Nessie's Life

Chapter 16

Jacob cleared his throat. This was strange, he never acted uncomfortable around me. He popped open a can of soda, took a huge swig, swallowed, and then looked at me straight in the eyes.

"I talked to your dad this morning while you were still asleep," he began.

Great. It was nice to know they were talking about me. "What about?" I asked uneasily.

"Well... you know how you told me that you're not a baby anymore?"

I nodded.

"I don't think you realize just how true that is. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently? I mean, you were the cutest kid that ever existed, anyone could see that. But now... you're all grown up. And I've never seen anyone like you. Human girls can't even begin to compare to you. But the little bit of human blood that's in you makes you perfect. I mean, you're not a full on creepy vamp like your mom," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. He hated being serious.

I looked at his fidgeting hands, and then back to his deep brown eyes. I could tell he was struggling to tell me what he needed to say. He took a deep breath and continued.

"What I mean is, I think it's time that... I become a bigger part of your life."

He stopped to read my expression, and then he got all panicky. "But only if that's what you want! I could always... I could l-leave if you're sick of me." There was so much pain in his voice when he said that last part.

"Are you kidding me?" I said, a little too loudly. The kids at the other end of our long table stared at us. I ignored them.

"Jacob Black, I will never get tired of you. How could I? You give me everything I could possibly want. You're my big brother and my best friend. And I'll never want to be with anyone but you. So please don't say stuff like that."

Jake sighed in relief, as if he had actually thought that I didn't want him. He looked at the table and I followed his gaze. I hadn't realized that I was leaning towards him and holding his hand across the table.

He smiled at me and said, "I don't need Edward's gift to know that half of the cafeteria thinks we're an item."

I looked around and laughed, because sure enough, everyone within a twenty foot radius was staring. The girls at Shelley's table weren't even attempting to conceal their jealousy.

If only they knew why Jacob was so bound to me. If it wasn't for imprinting, he probably would have killed me. Funny how our world worked.

I heard him take a bite out of an apple, and my attention snapped back to our little bubble. He picked up a second apple and handed it to me.

"Eat it. It's red, your favorite." I chewed it slowly while he continued talking.

"So, the point of all this talking is that I view you as more than my little sister. I view you as my partner, my soul, my lifeline."

I blushed. He leaned in inches from my face, and whispered so that no one but me could possibly hear.

"Renesmee, I love you. I love you so much, and I want to be with you every second of forever. And I mean really be with you, not just watching from the sidelines. Do you see where I'm going with this? And just so you know, your parents will be eavesdropping on every single conversation we have until we graduate from this place. And then maybe we can go somewhere by ourselves for a little while. But again, I don't want to force anything on you."

I sighed and put a finger to his lips. He had said enough. More than enough.

I whispered back, "You know that I love you. And even though you say it's impossible, I think I want to be with you as much as you want to be with me. Of coarse I'm ok with this."

I leaned away and began using my normal voice. "So, shall I tell my friends we're dating?"

He wrinkled his nose. I laughed.

"I know, I know. It's such a stupid word. But I don't think we can actually describe our relationship to humans."

He shrugged, then started eating like a pig. I continued to nibble away at the apple.

"So, what's the story?" I asked him. "Just that you asked me out and I said yes?"

"Sure, sure," he replied, clearly not worried about the specifics.

I could tell that he was overjoyed that I had agreed to his proposal. Which was completely ridiculous. Did he expect me to say, "I'm sorry, but after all you've done for me, I hate you and don't want to have a romantic relationship with you, so go back to your little wolf pack and get out of my life?" He was so silly.

I looked at him as if for the first time. Suddenly my heart accelerated for no apparent reason. Everything about him was so incredibly perfect. Not in a vampire way, but in a more rugged, natural way.

I had always loved him for who he was, so it wouldn't matter to me if he was the ugliest person on the planet. But in a way, his outside matched his personality.

When I looked at him in this new way, the traits I had loved as a child seemed to come to life. The smoothness of his dark skin, the wide space between his eyebrows, his cheekbones, his jawline, his subtle cleft chin. Everything.

He looked up at me and smiled, and I wanted to melt into my chair.

"You... I... Jake, I agree 100% that it's time. I really think I'm old enough, because looking at you... I love you in a new way now. I mean..." I kept blubbering on, not quite able to find the words to express this new wave that had washed over me. He just smiled, understanding.

He leaned closer and closer to me, until I felt his hot breath on my face. I trailed off. I couldn't remember what words were. Then suddenly his breath was replaced by his lips. I felt the wave again, but much, much stronger than before. I started to lean into him, but he pulled away with a triumphant grin.

"Do you want to be kicked out of school? We've already succeeded in capturing the attention of the entire lunchroom."

I stared at him with my mouth open. I didn't care who was watching us. All I cared about was Jacob.

"Is... is this what my parents always feel like?"

He laughed so loudly that the table shook. "It's amazing, isn't it? Speaking of your parents, I'm sorry that this is such an unromantic setting, but I promised your dad that our first time would be in public..."

I lifted my hand, cutting him off. "I don't care. Can't you see that? I don't care! I've never been happier than I am right now." The bell rang.

We got up, and I followed him to throw his trash away. He was the only person who still towered over me. He took my hand and we started towards study hall.

Luckily, none of my friends were in that class, so I would have the whole hour to get back into reality and prepare for last period. I was dreading dance class. Jacob would be going to PE instead, leaving me to answer to all those curious teenage girls. Being the center of attention wasn't exactly my thing.

I shuddered, and focused on the warm hand that was placed in mine as we were swept with the crowd towards the main building.