Stir-Crazy

“Wanna hang out?”

I had expected Seth’s voice over the phone. It had become a regular routine for him and I, to hang out every Saturday, but Seth was nowhere to be found.

Seth and I became a couple two weeks, six days, nine hours and twelve minutes ago, not that I was counting.

He called me up around midnight, and asked if we could hang out. I agreed, but even after my interrogation, Seth refused to tell me where we were going. He knew I hated surprises. We ended up at the park, where Seth had asked me to be his girlfriend.

I agreed, and we’d been spending ever second of our time together. Seth had patrol today, since he was a werewolf also so I had planned to spend most of the day relaxing.

Instead of Seth’s slightly boyish voice, I heard a deep, husky one.

“Jake?”

“The one and only.” I could practically hear him grinning into the phone.

“What’s up?”

We hadn’t really spoken since Seth and I got together, and I hadn’t intentionally meant to avoid him.

Surprisingly, the conversation wasn’t awkward like I thought it would be. At least not yet.

“The ceiling, the sky, the clouds, the stars, the airplane…”

“Which airplane?”

“The one with the sticky cupholders.”

“I see.”

“So, do you want to hang out, today?”

I looked at the clock. It was around ten in the morning now, and Seth usually called at nine to make plans. Plus, he had patrol, so it wasn’t like I could spend time with him today.

It was a kind of truce now, and nothing could happen. I mean, Jacob was still with Cora But I was with Seth now. And that would be enough to keep me sane. And not try any funny business.

“Sure.”

“Pick you up in ten?”

“Okay.”

We said out\r goodbyes and I pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt. Exactly ten minutes later, I heard the familiar horn of the Rabbit, and I became giddy.

I hadn’t seen Jacob in forever, and I missed my friend.

“I’m going out!” I shouted to no one in particular as I slammed the door shut.

Skipping down the stairs, I sprinted towards the Rabbit, hurtling myself at the ancient car before I even reached the door knob.

“Hey!” I grinned, as I plunged into my seat. Jacob looked a little bewildered at first, but matched my grin happily.

“Hey.”

He reached over and gave me a hug. It was quick, and friendly.

I inhaled his scent, a natural mix of trees and musk. No cologne could match up to the fragrance of Jacob. He let go and I immediately missed his warmth.

Seth had the same warmth. I didn’t miss it as much. I shook off my thoughts and found Jacob talking.

“…so we‘ll have to go to Clifton’s Point. It isn’t that high though. I mean, we can cliff dive right? Do you want to?”

“Cliff dive?”

“Like jumping off a cliff?”

“Isn’t that called suicide?”

“Yes, but we survive.”

“Okay, give my five minutes.”

I ran back up to my room and pulled on my favorite black polka-dot bikini before dashing back to the Rabbit.

I could hear the hum, of Cora's ten a.m. yoga, as I tiptoed past her door. For some reason, I felt dirty for hanging out with her boyfriend, and I didn't feel like bothering her.

“You good?” He asked, arm draped around the passenger seat.

I nodded and Jacob did thatsexy one-handed-backing-up-from-the-driveway thing. Once we were safely on the bumpy roads of La Push, he turned on the radio.

“Listen to whatever you like.” He said, using one hand to motion to the radio currently playing an over-the-top jazz piece.

I nodded and fiddled through the stations before deciding on a pop station playing Mariah Carey.

We listened to it a while, before pulling up to a ledge not more than ten minutes from my house. I clutched onto the armrest as Jacob pulled onto the unpaved land and parked. We got out and Jacob turned to me.

“Ready?” He asked, nodding towards the cliff. I just nodded back and gulped before looking down at the ocean.

The sea was calm, and there were no sharp rocks or whirlpools. It was a large blanket of blue, and I felt comfortable, beside the height.

I glanced back at Jacob but my face turned bright red once I realized that he was peeling his shirt off. He already had his swim trunks on, thank god, and I tried not to stare at his chest. I pointedly kept my gaze on the floor until I heard Jacob call my name.

“Lainey?” My eyes landed on his chest first, before they made their way up to meet his eyes. “Are you jumping in that?”

He gestured to my outfit and I realized that it would not be wise to jump in jeans. Peeling off my jeans and shrugging off my shirt, I tried to feel self-conscious next to Jacob but as I looked up, I noticed his eyes were focused on my face and not on my body.

“You okay?

I nodded, and he lead me to the edge of the cliff.

It was much more frightening when we reached the edge. My toes hung over the edge of the cliff, a rock crumbling down as I shifted my weight. My pulse thudded in my ears and I swallowed quickly.

“Jacob, I’m scared.”

“You don’t have to jump.” I looked at the water and back at him, but the look in his eyes made it clear that he didn’t mind.

“I want to.” I said forcefully. He looked at me skeptically before shrugging.

“We’ll jump and then swim to the beach. It’s pretty close to the land, so it won’t be hard. Okay, so we jump on three. “

After getting a nod of approval from me, since I was afraid I would probably throw up if I spoke, he started counting.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

And we jumped.

As I plummeted downward, the adrenaline in my body began to build up.

My skin tingled and the air made my eyes water.

I splashed into the water, the cold water sending chills through my body.

For a moment, I stayed underwater, just to soak it all in. The salt water stung my eyes, but I didn’t care.

The water was slightly murky, but still the rich navy blue color I had seen from above. I emerged, and found Jacob shouting my name.

“Lainey!”

I turned to see Jacob swimming towards me, his arms propelling him forward. He reached me quickly and laced his fingers with mine before we swam to shore.

I must have swallowed at least a gallon of seawater, I was smiling so much.

Every couple of seconds, Jacob would ask if I was okay and I would agree,

We reached the shore in a matter of minutes and I immediately collapsed onto the sand, the grains sticking to my soaking wet body.

“Was it fun?” Jacob questioned, dropping onto the sand beside me.

“Fun?” I breathed out, still catching my breath. My head was spinning. “No.”

“No?”

“It was…”I stopped to think of a word. “Fantastic.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

He smiled a dazzling smile and I stared at him for a minute too long.

Something happened just then.

Somehow we connected.

And the next thing I knew he was leaning in.

And I was leaning in.

But one word kept racing through my mind.

Seth.

And the next thing I know, I’m running.

Running away from Jacob.

And the almost-kiss.

And the navy blue blanket known as the sea.

Away from my problems.

Only clad in a black polka dot bikini.