There and Back

The porch light was on when Jacob pulled up to the house. Dad was sitting in a rocking-chair with a dishtowel cleaning his shotgun. His handgun was on the table next to him looking freshly polished. "Um, hey Daddy."
He looked up from what he was doing. His eyes darted to Jake and I swear he gripped the gun tighter. "Hey honey. You're a little late."
I looked at the clock on my phone. It was barely eight thirty. "Are you serious?" I asked incredulously.
"Sorry about that, Charlie. It was my fault," Jacob said.
"Uh-huh, So, how was your dinner?"
"Pretty good. Jake and I had a great time." I shot Jacob a look and conveniently avoided telling my dad about my jealousy.
"That's nice. Lizzy, why don't we head inside. Jake, we'll see you later." He got up and opened the door motioning me to go into the house. He paused at the door when I didn't show signs of following.
I rolled my eyes. "I'll be right in, Dad." He didn't move. My dad was being way too paranoid if he wouldn't leave me alone for two seconds for a goodnight kiss.
"Well, goodnight," Jacob said a little awkwardly. He leaned in until our lips were only inches apart. Dad cleared his throat and we sprang apart.
"Night, Jacob. I'll see you later." I brushed past Dad scowling slightly at him. "What was that all about?" I demanded as soon as the door closed.
"What do you mean?'
"Oh c'mon, Dad. You wouldn't even let him kiss me goodnight. This is the twenty-first century. Boys can kiss girls."
"I'm not going to stand by for that!"
"Dad, you've known Jacob for years. Do you really think he'd try anything at your house?"
"Liz, I've known Jake for years. I know that he would if he got the chance," he tried joking.
"Well you've known me since I was born. Do you think I would let him try anything?"
"You tell me," he barked.
I glared fiercely.
"What's going on?" Bella asked bounding into the living room. She was carrying a plate of chocolate chip cookies, probably as a buffer so that Dad and I didn't totally go at it. I’d bet anything that Alice already saw how pissed off I was going to be.
"Great timing, Bells. You two enjoy your cookies. I'm gonna go take a shower." I shot one last glare at my dad before storming up the stairs. UGH! Why does he have to be such a worry wart? Does he really think so little of me that he'd think I'd do it on the porch? Of course, I would never admit to my dad about having sex anyway, but that’s totally beside the point. All I was asking for was a little trust and he wouldn’t even give me that.
I let the warm water of the shower slide down my back to relieve some of my tension. Mm, the water felt so good. I thought back through my day and remembered when I punched Lauren. That seemed like an entirely other day but was still just so frickin' amazing! I just hope she's not smart enough to know that she can press charges. Doubt it. If she did, I could always just hit her in the head and hopefully giver her amnesia.
I stepped out and quickly dressed in some sweats and a t-shirt. It was only nine and I had nowhere to go. Back in Phoenix, there'd be thousands of places I could go kill time. That's the price I have to pay for being stuck in a small town. The only good thing about Forks is Jacob, but Charlie pretty much ruined that for tonight. Okay, I'm done venting to myself.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Emma's number. "Hello?" she said lazily. Sounds like she's bored too.
"Em? What's up?"
"Absolutely nothing. Everyone's out on patrol. Mrs. Clearwater's downstairs watching some TV. I'm completely bored out of my mind. If I don't do something fun soon, I'm going to go crazy."
"You're the one that asked to move in with Leah so you could be closer to Embry. I'm the one that got sent here."
"Yeah, but you've got Jacob."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?" she teased.
"Shut the fuck up, Em. It's just that this is the first relationship I've had that I'm not going full steam ahead. It's weird for me, ya know? Tonight at dinner, I actually got jealous 'cause girls were checking out Jacob. That's never happened to me."
"Hey, I get it. But it's not his fault he's so damn fine."
"I know. But it is his fault that he didn't say anything to stop them. He didn't even mention that I was his girlfriend. I mean, I told that guy at the beach that I was with Jake."
"Whoa, wait. Who was hittin' on you?"
"Some dumbass guy at the beach. But I told him that Jacob was my boyfriend. I was even pissed that he was flirting with me when I was so obviously with someone. Jacob didn’t do anything, though. He just said he didn't even notice the girls but they were really obvious about it so I don’t see how he couldn’t have."
"Sorry, hon. If I was in your shoes, I would trust that Embry loves me. I'd believe it when he says he didn't notice the other girls."
"I've heard that crap before," I muttered.
"Maybe it's not crap. Did you ever think that he was being honest?"
"Of course," I answered. "But I've had plenty of hook ups that started like this. I guess I kinda fall for a guy hard and fast. Remember, I'm not the one that's still a virgin waiting for Mr. Right."
"No, you go for Mr. Right-Now. Just stop worrying about Jacob. He's not going to ditch you for some slut. I gotta go. Talk to you later?"
"Sure. Bye, Emma."
I hung up and collapsed back on my bed. So maybe Em was right. Maybe Jacob was different from most guys and wouldn't hurt me.
Or maybe he was a typical guy and I'd get my heart broken- again.
Ugh, decisions, decisions.