I didn’t realize as my mind was wandering that my hands were also roving around until Bella wiggled in my lap and I believe it was Emily spoke, “That’s nice ink Bella. When did you get it done?”

Bringing my mind back to reality I realized that my hands had roamed over Bella’s ribs taking her shirts with them and exposing her back. Emily stood behind Bella who had moved to stand while Claire and Kim also came to investigate.

“Ummm…a month ago?” Bella’s answer was a question directed at me. I nodded in agreement.

“Hey!” Bella yelled as I realized someone pulled the back of her pants out to see the rest of the tattoo.

“How far down does it go?” Kim asked in interest as Bella slapped her hand away from the elastic in her pants and once again looked to me for the answer. Bella’s hand touched the spot on her butt, “To here?”

I smiled at her because this was something about Bella that I knew that Jacob didn’t. “Little bit further down…to about here,” my finger swirled over the black yoga pants she was wearing right where the tattoo swirled on the fullness of her ass cheek.

“Holy shit…you had to get naked for that?” Emily’s question was humorous in its innocence.

Of course she had to get naked

Bella’s back had become the thing to see at the moment as everyone came to take a look. She blushed and whether it was from the attention or the question I wasn’t sure.

“Yeah…but not completely, and Edward was there,” She said that as if it should have been obvious.

“Jake did you know he took her to get a tattoo?” Quil asked.

“Not until it was done,” Leah assured him as Jacob shrugged in nonchalance. Quil’s gaze moved between Jacob and me and when I looked around Jared was openly staring at me.

What is his fucking problem?

The music changed to a dance song that was familiar and Claire stood from her seat next to me grabbing Bella’s arm to take her along. All the other women had already abandoned the art work on Bella’s back to move where the lines were forming. Bella pulled down her shirt taking my hand, “Come do the Cupid Shuffle.”

I chuckled, “You go…I’ll watch. You know how much I like to watch.”

Bella bit her lip giggling and as she turned to go I swatted her bottom making her gasp while a small groan left her throat.

Yeah her ass was still tender

Watching her join the dance lines with everyone else, as they moved to the left, to the left, to the right, to the right…now cha cha, they were all laughing and having a good time dancing in the sand. Leah didn’t join them, instead she stood off to the side taking pictures; I suppose with her advanced pregnancy, jumping around wouldn’t be a good thing.

“I don’t know Black I think you lost your other woman to Edward” Paul’s words rung in my ear. “She’s making kissy face, going to motel rooms and getting tattoos” He laughed taking a drink from the glass jar.

“Bella’s not my woman. And don’t say that shit in front of my wife. Leah’s moody enough without you adding to it”

“Oh come on Jake, you know damn well that Bella and you…”

“Bella and I what?” Jacob was getting irate and so was I, yet my interest was peaked at what Paul was going to say. The jar came to me and I didn’t need any sugar, the burn was welcomed as Paul continued, “Who was your first kiss…”

“That doesn’t count...”

“Oh yeah…” Paul mocked, “I forgot Big bad Bella forced you.”

Jake narrowed his eyes and I wasn’t liking where this conversation was going any more than he was.

Emery tried to interject, “Bella was taller than him.”

“Yeah…yeah…and who were the first tits you ever touched, then walked around with a fucking hard on for three days?”

What the fuck

I wasn’t sure if Paul realized I was sitting there or if he was just too drunk to care either way but I was pissed and so was Jacob. “First off asshole, I was thirteen years old so the wind blew and I was sporting wood…”

“Wood and then you slept in the same bed with her every night…”

That was enough

My body stood, shaking off Quil’s hand that he had on my shoulder, but before I could say anything Jacob grabbed Paul by the shirt.

“You better shut the fuck up right now! And don’t you ever…say anything like that about Bella again. You want to talk about all the other skanks in Forks you go right ahead, but don’t even insinuate anything like that about Bella!”

“Hey..hey..hey…let’s just calm down,” Sam who had been quiet most of the night had spoken up.

Jacob pushed his fist against Paul’s chest making him stumble backwards while letting go of his shirt. Jacob walked passed me with a sideward glance shaking his head as he went over to his wife. My attention went back to Paul who had a stupid look on his face like he wasn’t sure what the problem was.

“What? I was joking around.”

“Not fucking funny,” I told him trying hard to control my temper.

“Whatever, I need a beer.” The last thing Paul needed was another beer and luckily before he could reach the bins Rachel came over with a baby on her hip to stop him.

“That woman must be a saint,” I heard laughter from next to me letting me know that I spoke my thoughts out loud.

“She definitely has patience,” Emery said clapping me on the shoulder as the music changed to play ‘Love Shack.’

There was a squeal from where everyone was dancing and the men standing with me groaned in unison. Not sure what had happened I watched Bella and her friends, do some kind of hokey dance. Laughing with the others as they stomped on the sand, shaking their butts and waving their hands in the air while moving around in a circle.

“Do they always do that?” I chucked watching the silliness of their made up moves.

“It’s like their theme song, and yes they always do it.”

That’s why it’s Leah’s ring tone

The smile on my face left when Jared sat down next to me on the truck bed, “Paul is talking out his ass.”

I sighed tipping back the bottle of beer nodding as I swallowed while he continued talking, “I’ll admit that Bella and Jake are more than friends, more than siblings too. Paul has always razzed Jake about it. That’s what was happening; Paul was looking to get a reaction.” Jared shook his head, “He should know better than to say that shit. Jake never let anyone talk about Bella like that, and Paul just likes to talk smack. He never understood why Jake was always so protective of Bella, or why he would threaten anyone who showed any interest in her.”

“He threatened them?”

“Oh yeah,” Jared took a sip from his own bottle. “It wasn’t really a threat; it was more like a promise. Everyone knew they would have to answer to Jake if something happened to Bella,” he chuckled, “believe me, I had firsthand experience.”

There was no need to tell Jared that I knew what he was talking about, besides I had a better question that needed an answer. “So how did James get under that radar?”

“That was my fault I guess. Paul can be a pain in the ass and he was goading me into saying shit that got back to Jake, who made good on his promise…it was kids stuff and I was sorry about that. Not because Jake beat the crap out of me but because I hurt Bells. Anyway, when she first went out with Jimmy we were all shocked, everyone hated him. He was an arrogant asshole always talking about the college scholarship he was going to get for football. James was ok for Forks but…”

I interrupted before finishing the bottle in my hand, “He was a big fish in a little pond.”

“Yeah,” Jared reached behind him in the truck bed handing me another beer, “and even as a kid he thought because his parents owned the store that he was better than everyone else. The reality that they struggled just like everyone else was lost on him. I mean come on let’s face it…this is Forks, there isn’t a big tourist trade and his parents store survives on placing orders for the surrounding schools along with the occasional backpackers going through.”

What Jared was saying made sense, the landscape was beautiful it was all green and plush. The mountain ranges were vast creating a great spot for hiking. I thought about the kids we had met while Zip Cording, they had started their trail here in Forks. However I wondered if they were the norm, simply due to the location I couldn’t imagine that there would be many hikers that actually came this far west.

“Anyway, when Bells told Jake that she was going out with Jimmy Cummings,” he said the name like it left a nasty taste in his mouth, “He freaked out and somehow or another she made him promise to leave Jimmy alone.” Jared sighed, “and he did. I think she pointed out the strain in our friendship at the time…I don’t really know for sure, except I overheard Bells tell him that he can’t go around kicking everyone’s ass.”

Twisting off the lid of the bottle I didn’t know what to say about that. I could see Bella’s point. She had seen what happened to Jared and if Jacob was going around warning everyone to stay away from Bella, how was she ever going to be with someone? Dawning came to me as I thought about it, the boys weren’t blind to Bella’s charms, they were afraid of Jacob’s bronze.

Jacob was only doing what he thought best and I can’t blame him for wanting to protect Bella, but everything that happened only seemed to cement her fate. The one person Jacob should have kept her from was the one who he looked the other way because Bella had asked him to. I wondered if it was out of respect for Bella’s wishes or if Jacob felt guilty because of what happened with Jared. Not that I wouldn’t have kicked someone’s ass if they said that shit about Alice, no matter who goaded them into it.

“That’s what I thought had happened with you.”

“What?”

“I thought Bells had once again asked Jake to back off, and I wanted to make sure that if he did, that someone like Jimmy wasn’t getting through the safety net. Did you know that fifty percent of women who leave their abusers will find themselves in another abusive relationship?”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

His eyes narrowed, “Fifty percent, it’s a toss of a coin and I wasn’t going to let that happen simply because Bella asked. So I was watching, looking for any kind of sign that something wasn’t right.”

That’s why he kept fucking staring at me

I laughed, “and here I thought you wanted my woman.”

“Oh I do,” Jared chuckled stopping when he caught the glare in my eyes. “I want her to be happy…I want her to be safe…I want her to have the good fifty percent.”

The giggling from the women returning was the only thing that took my attention away from Jared. Along with Charlie’s voice telling us that he and Sue were leaving. The arrangements to meet for breakfast in the morning were set. Seth came over – it was the first I had seen him all night – asking if we, the old guys wanted to play them in a game of volleyball.

I wasn’t sure I liked being called one of the old guys but we played them anyway. Three games and I couldn’t tell you how many beers and passes of the jar later us old guys were beaten two games to one, even though our cheerleaders were louder and drunker than theirs. It was fun and getting late.

Most of the adults had left and the kids were starting to put up tents on the beach to sleep out for the night. Emery and Kim sent their children home with Kim’s mom; and they, along with everyone else decided to come back to the house we were staying at to continue with the party.

Jacob started the fire in the ring out in the front yard, while Bella and I got some extra chairs out of the shed. Leah brought out the radio turning it to an oldies station that seemed to be stuck in the eighties. There was more laughing and reminiscing while we sat around the fire for a while.

“Let’s play truth or dare,” Kim suggested.

“No!” Bella was adamant while Emery laughed, “Come on sweet cheeks…”

“Why the fuck do you call her that?” I had been hearing it all weekend and wanted to know the meaning behind the nick-name. Bella took my hand ready to explain but Emery just laughed harder, “because she fucking hates it,” while Leah laughed, “Come on Edward you remember we told you about Bella running around the barn naked and falling in the mud.”

Oh…yeah. The truth or dare story

They all laughed while Jared questioned, “Why wasn’t I there for that?”

Bella pointed a finger at him, “Because your momma wouldn’t let you play with Jake anymore.”

He took the words with a knowing grin as Leah looked over to Bella and out of nowhere exclaimed, “You have to shave my legs tomorrow.”

“What?” she asked dubiously.

“I go to the doctor on Tuesday and I need to shave my legs but I can’t see them so you have…”

“That seems above and beyond the call of duty. Why don’t you go get waxed?” it sounded like a simple solution.

“Because it fucking hurts,” Leah’s response was met with Claire’s reply, “it’s not that bad.”

“The hell it isn’t!” Leah’s retort made me lean towards Bella in wonder, “Does it hurt really badly?”

I made her get a full body wax and she never questioned or complained, so I was surprised by her answer. “Yes…it hurts”

Thinking that she would elaborate I was even more surprised when she burst out laughing, “Ask Jake.”

“Bella!” he yelled but she was laughing too hard to care and the others picked up quickly that there was something they didn’t know, “Dude?” Quil chuckled while Leah wanted to know, “When did you get waxed?”

Bella was still laughing while Jacob was staring daggers at her as she tried to back pedal out of the situation, “No, he didn’t!” but no one believed her.

“Jake, my man you did.” We were all laughing mostly because of Bella’s fit of hysteria.

“Alright…yes I did.”

Leah giggled, “When?”

“Right before the wedding…” Bella was laughing so hard it was hard to understand her, “didn’t you notice…he was all baby smooth?”

“Thanks a lot Bells,” Jacob huffed but the chuckle was there while Emery wanted to know, “Did it hurt?”

That question made Bella laugh so hard there was no sound coming out just a few words at a time, “He screamed…so loud…I …had to go…in and …hold his hand.”

“Dude you screamed?” Quil question through his laughter.

“Let somebody rip the hair out of your ass and see what you do,” Jacob was trying to justify his actions.

“Why the fuck did you need the hair off your ass, was somebody going to use it?”

Bella pointed at Emery still hysterical, “That’s the same thing I asked him!”

Jacob glared at Bella before answering, “I don’t know. The woman called it a fancy name and it came in some kind of package deal.”

“See Leah he loves you,” Bella said before looking at Jacob, “I’m sorry…I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“Yeah..yeah…yeah…a little bit of alcohol in you and nothing is sacred” Bella’s laughter was dying down when Leah asked her, “Did you really go in and hold his hand?”

“I had too…and he was squeezing my hand so hard…I thought he was going to break my fingers…and the whole time he’s screaming into the pillow.”

Bella looked over at Jacob again while Jared assured everyone, “Leah I don’t care how much I loved you, I wouldn’t rip the hair out of my ass for you.”

“Why were you screaming the whole time?” Kim wanted to know.

“Because even when she was putting on the wax – which felt really good by the way – I knew it was going to have to come off.”

“Why didn’t you stop?” it seemed to me that Jacob had reached his limit but his answer made sense, “You can’t walk around with half your ass waxed…besides women do it all the time,” glancing at Bella she nodded with a smug smile as Jacob went on, “The worse part was a month later.”

Bella started giggling again making me wonder but Quil asked before I could, “What happened a month later?”

“The hair grew back.” He said like it was obvious, “I was standing there putting on a set of rotors scratching my ass like a monkey in the jungle.”

“I can’t believe you made Bella go in there with you with your ass hanging out,” it sounded like Leah wasn’t too happy about that and when I thought about it in that light I wasn’t too happy either.

“I didn’t see anything,” Bella assured her but Leah glared like she didn’t believe her so Bella explained, “You know how in TV shows the woman is getting C-section and they put up a drape…” Leah nodded, “That’s what happened. I sat up by his head,” she started laughing again, “holding his hand like an expectant father…”

Bella looked at Jacob, “Who’s your daddy?” she asked seriously before bursting out laughing.

“Shut the fuck up Bells…” he chuckled looking at me, “Give Bella some alcohol and watch her go.”

“Yeah…” Claire interjected, “like at Easter when you told Quil I needed a good ass fucking.”

“I didn’t say that,” Bella was sure but Quil chuckled with a nod, “Yes you did. You said she was all moody and that a high hard one up the ass would get her back on track.”

“Did it work?” Bella asked with a giggle.

“Screw that…I had to ward him off my ass for two weeks…it was nothing but missionary …thank you very much.” Claire added with a contrite grin. “Quil kept saying Bella’s a psychologist…she knows about these things.” Claire giggled as she changed her voice in an attempt to imitate Quil while we all chuckled and he added, “I figured it was worth a shot.”

“A shot in the dark,” Emery laughed handing me the jar that was almost empty. Taking a small sip I realized that the LAHB was actually starting to taste like plum juice. Passing off the jar to Bella, Claire chuckled, “See Edward you don’t even need the sugar anymore.”

Kim giggled as Bella looked at me, “They gave you sugar?”

Before I could answer Kim spoke up, “It’s just like swallowing cum, straight shot right down your throat.”

“I never swallowed cum, but I get the idea,” I assured her while Emery added with a chuckle, “That’s good to know Edward.”

Bella laughed pointing her finger at Kim and Leah, “They taught me how to give head.”

I was thinking about thanking the two girls for that but Kim started laughing, “We did, with the carrot…it was for Jared…” she was in near hysterics as she pointed to him and Leah started laughing. “Bella was sure it couldn’t be bigger than a carrot…or she was backing out.”

“Excuse me but can you all stop referring to my dick as a carrot,” Jared tried to exert himself but his request only spurred on a fit of giggles from the girls as Claire wanted to know, “Was it bigger than a carrot?”

Bella was shaking her head laughing, “I don’t know it never got that far…” she stopped laughing. “Too bad for you Jared, because I just won an award…for the best deep throat…my name is on the wall...” she taught for a moment before pointing to me, “…actually it’s Edwards name…he got the honor for having me…”

“What?” Jacob seemed confused but I wrapped my arm around Bella’s shoulder pulling her me in hopes that she would stop talking. I didn’t want Bella in her drunken state to say anymore then she already had. Taking her chin I kissed her gently, quietly speaking against her lips. “You are the only prize I need love.”

Bella’s whole concentration was focused on me as she stared into my eyes. The trance we seemed to be in was broken when Claire announced, “I won a metal in the Bahamas’ for the best fake orgasm.”

Quil groan as all eyes went to them.

“I did,” Claire said proudly then proceeded to tell the story. “The resort we stayed at was an adult only and every night they have different themes. It was scavenger hunt and in order for the next clue to be given out, each person at the table had to take a turn on stage to do something. Like sing the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ or like Quil’s group had to dress these mannequins to look like drag greens, with makeup and hair dos. Then the audience would vote for the best one, the winner got a medal and then the clue would be given out to the room. Anyway my group had to do a fake orgasm…and I won.”

“Do it Claire,” Kim coaxed. “Come on show us what you got!”

Quil groaned again as she stood closing her eyes and started breathing heavy adding a few moans, heavy sighs and some ‘oh gods’ into it. Her head fell back as the sounds became deeper and more primal and then her body started quivering as the words changed to ‘fuck...yes…harder…yes…do me harder…more…come on more.’

Throughout her little exhibition Quil sat there watching her in disbelief when she screamed, “Yes!” as her body shook one last time before she opened her eyes and started laughing. I had to admit it was pretty damn convincing and everyone else must have thought so too as they were laughing and clapping. Claire bowed, “Thank you...thank you,” she leaned down to give Quil a kiss who didn’t seem as impressed as the rest of us, “I would never do that with you baby.”

Quil pulled Claire down into his lap by her hips chuckling, “That’s not the end of it.” Claire giggled while he went on, “The next day we’re on the water taxi going over to Paradise Island and there is this older lady on the other side of the boat who keeps staring at us. I’m ready to say something to her and she points at Claire and yells, ‘You’re the orgasm girl!’ So my meek, quiet Claire, stands up in the middle of the boat and starts moaning and bowing.”

Everyone around the fire was laughing and Jacob chuckled, “Quil I think she has been practicing a lot,” while Emery asked with a chuckle, “Why would you fake it anyway?”

Leah giggled, “Because sometimes you just want it to be …over.” stressing the last word with a hand gesture of finality, then added “What I really want to know I is when the hell was Claire ever meek and quiet?”

“Hey” Claire sounded indignant “you all know how genteel I am”

The women laughed as Kim comment “Oh yeah you were real genteel when you held on to that guys pants while you popped a squat at the hill climb”

“I couldn’t help it, I had to pee and the port-a-potty’s were a mile away” Claire tried to justify herself “besides he didn’t care”

Kim was laughing again “No he didn’t care he wanted Leah and me to join you”

The three of them were laughing Quil however didn’t fine it as funny “You peed on some guy”

“No that’s disgusting I just held on to his belt so I didn’t fall over”

“When was this?” Quil was sounding more perturbed then amused and Leah interrupted the pending dispute by announcing “I have to pee.”

That declaration made all four women head out in a mass exodus towards the house. When they were gone Quil chuckled, “Women, why do we put up with them?”

“Because the alternative isn’t any better,” Jacob replied and Emery added, “or as soft…” he looked to Jared, “and you know I love you man, but I don’t want nothing to do with your carrot dick.”

“Great…just fucking great…a carrot. You think they would have at least used a cucumber,” Jared sounded dejected but Quil laughed, “You’re just lucky they didn’t use an asparagus.”

“Yeah we’d be calling you stalk dick,” Quil laughed while Emery asked Jacob, “Why the fuck would they teach each other that shit and how the hell did Kim and Leah know what to do anyway?”

Jacob shrugged, “I don’t know I think it’s fucking weird Leah just tells Bella, you’re going to shave my legs,” he looked at me, “You know damn well she’s going to do it.”

I grinned knowing full well that Bella would be shaving Leah’s legs. Seth came running out to the fire to sit alongside my chair. I figured Bella must have left him out as I petted his head Jared observed, “He likes you.”

I nodded, “Yeah…he’s a good dog and he’s used to being around me now. Especially since Bella’s been staying with me…”

“Is she going to sell her house?” Jacob asked while Emery added, “I was wondering that myself.”

“Bella moved in with you?” Jared wondered and I realized that when Bella made the announcement earlier he was on the other end of the table and must not have heard that piece of information.

“Not completely. They have been staying at my house …”

“Someone messed with Seth’s collar and Bella’s car a few weeks ago so I felt better knowing that she was staying at Edward’s,” Jacob’s approval seemed to make the other men relax while it made me feel more uneasy about the bond that they shared and whether it could be broken.

“Why was someone messing with Bella?” that was a question that I had pushed to the back of my mind since we left for our little vacation. To be honest we had been having such a nice time away, I didn’t want to have to think about it and the fact that I had no answers to give only added to my uneasiness.

“If I knew that, then I would know who it was and...”

“Maybe it was the last woman you had living with you,” Jared was being cocky but I also knew that it was his way of finding out more about me, so I played along.

“Bella is the only woman who has ever lived with me.” That was a true statement, others stayed over but only on the weekends and only occasionally in my bed. I thought it might be a good time to set something straight. “I’m not sure what Bella is going to do with her house, sell it, rent it, whatever she wants to do that’s up to her. The only thing I know is that I want my house to become our home, permanently.”

It’s not that I needed their approval or was even looking for it; my thought process was more along the lines of, these men gathered around the fire were an important part of Bella’s life, which made them (by proxy) part of my life too. That didn’t disturb me in the least; I found them very entertaining and friendly, even Jared who after we talked didn’t seem so infuriating to me. I wasn’t at all happy that Bella had been taught the art of falatio for him, yet that was many years ago and I could overlook it, especially since he never got to experienced it.

The poor bastard

“Seth,” Bella called from the porch as the other women came out into the yard. She smacked her lips together while Seth looked up at me like he had no intention of listening. Standing up I started towards the house calling after him, “Come on boy.”

Bella held open the screen door letting him into the house before coming down the two steps. I stood there watching her move towards me with a fire in her eyes. As she got a few feet from me she started singing along with the song that was coming from the radio.

“But I know what I like, I know I like dancing with you,” she smiled as the song continued. “And I know what you like, I know you like dancing with me.”

As the song persisted Bella walked up to me tilting her chin to look into my eyes while she sang, “Kiss me once, kiss me twice. Come on pretty baby kiss me deadly.”

As the last words left her mouth she wrapped her arms around my neck tugging my head towards her. Our lips met in a searing kiss, tongues, teeth, raw passion coming through. Reaching down my hands lifted her by her bottom making her whimper into my mouth causing me to become even more insistent. My hands squeezed her cheeks roughly making Bella moan as her legs tightened around my waist while she wiggled against me looking for friction. Her legs formed a vice grip around me and she used her calves to hold on to my back as her center lowered over my straining dick. The contact made me grunt and I squeezed her butt cheeks tighter causing her to gasp and pull back from my mouth.

“Edward please?” Bella’s voice was breathy and laced with lust.

“Please what baby?” I asked against the skin of her neck as I trailed kisses along the line of her jaw.

Once again her center dropped down to grind against my throbbing dick, “Fuck me.”

My head snapped up to gaze into her eyes, if her words weren’t enough to make me take her inside and give her what she wanted, the look I was getting certainly did it. “Say good night to your friends.”

My hands loosened their grip and I expected Bella to get down, walk over, and tell them we were going in for the night, instead she yelled over my shoulder, “Good night!”

Her enthusiasm made me chuckle as I heard Kim call out, “Are you going to bed?”

“Yup…We’re really tired…”

“Sure you are.” Kim called back but I was already making strides across the yard.

When the screen door shut Bella attacked my lips with a kiss that I couldn’t completely give into because I had to look where I was going. Once the bedroom door was kicked closed that problem was no longer present and she had had my full attention. I felt her doing something with her legs and a second later her sneakers dropped to the floor. There was a frenzy of motion as my hands moved to her hips and slipped into the elastic of her pants in an attempt to remove them as our lips moved against each other’s.

Unable to get them passed her hips I set Bella down on the dresser. Her sore butt coming in quick contact with the cold wood made her cry out in a groan while she lifted her legs up for me to strip off the pants. Her breathing was already strained as my mouth crashed to hers forcefully. Our tongues were struggling for dominance as both of us worked our hands feverously to open up my belt.

Toeing off my shoes I had to pull back from her mouth to push my pants over my hips and step out of them. While she grabbed the end of her shirts lifting them off her head, I followed her lead by removing mine. Bella watched me from where she was perched on the dresser with her knees bent and her feet resting flat on the surface. I took in the sight of her; brown tresses hung freely down over her shoulders partially covering the light blue bra that remained. Her thighs spread provocatively exposing her moist glistening center.

Reaching behind my neck she pulled me towards her, “You’re taking too long.”

Her eagerness made me grin smugly as I immediately remedied that situation. Slipping my hands under Bella’s knees I wrapped them around her hips, moving her body to the edge of dresser and she cried out as I slid inside of her. She leaned her shoulders back against the wall grabbed me around my waist with both hands and whimpered, “Please.”

Normally I would draw it out, listen to her beg; make her wait for satisfaction however I myself just couldn’t wait, so I gave her what she wanted. Each thrust was met with her own as she used her thighs to push up against me. She moaned out in pleasure as her hands cupped her breasts, pulled them out and began teasing her nipples.

“Oh fuck baby,” she felt so good and the sight of her touching herself was making me crazy, I needed to taste her.

Withdrawing from inside her I sunk to my knees placing my head between her thighs and took a long slow lap up her center. The sweet tangy flavor that was all Bella sent me into fury. The sounds coming from her were only adding to my lust and I felt like a hungry animal attacking its prey. Lapping up her juices as my tongue worked its way deep inside her core.

“Ahhh….God…Edward!” Bella cried out gripping the back of my head and wiggling herself against my face. Her moans became stronger and when I moved my mouth to circle her clit, Bella fisted my hair so hard I thought she was going to rip it out while she yelled, “Yes!”

My fingers curled inside her while my mouth worked against her clit and it didn’t take long until she was writhing around letting out a loud primal moan as she clamped down on my fingers and came with a shuddering breathless moan, “mm…mmmm…mmyyeeesss….god…fuck yes…”

Moving back I placed small kisses on the inside of her thigh watching as Bella’s body came back down. Her eyes opened as a smile formed on her face and I stood between her parted legs. Before I could register what happened she pushed on her feet, springing herself at me. Her mouth was on mine as her tongue licked across my lips, tasting herself she moaned again. The sound of her pleasure was too much and I grabbed under her thighs while she wrapped her legs around my waist. Our mouths were plastered together as Bella seemed to be searching for any remnant of her juices that was left.

Taking two steps I twisted so that her back was against the wall, lifting Bella’s body I was able to slide into her. That action caused another cry to leave her throat as I set up a steady rhythm of movement. Bella threw her head back banging it on the wall and giving me perfect access to her neck. She gripped the back of my head as I licked, kissed, and sucked any spot I could find. It didn’t seem to be long before Bella was gasping for breath, gripping my shoulders and clamping down on my dick with such force that I couldn’t hold back anymore. My body slammed into her while my dick seemed to find a new depth and I spilled myself inside her with a groan.

“Oh baby…I fucking love you,” I said breathlessly resting my forehead against the wall while Bella’s fingers threaded through my hair.

“Is that because you love fucking me?” her voice was soft and quiet with a touch of humor. However she had to know that it was more than that. Didn’t she?

Straightening my head I looked into her face, even in the dark room her eyes shined in the moonlight that was coming in from the window. “I love you so much…you mean everything to me Bella.”

She smiled hugging me closer and once again attacking my lips, when she pulled back her tongue ran over corners of my mouth, I knew what she was doing. Taking a few steps backwards I felt the bed behind my knees and fell down into the softness taking Bella with me. She giggled gripping my shoulder as I pulled the quilt from the other side of the bed on top of us.

Bella kissed me softly letting her tongue move over my lips.

“I think you missed a spot, right here,” Her tongue snaked out to lick the spot on my chin where my finger had pointed to. When she seemed satisfied that I was cleaned of her liquids Bella looked into my eyes, her hair was a jumbled mess hanging down in her face. Tucking one side behind her ear it was easier to see her. She continued to gaze at me quietly for a moment before I could see her eyes become glassy.

“I’ve never loved anyone, like I love you. And I’ve never felt more loved than I do with you.”

Smiling at her I reached up to kiss her gently before tucking her head under my neck while she settled onto my chest. Lying there in the stillness of the night, I could hear them still out by the fire, laughing and talking; their world was a happy place. My world was lying on top of me falling asleep with one arm against her side and the other against my shoulder, and she was my happy place.

I was drifting off to sleep when I heard someone walking up to the door giving a tentative knock. Opening my eyes the door cracked open a few inches, “Edward are you awake?”

My mind came to full awareness as I pulled the blanket further up Bella’s back to shield her from Seth’s gaze, “Not a good time my man.”

At my words Bella stirred mumbling, “Mas..”

“Shhh…” I shushed her taking her free arm to bring it alongside her body holding her securely, “…sleep my love.” I whispered against her head. Bella wiggled slightly while I restrained her body as much as I could until a small sigh escaped her throat and I felt her relax against me. Once she was settled and modestly covered my attention went back to Seth.

“I wanted to ask you…” cutting him off I told him to give me a minute and I would be out to talk to him. He shut the door quietly as I held Bella turning us so she could lie on the mattress. She snuggled into the pillow with a small whimper as I pulled away from her tucking the blanket in to keep her warm.

Sitting on the edge of the bed I glanced at the clock two-thirty.

This better be important

I didn’t really worry about what I was putting on, grabbing the pair of pajama pants and sweatshirt off the chair that was left there to be washed. The bright light of the kitchen made me squint as I followed the sound of voices out to the front porch. Jacob was sitting on the swing with Jared talking with Seth who was leaning against the railing holding heavy blankets over his arms. The two men on the swing eyed me as I stepped outside but didn’t say anything. That was good because I just wanted to see what Seth wanted and get back to Bella.

“What do you need?” I asked running my hand through my hair which I was sure was a mess

“Listen, when we come to the city for the baby shower can we stay at your house?’

Is he fucking kidding me?

“You pulled me out of bed to ask me that?”

“Yeah,” his youthful selfishness made me chuckle. “I guess, but don’t you want to stay at Leah’s?”

That seemed like an obvious place for him to stay, however his answer made sense. “Well, we wanted to come Friday morning and Leah would wonder why we were there. Oh, but don’t worry we have plans to go shopping and to the movies so we won’t bother you. Besides …Leah can be kind of a bitch sometimes.”

I huffed looking at Jacob, I don’t care who was saying it, if someone called my woman a bitch I would have something to say about it instead I came to Leah’s defense, “She’s not so bad.”

Seth smirked, “You don’t have to kiss up to us, we already like you.”

“Whatever,” I sighed, “is that all you needed?”

“Yeah.”

As I nodded and he turned to go I thought of something, “Who is we?”

“Tracy and me,” his tone made it seem obvious and maybe if I wasn’t dragged from a warm bed with naked Bella in it at two-thirty in the morning it might have been. However, his answer made me wonder.

“How old is Tracy?”

“Seventeen.”

“Seventeen? Does her mother know that she is going and staying at my house?” I wasn’t sure that I wanted a seventeen year old girl that I didn’t know very well staying with me, especially if her mother wasn’t aware of it.

“It won’t be a problem.”

My eyes narrowed in thought as I looked to the two men on the swing for conformation. Neither of them gave me an answer, in fact all I got was a one shoulder shrug from Jacob.

Well that was a lot of fucking help

I had to clear my mind and think quickly, “Ok here’s the deal. You can both stay with us under one condition, does Tracy’s mom know Bella?” he nodded in affirmation. “Ok then, I’m going to need Tracy’s mother to call Bella and give her consent. As long as she does that then I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Ok…see you in two weeks,” he walked away with a smile but he stopped on the first step turning back to look at me with a strange expression. “Is that comfortable?”

I had no idea what he was talking about and my eyes narrowed in question. “Bella sleeping on top of you, is that comfortable?”

Not wanting to get into my sleeping arrangements I didn’t answer, instead bringing the subject back to a more important point so that there would be no misunderstandings. “Seth…no phone call…no room at the inn.”

“I got ya, and Tracy will have her mom call,” he seemed sure about that as he opened the door to his truck. While he drove away my attention went back to the other two people on the porch. “What did I just agree to?”

Jacob laughed, “It won’t too bad. Although, you’ll have to put up with their loud sex.”

“Great,” just what I want to deal with, loud teenage debauchery, oh well one weekend wouldn’t kill me.

“Yeah they might even be louder then you,” Jacob’s comment made me smirk, but not care at all as I opened the door to go back inside. “I’m going back to bed.”

Grapping a bottle of water from the refrigerator I used the bathroom before going back in to Bella. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could see that she was lying on her side much the same way I had left her. The blanket tucked under her arms with her hands nestled under her chin. Pulling off my pants I sat on the edge of the bed to remove the sweatshirt.

Bella’s hand touched my back making turn to look at her. “Where did you go?”

“I got a drink,” I said picking up the bottle of water off the nightstand and opening it, “and Seth wanted to talk to me.”

“Mmmm…” she sighed. “What did he want?”

“I’ll tell you later,” I said putting the bottle on the table and leaning down to kiss her bare shoulder.

“Mmmm…round two?” Bella asked with a sleepy grin.

“Are you up for round two?”

She smiled, “The question is, are you up for round two?”

“Oh baby,” I said removing the blanket from under her arms and perching above her. “I’m always ready for you, it doesn’t matter if it’s round two, three, or ten.”

Bella gripped my shoulders as I kissed her. Round two was gentle, filled with soft whispers and touches that showed our love for one another along with the squeaky bed. When we were both sated we crawled under the blankets holding each other and letting the long day finally come to an end.

Even through closed eyes my brain realized that it was actually sunny out. Reaching out, my arms searched for Bella only to come up empty.

Where the hell is she?

Sitting on the bed putting back on the clothes that I wore to speak with Seth my eyes glanced at the clock- seven twenty-four. With a groan I looked around the room realizing that the laundry bag was missing as I went to find her.

The tidy kitchen that usually held so much activity was empty. The pot of fresh coffee on the counter stood half full, with cups hanging on the holder next to it. Pouring myself some I could hear the soft hush of voices coming through door that stood open. With my cup in hand I stood inside the screen door watching Bella and Jacob on the front porch. They were sitting together on the swing looking out into the rising sun. Jacob was sitting upright with his arm draped across Bella’s shoulder while she leaned against his side with her head on his shoulder and legs tucked underneath her.

I knew I should have made my presence known and not eavesdropped but I was torn between two instincts. The first was that even though Bella was cozying up to another man, there was no feeling of jealousy and I didn’t want to interrupt their moment. The other more dominating impulse was the one that wanted to hear what they were saying. That was the one that prevailed.

“Teddy is thinking of retiring, I could sell my shop and buy him out. Leah can work from here as well as anywhere else.”

“Would you live here in this house?” Bella asked.

“No. Seth is going to stay here. We could either build on our parcel or a better plan is to add on to Billy’s house.”

“Would I still have my closet?” Bella asked hopeful.

Jacob chuckled, “Of course. You know you still have shit in there.”

“Why doesn’t Billy get rid of it?”

“He says it’s yours and he’s not touching it. Besides, I think he likes knowing that you are still part of the family.”

They were quiet and I was going to refill my cup to join them when Bella asked. “When?”

“Two maybe three years, a lot of things have to happen and it sort of depends on you.”

“Jake you can’t live your life around me,” Bella’s voice was soft.

“I can’t live it without you…besides we made a pact…remember?” Jacob held his hand up with his forefinger sticking out.

“Yeah…I remember,” Bella’s forefinger grasped his curling around it with a resounding, “…always.”

“Always.”

I could hear the squeak of the springs from the porch swing moving. I assumed that what they were sharing was childhood pact of friendship that created a bond of loyalty. That was something that I admired in Bella her unyielding devotion to those she loved. I had worried that what she shared with Jacob would interfere with our relationship however I thought of her words from the night before.

“I’ve never loved anyone, like I love you. And I’ve never felt more loved then I do with you.” And I believed her.

Pushing open the old wooden screen door they both looked at me, Jacob had a grin on his face but Bella’s smile lit up my day.

“Hi, good morning.”

“Good morning,” I told her leaning against the railing in front of them while Jacob asked how I was feeling.

“Not too bad, I just have a small headache.”

Jacob glanced at Bella with a smirk, “THOH-oh-lee.”

Bella sat up with a look of concern, “I’ll get you some Tylenol.”

“Please.”

When she stood taking the cup out of my hand, I saw that all she was wearing was a short yellow nightshirt with a thin grey rope that wasn’t much longer. My eyes went to her form and the way the material clung to her body leaving very little to the imagination, to Jacob’s credit he didn’t seem to notice. Regardless of how close they seemed to be or what they shared it truly was a brotherly –sisterly love.

“Bells,” Jacob called out as she reached the door. “put a tablespoon of LAHB in the coffee, it will make him feel better.”

The thought of even a tablespoon of that stuff made me nauseous, “Isabella, just the Tylenol” I knew using her full name would stress the point. She nodded giving me a smile before going inside.

“You’re up early,” Jacob had gone to bed after I did however he shrugged, “I get up at the crack of dawn every day and I heard Bells walking around in the kitchen…”

Bella came back out with fresh coffee, giving me a kiss along with the blessed Tylenol. “Since you’re up, I’m going to change the sheets, throw in the last load of wash and shower. Then I thought maybe we could take Seth for a walk?”

“Sounds good to me babe.” I said taking another drink, “We can look for a good rock.”

“I already have a rock from here.”

She still didn’t get it so I enlightened her, “We…don’t have a rock.”

Bella’s face lite up in understanding and she kissed me again, “I love you.”

Jacob groaned, “I can’t wait until you two pass out of this stage and act like normal people.”

I chuckled as Bella gave him a smirk before going back into the house. I sat down next to Jacob watching Seth run around the yard. While we talked he said they were going to be staying until late tonight and were keeping the dog while we were at the beach. That must have been decided while he and Bella talked alone. He worked with me on some more words for a little while until Bella came outside to hang the quilt from our bed out on the wash line and she told me that I had better shower and dress or we wouldn’t have time for that walk.

In the bedroom everything was packed away, her suitcase sat closed on the bed with the picture Leah gave her sitting on top. My bag was sitting next to it, open waiting for me to dress so it could be closed. Showering quickly and shaving I dressed in the bathroom and by the time I got back into the bedroom Bella had both bags ready to go with the laundry bag containing her sleep shirt sitting on the floor. Assuming that was where she wanted me to put my own pajamas I took both suite cases with me to put in the car.

Leah was up, sitting at the table with a cup of tea looking rather tired. “Do you have everything?”

“I think so, Bella packed it.”

“Then you probably do, she double checks eight times.”

Bella came in with the dry quilt looking at the clock and then giving me a knowing smile, “Ok..I’m going.”

Shutting the trunk- after putting the bags in- Bella had Seth on his leash and ready for the walk. Instead of going towards Sam’s house we went the opposite direction. Coming out of the woods there was a red garage with all kinds of rusty car parts sitting alongside of it. Bella had no qualms about going inside the barn and pulling the string to turn on the light. Back in the corner she showed me the two bikes that were covered in dust leaning against each other along the wall. One was painted a cherry red while the other blue, they were simple basic models yet I could see her young and carefree riding around the reservation.

Turning out the light she closed the door and we headed for the small red house. Not even bothering to wait after knocking Bella seemed shocked to see a woman standing in the kitchen making breakfast. “Oh…excuse me is Billy here?”

The words no sooner left her mouth when Billy came around the corner from the hallway where I assumed the bedrooms were. “Hey Bella, I was hoping you would stop by before leaving.”

“Of course,” She hugged him but kept her eyes on the woman reminding me of a mother hen. Billy seemed to come to his senses. “Loretta, this is Bella and her boyfriend Edward…this is Loretta, she insisted on making breakfast before we go out on the boat for the day.”

Loretta wiped her hands before shaking ours with a pleasant smile and a ‘nice to meet you’ to me and telling Bella that she heard so much about her that it nice to finally met her. Bella however eyed her skeptically and then noted, “It’s kind of late to go fishing.”

“Oh were not fishing, we’re taking the boat over to the Island for a picnic.”

Bella smiled replying conventionally to Loretta, “It should be a beautiful day for a picnic,” then looked to Billy telling him that we had to leave. After another hug Billy shook my hand saying he was looking forward to getting to know me better and he would see me in two weeks. When we walked by the cars on the side of the house I laughed as Bella felt the top of a white Sentra but she didn’t seem to care as she gave me a pointed look, “I think she slept here.”

Her assumption made me laugh and after what Billy had said the day before at Charlie’s, I’m sure Bella was right – Loretta did sleep there. However, I had other things on my mind, Billy’s parting words reminded me of Seth’s request. Walking through the woods in the back of the house I told Bella about the two of them staying with us under the condition that Tracy’s mom calls giving consent. She agreed with me that it was a good idea to make sure they had permission however she was sure that Tracy’s mom wouldn’t have a problem with it.

A few minutes later we walked out of the woods into an open area with a cliff that jetted off over the ocean. The sun was shining brightly making all the green from the grass and moss shine. Bella took my hand leading me over to edge, looking down my stomach dropped. Far below us the black water of the ocean rolled smashing white foam against the wall of the cliff.

She didn’t need to tell me what this place was, “You jumped off of here?”

“Several times” My eyes went from her to the ocean below and unlike being able to picture my Bella on a motorcycle; my Bella jumping off a cliff was inconceivable. I could actually feel my heart beating in my chest at the thought of what could have happened to her. The danger she put herself in was mind-boggling.

“What’s the matter?”

What’s the matter?

“I’m seriously thinking about dispensing a retro-punishment and for the first time I think a spanking is in order.”

“You can’t do that,” she giggled.

“Oh…” I assured her, “I think I can, somewhere in that contract there has to be something about deterring dangerous behavior.”

“I’m not going to jump off anymore and besides my butt is still tingly from yesterday,” she gave me a knowing grin, “and no spanking for punishment remember?”

I did remember, however I wanted to make my stance clear. Placing my hands around the small of her back, looking down into her eyes I guaranteed her, “if you ever even think about jumping off this cliff again, believe me when I say, I will make an exception.”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do it again.”

I knew she wouldn’t and as the story she told me about jumping off the cliff something else came back to me - the kiss from Jared. Tilting her chin my lips pressed against hers in a claiming kiss that left us both breathless and me with a straining pole in my pants and no time to take care of it. After finding a rock, Bella and I made our way back to the house where Jacob and Leah were waiting for us to leave. Packing up the rest of the stuff we headed into town to meet everyone for breakfast.

Emery and Kim were already seated and while we waited for the others to arrive the girls went to bathroom. Emery made a comment that I had survived my first trip to Forks, laughing like it was some great feat or something. Then laughed harder when Jacob told him I had woken up with a headache. Quil and Claire joined us a few minutes later ordering coffee and asking if Bella shaved Leah’s legs. I had forgotten about that and was surprised when Jacob said that she did.

“When?”

“While you were in the shower,” Jacob said with a smirk. “It took all of about five minutes and Leah’s right I couldn’t have done it.”

The others laughed at my expression of disbelief but I didn’t have time to comment as Leah and Kim came quietly back to the table without Bella. Leah sat down in a huff and when I looked over I saw Bella standing there talking to a woman with short blond hair that looked to be in her early fifties.

“What the hell does she want?” Jacob asked his wife.

“I don’t know. I told Bella not to talk to her, but you know how she is.”

Everyone else at the table was quiet as they all looked over to where Bella was. She didn’t look anxious, yet I could see that Bella wasn’t exactly happy to be having a conversation with the woman either. Everyone’s reaction piqued my curiosity making me question. “Who is that?”

It was Kim that gave a name, “Maggie.”

Raising an eyebrow, I had no clue who Maggie was and Jacob sighed in annoyance. “Maggie is James’ mother.”