Status: completed :)
You & I Collide
Warmth
Rachel
The sky in La Push was darkening to a soft grey as I drove down the bumpy roads in my silver Challenger. Jacob sat in the back, taking up more space than a normal person. Then again, werewolves were never normal, were they? I chuckled to myself as I turned into a parking space at First Beach.
Jake clambered out of the back seat, heading toward wherever the food was as soon as he caught the scent in the air. I could make out the silhouettes of the other guys down on the beach. Slowly, I maneuvered down the cobbled pathway of rocks, trying my best not to slip and fall with my weak human agility. But I wanted to be fast, wanted to escape my mind, my convoluted thoughts about Emmett. Paul could let me do that simply by standing there. And he could take me away from my unwanted thoughts even better by standing there shirtless.
Sam and Emily were standing at a barbeque, roasting hamburgers and hotdogs and smiling at each other. Jared and Kim were perched on a log, holding hands and talking. Quil and Claire were playing in the shallow water of the beach. Embry and Seth and Leah were playing Frisbee, while Collin and Brady wrestled along the soft sand. And then, standing ankle deep in the shimmering water, was Paul.
Quietly, I stepped over a log and waded into the water. I wrapped an arm around his bare waist and leaned my head against his chest.
“Hey,” I said with a sly smile.
“Rachel?” he turned to look at me. He beamed, and the smile lit up his features. “Rachel!” he cried, exuberant. He swept me into a huge, warm hug, and I could think of nothing else.
Emmett who?
Paul tightened both arms around me, and swung me around in a circle. I pressed my lips to his cheek when he set me down, and then he slowly leaned in to kiss my lips. I moved my mouth against his gently, and then gained more force as the moment intensified.
“I love you,” I told him, as I had so often before.
“I love you, too, beautiful,” he replied.
The rest of the night was amazing. The sky sparkled with stars as night shadowed the evening. The wolves consumed huge portions of food—Paul ate at least seven hotdogs and six burgers. Jake and Embry had a chugging contest, downing a two-liter bottle of Coke each—Embry won. “All in the wrist position,” he told me. As if I would ever win in a chugging contest against a werewolf. We all laughed when Claire snuck up behind Quil and dumped a bucket of seawater over his head. The laughter continued as Jared playfully swung Kim up into his arms and then set her down in waist-high water with a splash. She tried to drag him in, too, but couldn’t, and then everyone was in the water, soaked to the bone. We all wrapped up in blankets, grateful that it was an unusually warm evening on the Olympic Peninsula. The weather hadn’t been like this for a while.
I pulled an old light blue sweatshirt over my head, pulled baggy sweatpants on over my damp Capri jeans, and then wrapped up in blankets. The heat of Paul’s arm around me helped. Claire dozed off nestled against Quil, and Renesmee—who had been dropped off kindly by Bella around seven-thirty—was snuggled against Jacob. Sam and Emily were cuddling, as were Kim and Jared. Leah looked a little bitter, surrounded by all the romance, but everyone paid attention as Sam told stories while the flames of the bonfire crackled into the night air.
Eventually, I drifted into a light slumber, nodding off against Paul’s chest. But my sleep was not without dreams. In my dream, I was in the woods, following a figure deeper into the entanglement of bushes. From a distance, I couldn’t tell who it was, but as we broke into the sunlight, I discovered that it was Emmett. His skin glowed as scintillating rainbows of sparkle glistened across it in the sun. He grinned impishly, beckoning me forward, and I obeyed.
Suddenly, I was being gently shaken awake from my dream. Disappointment flooded me for two reasons—both of them irrational. One: the perfect fantasy was being interrupted. Two: the hand that touched my shoulder was werewolf-hot-temperature…not icy-vampire-cold like I had foolishly expected.
It was then that I knew—knew it for sure—that I was following my precarious thoughts to where they wanted to lead me.
“Rachel, honey, it’s time to go. It’s late,” Paul murmured, pulling me up against his cozy, bare chest. My eyes fluttered open groggily.
“Are you ready to leave?” he asked quietly.
I nodded. For some reason, maybe I was, in more ways than one.
The sky in La Push was darkening to a soft grey as I drove down the bumpy roads in my silver Challenger. Jacob sat in the back, taking up more space than a normal person. Then again, werewolves were never normal, were they? I chuckled to myself as I turned into a parking space at First Beach.
Jake clambered out of the back seat, heading toward wherever the food was as soon as he caught the scent in the air. I could make out the silhouettes of the other guys down on the beach. Slowly, I maneuvered down the cobbled pathway of rocks, trying my best not to slip and fall with my weak human agility. But I wanted to be fast, wanted to escape my mind, my convoluted thoughts about Emmett. Paul could let me do that simply by standing there. And he could take me away from my unwanted thoughts even better by standing there shirtless.
Sam and Emily were standing at a barbeque, roasting hamburgers and hotdogs and smiling at each other. Jared and Kim were perched on a log, holding hands and talking. Quil and Claire were playing in the shallow water of the beach. Embry and Seth and Leah were playing Frisbee, while Collin and Brady wrestled along the soft sand. And then, standing ankle deep in the shimmering water, was Paul.
Quietly, I stepped over a log and waded into the water. I wrapped an arm around his bare waist and leaned my head against his chest.
“Hey,” I said with a sly smile.
“Rachel?” he turned to look at me. He beamed, and the smile lit up his features. “Rachel!” he cried, exuberant. He swept me into a huge, warm hug, and I could think of nothing else.
Emmett who?
Paul tightened both arms around me, and swung me around in a circle. I pressed my lips to his cheek when he set me down, and then he slowly leaned in to kiss my lips. I moved my mouth against his gently, and then gained more force as the moment intensified.
“I love you,” I told him, as I had so often before.
“I love you, too, beautiful,” he replied.
The rest of the night was amazing. The sky sparkled with stars as night shadowed the evening. The wolves consumed huge portions of food—Paul ate at least seven hotdogs and six burgers. Jake and Embry had a chugging contest, downing a two-liter bottle of Coke each—Embry won. “All in the wrist position,” he told me. As if I would ever win in a chugging contest against a werewolf. We all laughed when Claire snuck up behind Quil and dumped a bucket of seawater over his head. The laughter continued as Jared playfully swung Kim up into his arms and then set her down in waist-high water with a splash. She tried to drag him in, too, but couldn’t, and then everyone was in the water, soaked to the bone. We all wrapped up in blankets, grateful that it was an unusually warm evening on the Olympic Peninsula. The weather hadn’t been like this for a while.
I pulled an old light blue sweatshirt over my head, pulled baggy sweatpants on over my damp Capri jeans, and then wrapped up in blankets. The heat of Paul’s arm around me helped. Claire dozed off nestled against Quil, and Renesmee—who had been dropped off kindly by Bella around seven-thirty—was snuggled against Jacob. Sam and Emily were cuddling, as were Kim and Jared. Leah looked a little bitter, surrounded by all the romance, but everyone paid attention as Sam told stories while the flames of the bonfire crackled into the night air.
Eventually, I drifted into a light slumber, nodding off against Paul’s chest. But my sleep was not without dreams. In my dream, I was in the woods, following a figure deeper into the entanglement of bushes. From a distance, I couldn’t tell who it was, but as we broke into the sunlight, I discovered that it was Emmett. His skin glowed as scintillating rainbows of sparkle glistened across it in the sun. He grinned impishly, beckoning me forward, and I obeyed.
Suddenly, I was being gently shaken awake from my dream. Disappointment flooded me for two reasons—both of them irrational. One: the perfect fantasy was being interrupted. Two: the hand that touched my shoulder was werewolf-hot-temperature…not icy-vampire-cold like I had foolishly expected.
It was then that I knew—knew it for sure—that I was following my precarious thoughts to where they wanted to lead me.
“Rachel, honey, it’s time to go. It’s late,” Paul murmured, pulling me up against his cozy, bare chest. My eyes fluttered open groggily.
“Are you ready to leave?” he asked quietly.
I nodded. For some reason, maybe I was, in more ways than one.
♠ ♠ ♠
Ohhhhhhhh......suspennnnnseful!!!!