I Won't Say I'm in Love

Jacob’s Point of View

“Hey, guys,” Calypso greeted, sitting down at the table with Konstantina. Instead of answering, I poked at my mashed potatoes. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t hungry. “Jacob, what’s wrong?” she asked. I gave a small, mirthless chuckle. As if she really cared or even had a clue. “Okay…” she said when I didn’t answer. She looked around the table as if someone would know why I was so upset. No one seemed to understand.

Dude, what’s up? Paul asked. I was sure the other guys were listening in, so I decided to just painfully recall this morning’s events for them.

“It’s—”A loud horn honked, making Calypso let go of me and turn around. The asshole she was currently dating, Nate Katsaros, pulled up to the curb a few yards away and began waving to her like a giddy six year old. I laughed to myself. Like he expected her to just come running over there on command. But when I looked around, Calypso was already jogging to the car, smiling like crazy.
"Me," I finished, my voice so low I could barely hear myself.

My heart dropped. And not just dropped like stumbled. Dropped like it fell out of my chest for what felt like forever and crashed into the pit of my stomach, exploding. She hugged him so tight and so close that I thought it would be the death of me…

Until she kissed him.

As soon as his lips came in contact with hers, she sighed and slumped against him as she held him close.

The world had gone fuzzy. My life, my reason for existing, my eternal soulmate, was in love with someone else. Maybe she didn’t know it yet, but I did. She looked the exact same way Bella looked whenever she kissed Edward.

It was crazy, that similarity. In fact, in was utterly nonsensical. They were such different people: Calypso was outgoing, Bella was an introvert; Calypso got along with everyone, Bella could only stand a handful of people in the world; Calypso was random and loud and funny, Bella was predictable and quiet and barely cracked a joke.

But however many differences they had personality wise, they were identical when kissing their loved one. They both seemed to relax, as if a lifetime of pain and confusion and hurt had all been lifted off their shoulders with one kiss; one touch. And the all-too-familiar feeling of my world crashing around my ears intensified. Taking my eyes off of the happy couple, I walked inside.

“Ohhhh…it’s loverboy!” Paul exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and glared at the blue recycling bin across the room.

“Shut up, Paul! You’re not helping anything!” Calypso shouted at him. Everyone at the table was silent.

“Awkward…” Konstantina sing-songed.

“Tina, now it’s only awkward because you made it awkward,” Calypso mumbled, her head in chin resting in her palm.

“Nuh-uh! It was totally awkward without my help!” she protested childishly.

“Actually, it wasn’t. It was kinda normal,” Seth said, siding with Calypso.

“Nah. I think it was awkward,” Quil contibuted. “When people are silent because two friends in their group are mad at each other, it makes it awkward—”

“Jacob and I are not mad at EACH OTHER! He’s mad at me and he won’t tell me why!” Calypso hollered, cutting Quil off. Instead of responding to her, I grabbed my tray, threw everything in the trash and walked outside. I couldn’t be in school right now. I wanted to go somewhere, but I figured out a better transportation than driving. I walked across the street into the woods and, once I was far enough in, began taking my clothes off. I let my rage boil through me, feeling the small spark in my core. Still walking, now breathing hard, I shoved all of my clothes into a hollow log and walked farther.

By now, my whole body was quivering and I felt like I was on fire. I was running so fast that every branch that was in my way was snapped off when my force collided with it. Then, before I knew it, I was running on all fours.

I had forgotten what it felt like to be a beast.

To feel the cool rush of wind blowing through the russet fur on my back, the feel of the dirt beneath my massive paws. And although my senses were keen as a human, I might as well have been blind and deaf compared to this. Despite the fact that I was running faster than Superman—or a vampire—could ever hope to run, I could see each and every pine needle on the trees I passed, count them even. I could smell and hear sap dripping out of a maple about a mile away. I ran until I was sure I was halfway to Oregon and then ran back. I ran to the forest that lined the beach and laid down there, panting.

I was sure that it had been at least sixty minutes, meaning school would be out in about two hours. I lie there thinking. I pondered whether on their date, Nate and Calypso ate dinner over there, by that rock. Or if that was where they started their moonlit walk, by that damp boulder. Or if maybe they shared their very first kiss right there, on Bella's and my old log…

I sat there and tortured myself by imagining details of their romantic, moonlit beach date, wanting to curl up into a small ball and get tinier and tinier until I finally disappeared. It was kind of abusive if you think about it. Though I’m sure it was much worse than cutting my wrists or committing suicide. No, this was definitely much, much worse. I could barely breathe because of the painful way my lungs were contracting and it felt like my heart was twisting around and around and around, unraveling, and then beginning to twist the other way. I finally realized that I had twenty minutes until school let out, meaning it was almost time for me to pick up Calypso.

Sighing, I got up and ran back to the log where I had hidden my clothes at full speed. I transformed out of my wolf form, slightly calmer now, and pulled on my shirt, shorts and shoes. I then ran back to the parking lot, which was void of students, but filled with their cars. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes, cherishing the darkness that flooded my brain. I sat there with a blank mind for a few good minutes before the shrill bell signaling that school was out rang, piercing through my peaceful sanctuary. I kept my eyes closed however, not paying attention to the ruckus that ensued around me as kids exchanged loud goodbyes and rushed to their cars to get home.

After about ten minutes, however, my door opened. Wondering who had the gall to do this, I opened my eyes and calmly looked over at the perpetrator, only to have my breath stolen from me.

There, standing less than a foot from me was Calypso, looking as beautiful as ever. Her full glossy lips were held in a slight pout and the way her hair hung down around her face only added to the innocent, doe-eyed look she was portraying at the moment. I wanted to reach out a hand and stroke the side of her smooth cheek only for the pleasure of the fire that coursed through my veins whenever our skin made contact. She blinked at me, and then averted her sorrowful gaze to the ground.

“Jared said I can stay with him for tonight,” she started timidly, as quiet as I had ever heard her. “He’s already arranged it with his parents that I can stay the whole week if need be.” I didn’t answer. “All I have to do is grab my stuff and he’ll take me to his house so that you don’t have to deal with me,” she continued shyly. She then looked up at me from under her long, dark eyelashes and I hated the fact that that look always made me utterly smitten with her. She could have murdered Bella for crying out loud and as long as she looked at me with that stricken puppy face, all would be forgiven.

Sighing, I stepped out of the car, walked around to her door and opened it for her without a word. Understanding what I meant, she took her hand off my door handle and slid into the passenger seat. I closed the door, walked back over to my section of the car and slid in. Closing my door behind me, I put the key in the ignition and my truck rumbled out of the parking lot. The drive to the house was silent and awkward, the air between us crackling with all the strained tension. I parked my car by the curb in front of my house, turned it off, and slumped back in my seat. I saw Calypso staring at me out of the corner of my eye, but I refused to look at her. I stared out the windshield at the cliff just a few yards down the beach. I so wanted to run up to the top and jump off. Well, now that I thought about it…

I opened the car door and got out. By the time I was halfway inside the house, Calypso was just getting out of the car. “Hey, kid,” my dad greeted me. I gave him a quick nod of the head before heading to my room. I began pulling off my shirt, and that was the exact moment Calypso appeared in my door. I cut my eyes and let them wander over her striking figure. Her arms and ankles were crossed and her head was resting on the door frame.

“What are you doing?” she asked me in a monotone voice. I sighed and began undoing the buttons on my pants.

“Undressing,” I answered. With a yank of the zipper, my pants fell around my ankles, revealing my black boxer briefs. I turned to face her and held my hands out at my sides. “Can you give me a second?” She glared at me fiercely, but I never broke eye contact. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and closed the door, leaving the room. I stared at it for a second, but looked away, beginning to pull off my underpants. There was a sudden kick at the door however, that brought my attention back to it.

“Asshole,” I heard Calypso murmur before she walked down the hall. I rolled my eyes and smirked a bit at her childishness, not able to help how frustratingly endearing it was. I changed into my blue swim trunks before running out of the house. Once I was outside, I tied my swim trunks to my ankles, transformed into a wolf once again and ran to the top of the cliff in a minute flat. Once there, I became human and pulled my swim trunks back on. I walked to the edge of the cliff, letting my toes hang over the edge. I leaned forward a little bit, looking down the sheer face of the rock, about two hundred feet up.

Why do I like doing this again? I asked myself as I let out a deep breath. Rolling my neck and swinging my arms, I stepped back a few feet. The first couple of times I did this, I had to really hype myself before jumping off a cliff and plummeting to my potential death. But after a while, I came to terms with the fact that I most likely wasn’t going to die. So, mustering up all the courage I had, I ran to the edge of the cliff and leaped.

For a moment, I could fly.

Hovering there, my arms spread out beside me and my legs sticking out behind me as straight as an arrow, I seemed to control the world. The expanse of the green, lush land was at my command, my fingertips. I was floating on air, literally. But this lasted for a only moment before gravity began taking its toll. My body began dropping toward the earth, first slowly, but constantly gathering speed. I pulled my arms together in front of my face so that my whole body was in one long line, spiraling toward the earth like a deadly meteor. Before I knew it, I was falling headfirst toward the dark, choppy waters with still about a hundred more feet to go. They were terrifying, those moments. My stomach seemed to fall into the pit of my body, my heart taking its place, leaving my chest empty to let my quickening breath rattle around inside it.

Just when I was sure I was going to die of fear that my fall would never end, my fingertips pierced the water’s cold surface, the rest of my body following close behind. Once I was submerged underwater, the sound of the wind rushing through my ears had stopped abruptly. It was silent. I floated just under the surface, watching the bubbles and the seaweed float by. The waves nudged me slightly, but playfully. It was a good day for cliff diving. When my lungs burned and felt just about ready to combust, I surfaced. Taking in a big gulp of air and replenishing my lungs, I swam back to shore. I climbed the short rock wall that made the beach just a few feet lower than the street, and started jogging home.



Calypso's Point of View

“Stupid Jacob…not telling me what I did wrong…making it all awkward…running off in swim trunks…being an asshole…” I was mumbling to myself as I stirred my hot chocolate with way too much chocolate mix and way too many marshmallows. I had gotten dressed in my pajamas already, even though it was only three o’clock. I wore my baggy sweats that rested low on my pelvis and a white t-shirt.

I was standing with my back to the kitchen when I heard the front door open, sure it was Jacob. I had every intention of not paying him the slightest attention, but instead, scowling at my hot chocolate like it was the most infuriating thing in the world.

But that was really hard to do when he wrapped his arms around me from behind and held me close to him. He laid his head on my shoulder so that his mouth was resting in the crook between my neck and shoulder. Goosebumps covered my whole body. I leaned my head against his and placed one of my palms on the side of his face, the other on top of his hands.

“I take it you’re not mad at me anymore,” I murmured after we stayed like that for a while. He sighed and shrugged, his warm breath tickling my skin and making me melt.

“I was never really mad at you. I was more mad at what you did,” he explained. Turning around, I straightened up and placed my hands around his neck so that our chests were pressed together. I played with his hair as his interlocked hands rested at the base of my back.

“Well, what did I do?” I asked levelly, looking him in the eyes. He sighed.

“I can’t really say…” I huffed, a bit frustrated.

“Well, if you don’t tell me what I did, how can I be sure not to do it again?” I asked as calmly as I could.

“It’s not really something you can change or something I can avoid. You really didn’t do anything wrong actually. However, what you did do caught me really off-guard,” he explained confusingly.

“So, because you were caught off-guard, you decided to treat me like a dirty, worthless bitch?” I asked, showing him a snippet of my anger. With sad eyes, he leaned his forehead against mine.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said. And, immediately, all my anger dissolved. It shriveled up and disappeared as fast as a drop of water on a hot pan.

After kissing him sweetly on the nose, I said, “All is forgiven.” He smiled and then straightened up.

“So! What do you want to do?” he asked me cheerily. I smiled, because I had actually been thinking about this all day.

“I know exactly what I want to do…”



Approximately half an hour later, we were pulling into the Cullen’s driveway. Just as we pulled into the driveway, I realized what would happen if I walked in like this. I had on my baggy sweats and t-shirt, no makeup, my hair pulled back into a messy pontytail and Jake’s large yellow flip-flops on my feet. I knew Alice would throw a fit, but I figured I would go with comfy for the rest of the day. My shirt and jeans were way too tight to be wearing for more than eight hours and not risk having my circulation cut off.

“Hi!” I greeted happily when I opened the door to the Cullens’ house. I had barely gotten inside and slipped off my shoes when a pair of rock hard arms picked me up and spun me around in circles. “Woah there!” I giggled, wrapping my arms around this mysterious person’s neck. It was a few seconds before they put me down, but eventually they did.

“I missed you!” Emmet shouted, keeping his hands around my waist. I threw back my head and laughed at his childish expression.

“I figured that one out all by myself!” I teased. “How’ve you been?”

“Bored,” he groaned. “These people are mean.”

“Just because we refused to jump the tiger cage at the zoo with you doesn’t make us mean, Emmet. It makes us sane,” Edward’s melodic voice said as he came down the stairs.

Letting go of me, Emmett turned around and shouted “Sane is boring!” I laughed as Edward scooped me into a small hug.

“Welcome back,” he said with a smile.

“Glad to be back,” I replied. “Where’s Alice?”

“She’s in her room with Bella and Nessie. I strongly recommend that you alter your outfit before entering though. She may throw a bit of a tantrum,” he warned. I laughed as I headed for the stairs.

“I think I’ll live,” I joked over my shoulder as I jogged up the stairs. “Hey, Jasper,” I greeted cheerily as I reached the top of the stairs.

“Hello, Calypso. Good to see you again,” he said politely with a nod as he began heading downstairs. Once he was out of my proximity, I realized that Jasper was…odd. He always tensed up and became very stiff in my presence. Maybe he didn’t like me. Or maybe he just didn’t like Chanel No.5 and that’s why he seemed to stop breathing whenever I approached. Oh well.

It wasn’t hard to figure out which door was Alice’s. It was painted a pastel blue with swirls of bright colors throughout it like purple, green and yellow. It was also plastered with pictures right out of fashion magazines. There were pictures of rings and jackets and shoes and hats. I assumed these were all items she aspired to buy ASAP. I knocked over the sound of “Beautiful Soul” by Jesse McCartney leaking under the door. “Come in!” I heard Alice’s voice shout over the music.

I opened the door to see Bella, Alice and Renesmee sitting on her king sized bed with a blue Bedspread and canopy. There were dark blue and white sponge stamps of butterflies on the light blue walls that matched the color of the doors. The walls had white trim and there was a white desk that was placed right in front of her wall to wall window that showed a view of their gargantuan backyard that seemed more like a forest overlooking the water. The floor was made of mahogany wood, whose color matched that of the complex wooden butterfly mobile hanging from the center of the ceiling.

“CALYPSO!” Renesmee shouted as she tumbled off the bed to greet me. I kneeled down on one knee and opened my arms as she ran to hug me.

“Hi, sweetie! How are you?” I asked as she sat on my knee that wasn’t on the ground.

“Fine. I made you a picture!” she exclaimed happily.

“You did?” I asked in a shocked and pleased voice.

“Would you like to see it?” she asked eagerly.

“I would love to!” I agreed.

“Okay!” she shouted. “Be right back!” And with that, she took off down the hall. Chuckling to myself, I stood up, looking around the room again.

“Wow. It’s very…color coordinated,” I said. I was going to say “girly,” but I wasn’t quite sure how she’d take that.

“You look very comfortable,” Alice said, sneering at my outfit, practically spitting out the last word. I crossed my arms and smiled as I took a seat on her bed.

“Why you say that like it’s a bad thing!” I chirped.

“It is to Alice,” Bella chimed in. “If at least one part of your body isn’t hurting—”

“You didn’t try hard enough,” Alice finished for her. “That’s my motto! Dare I ask what shoes you wore?”

“A yellow pair of Jake’s flip-flops,” I answered proudly. Alice’s face turned cold. Her expression became as hard as marble as she stared at me. Bella and I began laughing, but Alice’s face stayed the same.

“Are these your pajamas?” she asked me, cocking an eyebrow. I nodded. Getting off the bed, Alice held her hand out for me. I took it and she led me down the hall to another room. The door was white and I didn’t expect much, but as soon as it opened, I was breathtaken.

The room must have been 50 feet by 50 feet. The walls were all painted white, but plastered in fashion posters. There were faceless white mannequins posted about the room on the plush blue carpet with gold flecks in different high fashion poses. There were five full-length mirrors set up around the room, all lined by yellow lightbulbs. The back wall was curved and there were a few blue velvet stairs leading up to the four different closets. Each one had it’s own label above it in big, gold lettering. There was “Dresses,” “Shirts,” “Bottoms,” “Shoes,” and “Lingerie.” There were also several makeup and jewelry stands around the room.

“Wow…” was all I was able to whisper before Alice shut the door and dragged me inside. She led me to the closet marked “Lingerie” and pulled me inside. The closet was about seven feet wide and ten feet deep with rows of clothes to our left, right and the back. The hangers were wall-to-ceiling, so the whole closet was lined with different pajamas. There were four really big baskets that were each overflowing with different items. One was full of bras, one full of underwear, one full of bathing suits and the last full of house shoes and eye covers.

“I have to keep this whole room strictly organized or else the purpose of it won’t work. So as much as I love and trust you, I will kindly ask you to not. Touch. Anything,” Alice cautioned as she led me to the back of the closet. She rifled through the hangers pulling out a few clothes now and then. After a few minutes, she had a few folded pairs of P.J’s in her arms. She set them down on the floor and then moved to the box full of house shoes and eye covers. She selected one of each for each outfit. She then stood behind the line of clothes, me on the other side. She had set up the four outfits, one right next to the other, the corresponding slippers and eye covers on top.

The first pair were made of white silk. The long sleeved shirt had small pearl buttons and the pants were long. The slippers were white slip on’s, white leather outside and white wool inside. The eye cover was white satin.

The second pair were red flannel pajamas with black polka dots. The slippers were simple red ones with a tiny black bow on each, and the eye cover was red with black ruffles around the edges.

The third pair consisted of a pale green satin tank top, a tiny pink bow in the middle of the collar. The short, made of the same material, had adorable frogs in pink tutus on it. It came with a white eyes cover with green trim, and green froggy slippers, the pink tongue hanging out.

The last pair was very…racy. It was a short, pink, silk dress with black velvet spaghetti straps and ruffles on the hem made of the same material. They came with pink bunny slippers, and a lacy black push up bra with matching panties. I picked this outfit up and inspected it closer.

“Ummm…did you mean to give me this one?” I asked her, not taking my eyes off the garment.

“You said on the phone you’re staying at Jacob’s house for the week, correct?” she asked me. I nodded slowly. “I meant to give it to you,” she said mischievously as she started walking out of the closet.

“But wait!” I shouted. I began running after her, but went back to pick up my new pajamas. I then started after her again. On my way down the stairs, I tripped. “Oof,” I grunted as I hit the ground. Alice laughed and shook her head as I scrambled up and collected all my clothes. “Alice, this one…isn’t really my taste…” I said, holding out the pink Victoria’s Secret nightie.

“It may not be. However, it’s probably Jacob’s taste…” she hinted before beginning to walk again. My eyes practically flew out of my skull.

“Woah! You think I’m gonna wear this for Jacob? You’re delusional, Alice,” I insisted as I ran in front of her. We were now walking out of the room, me walking backwards so that I could look her in the face.

“You’re the delusional one if you can’t see how much he likes you!” she laughed, now speeding up so that she was in front of me again.

“Into me?” I shrieked, now jogging to keep up with her. We were going down the stairs and I saw Jacob and Bella sitting on the couch in front of the television, so I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. “Alice, we’re just friends. That’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I SWEAR! I actually kind of have a boyfriend now—”

“REALLY?!” she squealed happily, stopping in the middle of the stairs. I stopped with her, surprised by how excited she was.

“Yeah…” I said. Jacob, Bella, Emmett, Edward and Jasper all looked up at the two of us. Alice wasn’t paying them any mind however.

“Well sit! Sit!” she said, sitting down on the stairs and pulling me down with her. My back was against the banister and hers was against the wall. She was sitting on the stair just below me and one of her legs was stretched out, the other bent at the knee so it was sticking up. Both of my legs were tucked into my chest so that I was sitting in the fetal position. “Explain! Who is he? Is he hot? Older? Younger? Funny? Brooding? Sweet? Serious—”

“Alice!” I laughed, holding my hands out, signaling her to stop. “Can we go someplace more…private?”

“To talk about what?” Emmett shouted, turning his head toward us.

“Calypso’s new boyfriend,” I heard Jacob grumble. Bella laughed.

“I take it you don’t like him?” she asked as Alice and I made our way to the couch.

“He’s an asshole,” Jacob stated, glaring daggers at the television.

“Jacob, you haven’t even met him yet,” I reminded sharply as I sat on Emmett’s lap who was seated in a small armchair. I cuddled up close to him as he put his arms around me.

“I can tell without meeting him. He’s an asshole,” Jacob said stubbornly. I huffed and rolled my eyes.

“What did you guys do on your first date?” Alice asked excitedly, not acknowledging Jacob’s rude attitude.

“We had a candlelit dinner on the beach,” I said quietly while beaming uncontrollably.

“Awwww…” Alice and Bella cooed in unison.

“What’s his name? How did you guys meet?” Bella questioned.

“His name’s Nate and he’s eighteen. He’s Konstantina Katsaros’ older brother. She’s like, my best friend now,” I explained.

“I thought I was your best friend!” Emmett and Jacob shouted at the same time. Both looked at each other briefly, surveying the other through narrowed eyes before slowly returning their gaze to me. Alice and Bella exchanged a look with Edward, and Jasper seemed to be rather passive. His attitude toward the whole situation made me and everyone else calmer. The moment was no longer awkward, but rather composed.

“Who wants to watch New Girl?” I suggested cheerily, ignoring the last few seconds. Everyone groaned, except for me. “YAY!” I shouted as I turned on the T.V with the remote.



Jacob’s Point of View

“Sweetie, do you wanna go to bed?”

It was 12:00 in the morning. Calypso and I were watching movies once we got home from the Cullens and ate some food. Currently, Mean Girls was playing and, against my better judgment, I found it quite funny. Calypso said every line along with the movie, but I didn’t mind. She seemed so happy while doing it; I didn’t want to stop her. However, right now, she happened to just be asleep in my arms as we lay on the couch. I wasn’t even paying attention to the movie anymore. I was cherishing the way her body felt against mine, both of us breathing rhythmically together as if we were one. It was amazing and must have been one of the most fantastic experiences of my life; it was surreal.

Her hair, long and full, fell down her shoulders and rested on my arms, which were wrapped around her. Her face was so innocent as she slept. It was astounding how purely angelic she looked. All I wanted to do was hold her here in my arms forever, just watching her.

“Hun, do you want me to take you to bed?” I whispered in her warm brown ear. She sighed and wrapped her arms tighter around my neck.

“I thought I was in bed…” she mumbled into my chest. I smiled at how childish and disoriented she sounded.

“We’re laying on the couch,” I murmured into her ear again.

“I’m fine here,” she breathed. I would feel guilty just leaving her here on the couch though. Scooping her up in my arms as easily as a child would a doll, I stood. She had her arms wrapped around my neck and her head lolled against my chest. I walked with her through the dark house, the only sound being Calypso’s breathing. The covers on my bed were already pulled back; I didn’t make it this morning. I laid Calypso on the bed and she sighed as her head made contact with the soft pillow. Her legs curled up and she placed both hands beneath her head. I watched her with a slight smile on my face. This had to be the most comforting sight I had ever seen.

She was an angel when she slept. Well, she always looked like an angel. But her features were so calm and serene as she inhaled and exhaled peacefully that I was sure I could see the faint light of a halo around her head. I didn’t want to leave—in fact, I could have stayed there and watched her sleep forever—but I sighed and turned to go. Before I even left the bedside however, a small hand grabbed my wrist. I turned around to see Calypso’s beautiful brown eyes staring into mine. They were half-closed, but the way her brow was furrowed indicated that she was confused. “Where are you going?” she whined.

“To sleep on the couch,” I told her, putting my hand on top of hers to make her let go of my wrist.

“You’re not sleeping with me?” she asked, her voice both confused and hurt. My hand froze on top of hers.

“What?”

“Aren’t you gonna sleep with me?” she repeated yawning. My heart began to fly. She wanted me to sleep with her? In the same bed? At the same time? Next to her?

“Why?” I asked, gently stroking the back of her hand with my thumb.

Stop asking questions! Just do it you stupid oaf! a voice in my head shouted. She closed her eyes and whined.

“Jacob…” she whimpered, tugging at my hand as she scooted over to make room for me. I stared at the small space that was left on the mattress. There was no way we were gonna be able to fit on that thing without our bodies being pressed so close together that I would feel every single one of her magnificent, luscious curves. “Please…” she sighed, almost asleep again.

Without hesitation this time, I crawled onto the bed, occupying the space she made for me, and then some. I wrapped my arms around her body and held her close to me. She sighed and snuggled in closer, her toned legs entwining with mine. My head got dizzy as I became acutely aware of the way in which her thigh was slightly pressed against my crotch. I breathed out shakily, trying to persuade myself not to get a boner and ruin this marvelous, heartfelt moment because of my raging teenage hormones.

“I love you, Jacob…” Calypso murmured into my chest. My whole body stopped. It stopped functioning. My lungs weren’t breathing, my hands weren’t feeling, my mind wasn’t thinking. The only thing that was alive was my throbbing heart, which was hammering against my chest. I was sure that she could hear it jumping around frantically inside my rib cage, but I didn’t even care. She loved me.

True, she said it while she was half-dead, but she was also half-awake. Which meant this statement was at least half-true which was more than I had ever expected to hear in the little time that we had known each other. I swallowed. My throat seemed dry.

“I…I love you too, Calypso,” I whispered. And this statement was one hundred percent true. I loved her with all of my heart and whether or not she knew it yet, she was going to. I was determined to make it plain to her that she was my one and only and I was hers and that we belonged together. We were destined for each other. We were soul mates.

And nobody, not even an older, British, romantic, could change that.