I Won't Say I'm in Love

“Happy birthday, to you! Happy birthday, to you! Happy birthday, dear Calypso! Happy birthday, to you!” I rolled over onto my side and smiled at Emily, Sam and all the shirtless boys crowded around my bed who woke me up by singing “Happy Birthday.” Jacob was standing at the head of my bed and grinning down at me, with his thumbs hooked into the belt loops of his shorts.

“Make a wish, sweetie!” Emily cooed excitedly, handing me a red velvet cupcake with vanilla frosting and one lit candle stuck in the middle. I sat up with my back against the headboard, making sure to keep the covers wrapped around me to cover my nakedness as I happily took the dessert.

Closing my eyes, I positioned the cupcake in front of my mouth, the heat of the flame warming my lips. “I hope that today will be a perfect day,” I wished to myself before blowing out the candle to raucous cheers and applause.

Leaning over to kiss me quickly on the temple, Sam said, “We’re gonna go finish up downstairs,” before he and Emily exited my room.

“Time for BIRTHDAY LICKS!” Paul boomed, giving me one of his rare smiles that brightened everything in the room. He and Embry dove for me, about to pull me out from under the covers as my eyes grew very wide.

“NO! NO! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, please, STOP!” I screeched desperately as I burrowed deep beneath the covers, protecting myself from Embry and Paul’s searching hands.

“Why, what’s the matter?” I heard Jared ask. Shyly, I peeked my head above the covers and looked at him.

“Just...don’t,” I murmured meekly, trying to give him a meaningful look. He stared at me blankly for a few moments as I tried to explain myself to him through my eyes. However, this seemed only to frustrate him, and he rolled his eyes at me.

“What?” he demanded, now irritated. I laughed internally. We really were siblings. Only an older brother would get so irked by something as small as that.

“I’m naked...” I whispered. Jared’s twinkling brown eyes became dinner plates.

“Oh, Jesus Lord—put some clothes on!” he hollered before storming out of my room. I laughed out loud this time, before I saw the way the boys were all eyeing me.

“Wait...what are you guys planning?” They all just exchanged looks. I pulled the blankets tighter around me. “No...no, I’m naked...”

“Well, yeah, but it is your birthday...” Quil so helpfully pointed out.

“And birthday licks are tradition...” Seth continued looking at me and speaking in a tone that made it sound as if his hands were tied on this matter.

“But...but I’m naked!” I spluttered, looking at all of them.

“Well, who said that ‘licks’ necessarily have to meant ‘hits’?” Jacob asked with a shrug.

“What else would ‘licks’ mean?” I asked warily.

“What do you think?” Paul asked innocently as he and all the boys slowly started to close in on me. My legs instinctively curled up to my chest as I gripped the blankets so hard my knuckles felt as if they would split.

“No...no guys, stop. Stop playing. GUYS—!” Before I knew what was happening, my begging was cut short by the fact that all of the guys had dogpiled on top of me, licking me on every inch of skin that was exposed, which only included my face, neck, shoulders and hands, meaning those few places were very, very slobbery. Each boy licked me eighteen times, all of us laughing as I squealed and squirmed and tried to get away without revealing any more of my body. All of my attempts were in vain though, because there was absolutely no humanly possible escape route from the mass of giant boys crammed on top of me and eager cover me head to...well, shoulders, in their saliva.

It all couldn’t have ended soon enough, and once it had, I screamed and frantically wiped my face and body off on the covers as soon as they had retreated off of my bed. The boys all laughed at me as they wiped their mouths, watching me desperately trying to clean myself.

“Get out!” I screeched through my giggles, pointing toward the door. The guys were high-fiving each other and as soon as I saw them beginning to leave, I groaned and plopped my head back on the pillow, closing my eyes.

I took a deep breath and tried to settle my pounding heart so as to maybe get a few more moments of rest before the surely tiring day began. I shrieked when I felt something graze the bottom of my foot and tickling it. Opening my eyes, I looked down to the foot of my bed, only to see Jacob kneeling there, laughing up at me. My heart pulsated achingly for a moment as I smiled back at him.

“Why are you still here? I told you to leave.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Jacob mocked as he crawled over me, one knee and one hand on either side of me. “Umph,” he grunted as he plopped on top of me, crushing me under his weight. Admittedly, I had imagined feeling his weight on top of me multiple times, but not quite like this.

“Ger’offa me,” I mumbled into his chest. I could feel the vibrations of his laughter on my face as he rolled over onto his back beside me. “You’re such a jerk,” I laughed, reaching over to hit him on the chest. He grabbed my hand and kissed it, making my face flush and grin in embarrassment as I preoccupied myself with watching the way the dust mites floated in the ray of the sun streaming through my window.

Jacob chuckled at my awkwardness. “Happy birthday, Calypso,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. I smiled and cuddled into him, placing my feet up against his shins. “SHIT!” he shouted, yanking his legs away from me. I laughed at his surprise. “Your feet are fucking freezing.”

“No! Come back! You’re so warm.” Jacob laughed into my hair as he pulled me even closer to him. He kissed me on the head and laid his cheek against it as he rubbed my back.

“Why don’t we cuddle like this more often?” Jacob asked me. I shrugged.

“How about because I have a boyfriend?” I sighed, feeling that much-too-familiar feeling of guilt creeping into my system and freezing me from the inside out.

“Yeah, well, he’s stupid. And you like me more than him anyways, so—” I lifted my head off of him and looked at him.

“I never said that—”

“I like you, Jacob Black. The way I feel about you is so astounding and beautiful that I can’t even take it most of the time. Take me now, Jacob! Right here, on the tree, in the rain! TAKE ME!” Jacob mimicked me in a high-pitched sing-song tone, repeating what I said to him a few nights ago word for word. Well, most of it. Some was added. Rolling my eyes and trying to keep my smirk off my face, I smothered Jake’s face with a pillow.

“You suck,” I said once he had successfully freed himself and came back up laughing.

“Your words,” he said with a shrug.

“You’re the one who creepily memorized them.”

“Ah! Touché,” he said with a wink. “So if you knew that you would ignore everything that you said that night because you have a boyfriend, why did you say it in the first place?” I parted myself from Jake and mirrored his position, propping my head up on my hand while laying on my side to look at him.

“What do you mean?” The mood suddenly became serious again. Jacob rolled his eyes.

“Well, you’re kinda playing that whole, ‘Let’s-Get-Jacob’s-Hopes-Up-So-We-Can-Watch-Them-Fall’ game again.” I sat up abruptly.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, it’s kinda true.”

“How about this is all a bunch of utter fuckery is what this is?”

“Why would you say all those things if you had absolutely no intention of acting on them?” My jaw dropped open. I hardly knew what to say.

“MAYBE BECAUSE YOU FORCED ME TO!”

“What?”

“ ‘Or else I can’t be around you anymore’? You threatened to cut off all contact with me, Jacob.” Jacob sat up too, our furious expressions evenly matched.

“Hm, don’t think that actually falls under the category of coercion.”

“Are you shitting me right now?” I laughed shrilly, unable to even comprehend what the hell was happening just then. “You could’ve held a gun to my head and I still wouldn’t have said what I did. Not being around you would have killed me, Jacob. There was no way I was going to risk that by keeping my mouth shut. So yes, I would say that the whole reason that I said anything in the first place was because of you. And now that I have, you wanna get mad at me for it?” Jacob’s face had sobered up immensely. There were a few intense moments of silence as I glared at him and he stared back.

“You’re right,” he finally said, admitting defeat and breaking the silence. “I’m sorry.” I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding and laid back down, placing my head on my pillow.

“Will you please bring me some pajamas?” I asked Jacob with my eyes closed. I felt him get off the bed from beside me and heard him walk over to my drawer. My eyes opened when he dropped a pile of clothes by my head on the pillow, consisting of sweats, a tanktop and some underwear. I felt my face get hot at the thought of Jacob going through my underwear drawer, and buried myself beneath the covers once again, head and all, to get dressed. Jacob soon joined me beneath the blankets once I was no longer naked. The two of us stared at each other in silence for a few moments before I began speaking.

“Jacob,” I sighed, tying my hair back into a ponytail. “If we ever expect to move forward in our relationship as anything more than friends, we’re going to have to find a comfortable pace for both of us. I also need to know that whenever I make a move in that more-than-friendly direction, you won’t dismiss it and demand more of me. Because honestly, I’m not sure how much more of me I can give right now.” Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on his face, stroking his cheek with my thumb. Jacob took in a deep, shaky breath as he secured my hand with his own.

“Telling you how I feel—talking to you about it now—they’re very scary, very big steps for me. I already have a boyfriend, but on top of that...” I bit my lip before I continued, unsure of how to do so. Jacob was holding his breath, I was sure of it. His entire body stood still, as did mine, while the air around us seemed to buzz with anticipation.

“I can’t just throw myself wholeheartedly into a relationship with you—”

“But when it comes to Nate, there’s no problem with that, right?” Jacob demanded, abruptly pulling his face from my touch and raising his voice. I stared at him in furious silence before throwing the covers off of me and climbing out of the bed as hurriedly as possible. I began storming toward the door and flung it open, but before I could leave, Jacob had reached over my shoulder and slammed it shut from behind me.

“You can’t always do that, Calypso! You can’t always just storm out and not respond—”

“BECAUSE NATE DOESN’T MEAN TO ME WHAT YOU DO, JACOB!” I roared, whirling around to look him in the eye. My anger was dulled down the slightest bit by the close proximity of our bodies and the breathtaking way that his sparkling brown eyes locked on mine. I slumped back against the door and tucked the locks of hair that didn’t make it into my ponytail behind my ears. Taking a deep breath before I began, I looked down at the funny way my toes were nervously digging into the carpet before I started to speak.

“If Nate and I don’t end up working out, I don’t have much to lose. Nate is amazing, and I fall more and more in love with him every day, but if for some reason, something happened and he couldn’t be in my life anymore, or I in his, I would get over it. Yes, it would be hard at first, but I would find some way to cope; I always do. But you…” I tentatively glanced up at Jacob, the surface of my skin prickling with warmth at the way he was gazing at me.

“I’m already more devoted to you than I promised myself I would ever be to anybody again. If we were to engage in any kind of relationship past what we have now, and it stopped—if we stopped—I don’t know what I’d do.” I swallowed hard against my thumping heart, hoping that the action would calm it, but that wasn’t the case. Jacob stared at me silently, frozen. His almond shaped eyes squinted even smaller beneath his furrowed brow, his lips posed in a thoughtful pout. I became squeamish within his gaze, and toyed with my fingers to distract myself from the storm that was whirling in my stomach.

Then, without a word, Jacob took one step forward, closing the small gap between us and cupping my chin in his hand. He tilted my head to look up at him, and I felt myself become trapped in his gaze, my arms falling limp beside me as my chest rose, as if my heart was physically pulling me towards him.

“Come to Seattle with me,” he whispered, forcing me to watch the way his lips delectably molded themselves around each and every word in order to understand.

“I can’t,” I whispered in response, my heart trying to beat its way out of my mouth so that it could speak for me.

“Why not?” he asked, slowly inclining his head toward mine. I had to close my eyes to concentrate; the sight of Jacob staring at me the way he was was simply too much to handle.

“It’s wrong.”

“Is it?” I could feel his breath on my lips.

“Or it would become wrong. I can’t run off to Seattle with you knowing that the way I feel about you is so real.”

“Two days.” My eyes flew open when I felt Jacob’s face come in contact with mine, our foreheads and noses touching. The only thing I could stare at was his lips. “Two days in Seattle. We move at your pace, even if your pace means going nowhere. I just want a chance for us to be together away from everyone else. Like a test date.”

“Jacob, I can’t go on a ‘test date’ with you while I have a boyfriend,” I argued, pulling away from his grasp so that I could think straight.

“Calypso, it’s not like this is a crazy idea. I bet you anyone else would agree with me. Anyone but Nate.” At that statement an idea popped into my head.

“Anyone, huh?” I asked, crossing my arms and cocking my head.

“Yeah,” Jacob said, confirming his position.

“Okay. Then if you get Konstantina—Nate’s favorite and only little sister—to agree that her big brother’s girlfriend should go on an out of town trip with some other guy, then I’ll go.” Jacob’s eyebrows shot up.

“Are you serious?” Jacob asked, with a slight hint of laughter in his voice.

“Yes,” I said, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. He seemed to think this was going to be much easier than I had intended. I didn’t understand how though.

“Alright. It’s a deal,” he said, sticking his hand out to shake mine. I took it, but as soon as our palms met, he gripped my hand and yanked me close to him. I gasped as I felt our bodies collide, his warmth surrounding me.

“I’d start packing if I were you,” he whispered, his lips barely grazing my ear. I involuntarily shuddered, my reaction making him smirk as he walked to the door and opened it.

“Happy birthday, Calypso,” he said over his shoulder before leaving and closing the door behind him.

******************
I looked over myself once more in the mirror, admiring my handiwork with my outfit. I was wearing a very sheer, sleeveless button up with a bandeau top that was the exact same shade of pink. I grabbed my pair of black shorts that had a corset design in the middle, and threw on some copper colored suede boots. After adding a pair of brown feather earrings, some natural makeup and straightening my normally wavy hair, I was ready to go (Calypso's Look). Satisfied, I walked out of the bathroom, humming to myself as I walked down the hall.

When I entered the kitchen, I smiled when I saw and Nate and Tina sitting at the table with Emily, eating Cheez-Its. “You’re here!” I shouted happily, running the rest of the way to the kitchen. Nate stood up and held out his arms, which I happily ran into. My smile practically split my face in half when I heard Nate chuckle into my ear as he held me.

“Happy birthday, love,” he whispered, making my knees go weak. Kissing me chastely on the cheek so as to avoid Emily’s beady Mother Eyes, he pulled away, allowing me to greet Konstantina.

“Happy birthday, beautiful!” she shouted, giving me a quick, but tight hug before retaking her seat. I sat down beside her as Emily stood up.

“I was just keeping these two company while you preened yourself,” she said with a wink.

“I’ll have you know I was peeing!” I mockingly scolded, wagging my finger at her. She blew me a kiss as she exited into the living room, where the boys were watching Oxygen’s America’s Next Top Model marathon. I was the one who originally turned it on, but they were much more interested in it than I thought they’d like to admit.

“I think I have to pee as well,” Tina announced cheerily as she rose from her chair and proceeded to the bathroom. I watched her flounce down the hall before I turned my head and saw Nate already staring at me with a smile. Grinning, I plopped my chin in my hands and lifted my elbows onto the table.

“Hi,” I greeted simply.

“Hi,” he laughed, shaking his head.

“Do you like my outfit?” I asked with a cheesy smile.

“Yes. Very much,” he responded with a fake accent, rolling his ‘r’ in very. “Stand up! Lemme see!” I stood, changing poses every few seconds. “Give us a twirl!” he shouted, turning his finger in mid-air. I laughed as I spun around for him. We were smiling and chuckling as he stood up, wrapping his arms around my waist as he pulled me into him.

I melted when our lips met, my bones turning to goo as I let myself surrender in his embrace. I gripped two fistfuls of his shirt and pulled him closer to me, making him groan in response. His hands tightened on my hips as he sat me down on the kitchen table, standing between my legs, which I wrapped around his waist. We took a moment to look at each other, our breath a bit ragged before I felt his lips crash against mine, sending my body into a frenzy. I moaned into his mouth as I slid my hands up his shirt, placing them on his stomach.

Nate began to eagerly kiss his way down my jaw to my neck, sucking on it with absolutely no abandon. I squeezed my legs around his middle, trying to keep my hips from bucking against his too much for fear of making the table squeak. His hand started to glide its way down my body, and I nearly lost it when he grazed over my breast. When I felt his warm, nimble fingers begin to find their way between my legs, I gasped and gripped his wrist, pulling away.

“If we go there, there is no turning back,” I laughed through my panting, my eyes wide with the arousal still pumping through my system. Nate laughed as well, kissing me once more before pulling away from me.

“Hey, I have your present,” he said, his voice now a bit huskier. I ran a hand through my hair, swinging my feet back and forth as I watched him go through his bag to get it. “Here,” he said, turning back around to hand it to me. It was a black velvet box, and I looked up at Nate, as if his eyes would give me some kind of hint. He had stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and was rocking back and forth as he waited for me to open it, obviously nervous about what my reaction would be.

I gripped the top of the box and lifted it, immediately breath taken by what laid inside.

A necklace and a pair of earrings winked at me from the box, the contrast of the black velvet making their bright colors even more dazzling. They were both made with yellow citrine, and what looked to be diamonds. The earrings were a pair of flowers, whose petals were made of the pretty yellow material, and sitting in a curve of diamonds. It was accompanied by a matching necklace. It was a chain of tiny, diamond leaves, with three strands that branched off, a lovely yellow gem hanging at the end of each of them (Calypso's Jewelry).

My jaw dropped at the sight that lay before me. I looked up at Nate, prying my eyes away from the treasure before me only to gaze upon another. “Nate…” was all I could say at first, my brain clouded by the luxury of the gift he had given me. “What…how—”

“My parents left behind a little bit of inheritance when they died, and my birth parents left even more,” Nate explained quietly as he gently closed the black box and took it from my hands. Putting it on the table beside me, he settled his way between my legs again, placing his hands on either side of my hips. He had to lean forward to do so, and his face was less than three inches from my own. I put my hands on his cheeks and leaned my forehead against his. “What do you think?” he asked shyly, letting the fingers of his right hand lazily trail down my leg from my hip to my knee and back again before resting there.

“Nate, they’re gorgeous. I don’t even want to wear them, they’re so beautiful! They look like they belong to a queen.” Nate lifted his eyes to mine, making my heart suddenly clench in excitement.

“And now they do,” he whispered before pressing his lips to mine. I couldn’t help but sigh into the kiss as I wrapped my arms around his neck, making him chuckle as he stood straight. He looped his right arm around my waist and pulled my body closer to his. Just as things were starting to get hot again, we were interrupted.

“Blech. Affection,” Tina grumbled as she strolled into the kitchen, making a face at us before she made her way to a cabinet. Nate and I both laughed.

“Why don’t you go in and see the guys?” I suggested to Nate, reaching up to brush a piece of hair from his face before I wrapped both arms around his hips. He groaned.

“But they hate me,” he muttered, scowling down at me. I laughed.

“Well, go make them hate you less.”

“Hmph,” was all Nate could say before I released him, spun him around, and pushed him in the direction of the living room. I smiled at the place where he disappeared for a moment before looking over my shoulder at Tina, who was sitting on the counter with her snacks. She was staring at me, with an open box of Cheez-Its in the crook of her arm, while she scoped Nutella directly out of the jar with her finger. I shook my head.

“Hi, fatty,” I teased her, hopping off the table and walking to join her.

“Hey, whore,” she responded nonchalantly, not even looking away from her jar of chocolate to greet me. “Did you like your present?” she asked, cutting her eyes up at me. I nodded, hopping onto the counter beside her.

“Yes, indeed, I did.” She shrugged.

“Whatever. Mine is better.” I couldn’t help but laugh, which made her smile.

“You think so?”

“I know so.” She looked up at me with a challenging glint in her grey eyes.

“And where is this magnificent present of yours, exactly?”

“At home.” She grabbed a handful of Cheez-Its and stuffed them into her mouth while watching her feet as she kicked them back and forth.

“At home?”

“Mm-hm.” I just beamed at her profile, her beautiful face set in a deadpan gaze.

“You’re my very best friend!” I giggled, throwing my arms around her and putting my head on her shoulder.

“Hey now, miss, if you keep this up, I just might have to do something about it. And yes, the homoeroticism of that comment was indeed intended.” We both laughed as I pulled away from her.

“Whatever I’m walking in on, please don’t stop,” we heard Jacob’s voice say as he entered the kitchen. We smiled.

“Jake the Joke!”

“Tina the Tease!” She grinned and set her food down to hop off the counter and bounded into his arms. This was how they greeted each other whenever they hung out. I found it pretty amusing.

“Taking a break from all that Tyra?” I asked him as he opened the fridge. I’m sure he made some smart comment, but I wasn’t listening because as he was bent over, searching through the fridge, I was busy ogling his unbelievable backside. When he straightened back up, I was looking at his face again before he could realize where my attention had drifted.

“So, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know a word Jake just said, because I was busy molesting him with my eyes.” Jacob’s eyes got wide as he spun around to look at Tina, making both of us erupt into a fit of hysterical laughter. He was just standing there, looking fairly uncomfortable as Tina and I doubled over, and wheezing for breath. We were finally able to recompose ourselves enough to breath and speak properly again.

“May I leave now?” he asked in a timid voice, his face in a mockingly worried pout.

“No. Shut up and get me a piece of leftover cake.” We all laughed, Jacob loosening up again. “But will you actually get me a piece of cake?”

“Sure.” He moved across the kitchen to grab Tina a plate, and I redirected my attention to my cuticles. “So Tina, Calypso and I were chatting this morning, and we decided we’d like your input on something.” My head snapped up to glare at Jacob, who was already staring me down from across the room.

“Purely from Calypso’s reaction alone, I know this will be interesting,” Tina commented, looking back and forth between Jacob and I, her eyes alight. “Please proceed,” she requested, crossing her legs and leaning forward to put her chin her hand, giving Jacob her undivided attention.

“So, for one of her gifts, I want to take Calypso to Seattle with me, and she is refusing to go unless I can get you to agree to it.” Tina looked at me confused.

“Why don’t you wanna go?”

“Because it’s an overnight trip where we would be staying in a hotel room alone.”

“Ohhhh…” Tina breathed, looking at Jacob.

“I also told her that she would be able to dictate anything that happened, if anything happened. This trip isn't me trying to make a move; it’s me trying to have my chance.”

“Expand on that,” Tina said, turning her body toward his. I rolled my eyes and pulled my leg up to my chest on the counter, resting my head on my knee.

“Okay,” Jacob sighed, sitting down beside her at the table. “I’m not gonna sugar coat anything just because Calypso’s dating your brother. She and I had a really strong connection before she met Nate, and before I was able to get the courage to make a move, your brother swooped in. But even though they’re dating, the connection hasn’t stopped.” Jacob glanced up at me. “Calypso admitted it herself.” He tore his eyes away from mine and looked back at Tina.

“I don’t think that Calypso belongs with Nate. I think that she and I are…better…for each other. And I think that if I had been able to take that chance things would different.” Both of them looked to me, waiting for me to speak.

“What do you think, baby?” Tina asked me, cocking her head to the side. I huffed and slid off the counter.

“I think that this whole proposal is stupid. Sure, Jacob and I had something before, and yeah, we have something now, but the fact is, no matter what there is between us, there’s something between Nate and I too. And he and I both made a commitment to that something, and to jeopardize it just because Jake and I might have some connection as well is wrong.” We were all silent for a moment, before Tina spoke again.

“Well, I didn’t like your answer as much, and also, Jacob is half-naked, and I enjoy his body. So I rule in his favor.

“TINA—!” I shouted in disbelief as Jacob grinned at me. Tina grabbed her Nutella jar and banged it against the table three times.

“The ruling is final,” she declared. All I could do was roll my eyes as I stormed into the living room.

Jacob’s Point of View

As soon as Calypso left the room, Tina and I exchanged a glance.

“She’s mad,” Tina announced. I shrugged.

“She’ll get over it. It’s not that she doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t want to want to go.

“Well, good. Not that she doesn’t want to, but that she does want to.” We both chuckled. “Ay, sir! You didn’t get my cake.”

“My bad,” I apologized through my laughter, standing up to finish my original task.

“So did you know she was gonna make you ask me as the second opinion?” I shook my head as I pulled the cake out of the fridge.

“No. It was just a really lucky break.”

“And she has no idea about—”

“No.” I cut her off. Not wanting to talk about the topic she was alluding to. “Why aren’t we telling her again?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at her. “Because it seemed to make sense in the moment, but now, I don’t know.” Konstantina stood up and walked to stand beside me at the counter.

“Because it would break her heart,” she whispered, her eyes frantic now.

“But it’s the right thing to do—”

“Yeah, and it would all but kill her.” I looked at her, my face obviously still showing skepticism. Tina sighed and took a moment before elaborating.

“If Calypso found out that Nate was cheating on her, she would…” Tina swallowed, her eyes watering very slightly. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t want to think about it.” I sighed.

“Tina, I know, I don’t want to see her get hurt either. But our plan to avoid that is to lie to her and make her fall in love with me before she finds out? Either way, she’ll be hurt if anything slips.” Tina looked at me, her eyes begging me not to say more, to stop unraveling her plan. “Tina, if she found out—”

“Which is why we won’t let her find out, okay?” she said, her voice strained. This whole situation was obviously stressing her out. She took a step closer to me, her eyes pleading. “Jacob, I know this is risky. Trust me, I do. But this is the only thing I can think of doing that keeps her from getting hurt.

“Jacob, you have to make this Seattle thing work. She needs to break-up with Nate on her own terms, and the only way I can see her doing that is if she has someone better to do it for.”

“How do you even know I can convince her I’m that someone—”

“Are you kidding me, Jake?” she asked. “The girl adores you. She is absolutely, inexplicably in love with you. You’re all she talks about, and when she’s not talking about you, you’re the only thing she thinks about. She looks at you like you’re the center of her world, and I think you feel the same. There’s no convincing that needs to happen. You just need to make her realize how she feels.”

“You really think that? Or are you just saying that because you need it to be true for your plan to work?” I couldn’t help but ask. She shrugged.

“A little bit of both,” she admitted. We smiled at each other before she leaned into me for a hug. I held her as she buried her face in my chest.

“I just don’t want her to be hurt again. I love her too much,” Tina whispered into my shirt.

“I know exactly how you feel.”

Calypso’s Point of View

I walked out of my room with a tiny smile before it was interrupted by a yawn. This had been the best birthday ever. After Tina and Nate came over, all of us went up to the Cullens’ house to hang out. The family was thrilled to see me, and to meet Nate and Tina. Esme and Alice made me a huge, three-tier chocolate cake, with white piping and a different design on each cake. I didn’t know why she had made so much, but I understood when it was attacked by the ravenous man-children I called friends. After the boys all ate their cake, they went out to the yard to play football, not seeming too eager to stay in the house for very long. Only Jacob, Nate and the Cullen boys remained with us. Emmett pulled me up to his room (much to the displeasure of Jacob and Nate) and gave me my present. He had collaborated with Alice to make it.

Unbeknownst to me, Alice had been taking photos of me in which I was unknowingly posed similarly to none other than Miss Marilyn Monroe in some of her more iconic photos. I knew that Alice had been taking snapshots, and having impromptu photo sessions, but I didn’t know it was all part of a grand scheme. Emmett retouched the pictures so that they were almost identical to the Marilyn photos. He then placed each pair, including the photo of Marilyn with the corresponding photo of myself, side-by-side in a scrapbook that had been tailored to me perfectly. It included my favorite quotes, favorite pictures, and fun facts about Marilyn littered across the pages of the book.

I honestly could say that it was one of the best gifts anybody had ever given me, and I had to stop myself from crying for fear of ruining my makeup. After he and I went downstairs and I received gifts from the rest of the family, Alice informed me that she and her family (minus Esme and Carlisle) were taking me clubbing, graciously inviting everyone else to come along. It took some coaxing, but I was finally able to convince Jake and the gang to come before Alice and Bella whisked Tina and I away to get ready. Alice dressed me in a black lace dress, whose hem hit mid thigh, with a black slip beneath it. The accent color of the night for me was blue, and she gave me blue teardrop earrings, a thin blue belt around my rib cage, and a pair of blue, patent leather shoes with a huge flower on the toe (Calypso's Look). My wrists were adorned with silver bangles, and my lips coated with a bright red. Usually, I wouldn’t be able to pull the shoes off, but tonight was different, and I looked hot.

The girls and I finally descended the stairs to “ooh’s” and “aah’s,” and after the boys were done appreciating Alice’s handiwork, we all departed in several different cars. The club in Port Angeles was very classy, and I wasn’t sure we would get in. But as soon as we stepped in line, the bouncer let us all in on the first go. (Apparently, we looked hotter than I thought.) Although Edward, Emmett and Jasper offered to buy drinks, Tina, Alice and I said that we’d handle it. We flounced over to the bar, leaning over the counter flirtatiously. It wasn’t long before three guys came over, offering to buy us drinks.

We convinced them to buy a round for our friends, which they agreed to as long as they got one dance. We told them we had boyfriends (Tina claimed Emmett), but they got us the drinks anyway. The night was filled with dancing, flirting and drinking. I danced with pretty much every guy in our crew, but always came back to Nate. After I told him about me and Jacob’s upcoming trip, he begrudgingly agreed to it, but I noticed that he tried even harder than normal to keep me away from Jacob.

After the club, we all went to the beach. The autumn moon was gorgeous, cloaked in a rosey orange glow, and basking the beach in its supernatural light. On a whim, Tina and I stripped down to our bra and panties and ran into the ocean, immersing ourselves as quickly as possible. The water was freezing, but we didn’t care as we splashed around, our laughter floating into the night sky.

The rest of the group soon joined us, and we all swam together. Nate and I snuck off, finding the little cove we had found on our first date. Everyone whooped and hollered and cat called as we climbed into the rock, soon disappearing from view and being swallowed by the darkness. Things got hotter than usual between Nate and I in the cove, and our echoes traveled across the water to our friends a little ways away. We couldn’t help but laugh when they shouted encouragement in response. We eventually slunk out of the rock face to endure the merciless taunting of our friends.

After everyone was done teasing us, we exchanged our good-byes, Emmett and I taking much longer than everyone else had. When we were finally done, we went to our separate cars and drove our separate ways. Nate was the one who drove me home, Tina joining us. Jacob told me he would meet me there, but he just had to pick something up from his house. I went upstairs and showered, throwing on oversized sweats that hung low on my hips, and a tanktop with a long sleeved wool cardigan before tying my hair into a ponytail.

Emily and Sam had gone to bed, but were just reading together before they fell asleep. I hopped in with them and snuggled under the covers between the two. They both put their arms around me and sandwiched me there for some time before I got up to leave. I left their room smiling and feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, the way you do when you swallow a big gulp of homemade hot chocolate.

When I got downstairs, Jacob was sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for me. I smiled at him.

“Hi,” I mumbled, taking a seat in the chair beside him.

“Hi,” he responded, his lovely brown eyes seeming to shine for me. “How was your birthday?”

“It was perfect,” I sighed happily. Jacob chuckled, making my hairs stand on end.

“I’m glad to hear it. You think you have a little more time for me before you crash out?” he asked, his eyes revealing his hopefulness.

“I’ll always have time for you, Jacob,” I murmured, reaching my hand out to hold his. The way he was looking at me now was making my stomach bubble uncontrollably.

“Good,” he whispered, squeezing my hand in his. “Close your eyes and follow me.” I smiled as I let my eyes close and felt him help me up. He led me through the house by hand, and I was a bit confused as we went outside, my feet registering the feel of the gravel.

“Ouch,” I hissed when I stepped on a particularly sharp piece of stone. “Jacob, I can’t walk on this,” I informed him, still not opening my eyes.

“Not to worry!” Jacob said. I yelped, and soon dissolved into giggles when I realized that he had suddenly swooped me up into his arms and was walking me to our unknown destination. I jumped a bit when I felt his lips near my ear, whispering, “Open your eyes.”

I did so, and fell silent at the sight before me.

It was my truck.

It was my dream truck that I had described to Jacob the day we went to the movies all those months ago. It was exactly how I had described it, down to the last detail.

In a daze, I hopped down from Jacob’s arms, and slowly circled the car. It was bright blue, with pictures of Marilyn Monroe spray painted on the hood and both car doors. I assumed a stencil had been utilized, considering that every curl of her hair and every curve in her face was so precise. There were four of her quotes written in an exceedingly neat font right along the curve of the car just above the wheel. Through the windshield, I could see a plastic Beauty and the Beast ornament hanging from the rear view mirror, with Belle and the Beast dancing together.

“I left some room so that you and Claire could paint together,” Jacob whispered from behind me.

“Jacob,” I whispered, my throat so choked up that it was almost painful.

“There’s more.” I watched Jacob swiftly climb into the bed of the truck, holding his hand out for me to follow. I grabbed a hold of it and he helped me up as I scrambled in after him. I gasped and covered my mouth, unsure of what I was going to say next.

Jacob had lined the bed of the truck with christmas lights, illuminating the space around us. There were two plates, each with a box of Junior Mints, which I immediately recognized as the first candy Jacob and I had ever shared.

And sitting right against the bed, facing me, was Julia, my first and only porcelain doll.

She was just as beautiful as she was when I had first met her. Her long black hair was curled into several perfect ringlets, and her big brown eyes sparkled just like stars. Her dimples were ever present, and her skin was that same rich brown chocolate. I left Jacob’s arms and walked over to the doll, who was smiling up at me the same way she did on my fifth birthday. With trembling hands, I reached out and picked her up. I gently cradled her in my arms, and felt a little piece of me break when her eyelids fluttered shut.

When I started sobbing, Jacob rushed over to my side quickly pulling me into him and shushing me. I wanted to laugh, but I was so overcome with my weeping, all I could do was cling to him with all my might.

“Are you okay?” Jacob asked, his voice betraying how very worried he was. All I could do was nod, and Jacob sank down until he was sitting, with me in his lap.

I don’t know how long I cried for, but we sat there in silence together long after I stopped, the sounds of the forest being the only things that interrupted us.

“How did you find her?” was the first thing I asked, brushing a curl back from Julia’s face as I gazed down at her sleeping peacefully in my arms.

“There’s a doll shop in Port Angeles that handmakes custom dolls. Tina was the one who told me about it. I described the doll to the lady who runs it—Rose—and she told me it would take her a couple of weeks. I just got it yesterday. I was nervous it would come late, or that it wouldn’t turn out right.” I looked up at Jacob with a huge smile.

“Jacob, she’s perfect. She’s just as gorgeous as I remember her.” Jacob gave me a shy smile and I laughed, quickly wiping a tear from my eye. Carefully setting her down beside us, I shifted in Jacob’s lap so that I could wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his shoulder. He sighed when he put his arms around me, and kissed my head, making me grip his shirt and pull him even closer to me.

It was then that I registered just how much Jacob cared for me. Only someone truly exceptional would go to such lengths for one person. And I was a fairly plain person. I was pretty, and kind of nice to hang around, but beyond that, there was nothing exceedingly special about me. But Jacob was able to see something that no one else had seen, including myself, and he was utterly enchanted by it. He seemed to be driven by it, as if my happiness was what tethered him to this world.

“Why do you care so much?” I asked him simply, my voice barely above a whisper. He chuckled.

“I’d have to fully understand it myself in order to explain it to you,” he responded, his breath blowing across my hair. I pulled back a little bit so that I could fully look him in the eye.

“If you ever do come to understand it, will you tell me?” Jacob’s face suddenly took on a demeanor of seriousness that I wasn’t expecting.

“What if I told you that I knew enough that I could explain most of it to you right now?” His tone was low, and his whole body had suddenly gone tense. I felt my brow furrow as I looked at him, a sense of anticipation rippling through my core and making my chest tighten and my heart pound.

“Don’t,” I said simply, with a single shake of the head. “Not now. Not tonight.” Jacob nodded, but I thought he looked disappointed, as if he had been desperately hoping that I would say yes. I almost wanted to change my answer, partly for Jacob’s sake, and partly to sate the burning curiosity that forced me to wonder what exactly spurred the connection between he and I. But something inside of me told me that I wasn’t ready to hear it just yet; that I couldn’t hear it just yet. And so I decided to act on that something, and let tonight, and that moment be what it was: perfect. Just like I had wished for.

I kissed Jacob softly on the forehead, relaxing when I felt him relax at the contact, and turned around so that my back was curled into his chest. I lifted Julia and placed her in my lap, and grabbed our Junior Mints. We “clinked” them together the way people do with wine glasses before opening them. We spent the next hour or so talking and laughing as we stared up at the stars eating our chocolate, and cuddling.

I couldn’t have wished for a more perfect ending to my day.