The Consequences {Jacob Black}

Chapter LXXX

I hated shopping, that was no secret. I really hated shopping and I never thought that I was going to enjoy it. But I was. Jake and I were in an Old Navy store. It was beyond comical to see Jake tucked into one of those chairs that seemed pathetically small. They were reserved for the boyfriends and fathers that were shopping with their loved ones. Jake was holding my purse in his lap, which made me want to take a picture and laugh. He insisted though, making sure that I didn't pay for a damn thing.

Summer was coming and the store was holding a sale on shorts and swimsuits. I was sure that Jake wasn't happy, but he didn't say anything to me about how long I was taking. I had gone straight to the tank tops and t-shirts as soon as we arrived, using all my strength to avoid buying one in every color. I was a plain Jane kind of girl. Unless I needed to wear something nice, I wore jeans that weren't jeweled or anything with a plain old t-shirt or tank top. I wondered if Jake wanted me to wear something else.

I guess I could ask.

"Hey, Jake?" I called as we passed the sports bras. He grunted in response, evidently overjoyed with the fact that we were shopping.

"I have a question and I don't want you to take it the wrong way." He nodded, suddenly serious. "Do you like the way I dress?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, because I know that Emily says that Sam has a preference to what she wears. And Leah said that Nate didn't really care. So I was just wondering if you did, you know?" He nodded, although he still seemed confused.

"I like what you wear, Annie. I really don't care as long as you have clothing. Other people don't get to see what's mine," he growled. I laughed a little and leaned into his side.

"I wish you would wear dresses more often." I made a face and Jake smiled. "But those jeans that you wore yesterday, you could wear those every day." I smiled at him then. He knew the right thing to say without even trying. We sifted through the shirts and jeans that were hanging around us, finally getting to the swimsuit section.

I had worn a bikini swimsuit every year for as long as I could remember. But as I picked up the two piece, it was suddenly ripped from my hands and replaced by something with a lot more fabric.

"Seriously?" I asked him, looking down at the solid black swimsuit in my hands. "Jake, you're being a little ridiculous, don't you think?" I would probably be swimming in the fabric of the one piece that he had thrown at me.

"You can't wear that," he said, holding up my two piece like it was a piece of rancid meat.

"I've worn suits like that every year since we were kids, Jake."

"This year is different." He was acting like this was noting, like he didn't really care that I was getting more than a little upset with him.

"Why? Because you and I are dating this year?"

"Absolutely."

"Jake, I thought we were building on what we were not changing it." I said the words with glee, overjoyed that I could beat him with logic.

"We are building on what we had. And we're starting by putting more clothing on what I have learned to appreciate," he said logically.

I glared at him. Why couldn't he just let me do what I want? It's not going to hurt to let me be normal.

"Okay, so what are you going to do when I start fighting against next season?" He narrowed his eyebrows.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'll have to wear a sports bra and shorts. Is that so different from what this swimsuit is?" I asked. He growled at me as his mind processed what I was saying to him.

"Jake, it's not going to be a big deal, okay? I'll let you see what it is before I buy it, okay?"

He was still snarling, but he ultimately agreed. The suit that I purchased was frilly and girly, a bright blue racerback suit with some lines of beads down the deep 'V' that lead to my cleavage. The bottoms were boy short cut and if we were being honest, the whole outfit was not all that different from what I would have worn in an octagon. Jake conceded to the suit and we left, bags in hand.

•••

The next morning we were sitting in bed, having woken up much the same way that we had every morning of the weekend. I was lying on Jake's chest, my head pillowed against his shoulder. His arm stroked up and down the skin on my waist, the ticklish sensation driving me crazy. He would wake up first and press his lips up to my forehead, my nose, my cheeks, my chin, and eventually my lips. I was getting selfish and greedy, I knew it. I looked forward to waking every morning with his lips pressed against mine and his arms wrapped tightly around me.

He growled and groaned this morning though, and pulled away from me. He laid down in the bed next to me, breathing heavily and running his fingers along my skin.

"We have to go home tonight," he whispered. I moaned next to him and rolled over so that I was lying on top of him, chest against his. His fingers trailed my spine, bumping over each ridge of my vertebrae.

"I promised my dad that we would be home before ten." I groaned louder than before and buried my face in the bend of his neck.

A knock on the door interrupted our little moment. Jake rolled me off of him, searching for his shorts somewhere on the ground. He pulled open the door and tipped the poor kid who was delivering the mountain that was our breakfast. Jake laid out the buffet on the bed before settling back next to me.

I reached on the ground and found my shirt, pulling it on to cover myself enough.

"So I was thinking," Jake said with a mouthful of food, "that we could make this a more regular thing."

"Sex?"

He laughed. "Well, that would be nice, but that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about escaping, getting away from Forks and La Push every so often. This was probably the best weekend that we've had in a long time," he explained. "And I think that you need to get away from all of this. I need you to know that we are more than just a wolf and his imprint, Annie. Regardless of everything that has happened, baby girl, we're still you and me; we're still normal. And normal couples have date night."

"Not date weekend," I said with a chuckle.

"No, not date weekend, but I think that we've dealt with enough shit to deserve a date weekend. Or are you complaining about this weekend?" I smiled and blushed and hid behind his shoulder. "Because you definitely weren't complaining last night."

"Okay, Paul," I said, slapping his arm. "That's enough."

We headed home later that night, all of our things loaded into the truck. I twined my fingers with his and rested our hands on his knee. He hummed the whole way, no music playing, nothing to interrupt us. I hated the city and I missed my friends back home, even after only a weekend. But I wouldn't trade the weekend for anything that I had, material or more. I wished that we could find somewhere else to go that wasn't the busy hustle and bustle of Port Angeles. Maybe next time we could just lock ourselves in his house and pretend that we were out of town. That would be nice.

I dozed against him, listening to the familiar lullaby as he drove. The house was mostly dark when we got back, Billy having left the porch lights and kitchen lights on for us. Jake pressed me towards the house, reaching into the back to get our things out of the bed. I opened the front door and walked in. Billy was waiting for us, but he wasn't smiling. What a welcome home.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. A thick envelope was tucked between his leg and his chair.

"We had a great weekend, thanks for asking," I continued. "But I would much rather know what you're trying to hide."

Jake walked in behind me and probably noticed the same look that I had seen.

"What's wrong?" Billy rolled up closer to us and reached for the envelope.

You are cordially invited...