Choice

Chapter 3

I choke and sputter, and I feel 2 warm hands pressing on my chest as I cough up water.

"Jake?" I say as I try to steady myself.

"Bella! Are you okay?" He says, and I can see the worry on his face.

I grab him and give him a big hug.

"I am thanks to you," I whisper.

"Bella, this is a whole new level of clumsy!" He says with a chuckle.
"I know. Sorry Jake..."
"Come on, I'll take you home. After you freshen up we can come eat on the beach."

Fast forward about 3 years later, Jake and Bella have both become werewolves:

"Can you believe it, Jake? We're almost Sophomores in high school! Time flies so fast!"

"I know, I can't believe it, Bells!" He says with his warm smile.

I've had a crush on Jake for 3 years. How can I tell him without ruining our friendship? We promised to stay friends forever when we were little.

"So, what are you most excited about?"

He probably thinks of me as a sister.

"Bella? Earth to Bella?" He waves a hand across my face.

"Oh! Sorry. I was thinking. What did you say?" I ask.

"I was saying, what are you most excited about doing this year?" He asks.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe meeting new people? And since I'm a sophomore, I'm allowed to have a boyfriend." I say looking at him.

Jake scrunches his eyebrows in the cutest way.

"What? I've never had a boyfriend, it seems exciting." I say with a small smile.

"Bella, aren't you a bit too young to date? I mean, I don't think I'm okay with you dating anyone else." He says realizing his mistake.

"Anyone else? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh... sorry I didn't mean to say that. I mean I don't think I'm okay with you dating yet."

My smile gets larger as I start to hope he feels the same way. Then I realize that he can't control me. In fact, when I think about it, he's been doing that a lot recently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I needed your permission," I say, glaring at him.

"I know, I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted you to know you might be too young, and I don't want anyone to hurt you."

My glare fades. "Jake, you're my best friend, not my dad. It's not your job to protect me, I can take care of myself."

"I know! But I don't trust anyone with you besides myself."

Himself? Did that mean...NO. It can't be. Can it?

His eyes widen again.

"Jake, do you... do you like me?"

He looks away and his face starts to redden. "N- no I- umm..."

"Jake?" I say again, smiling.

"Okay, maybe... But I don't want it to ruin our friendship. So just forget I said anything."

"Jake!" I say, laughing. "I like you too, a lot actually!"

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. His surprised face turns into a smile.

He closes his eyes and leans in. I punch him right across the face, but not to hard.

"Bella! What the hell!" He says rubbing the spot on his face where a small bruise is starting to form.

"Sorry, Jake! It was too sudden."

"Next time you can tell me that, not punch me in the face." He says, but I can tell from his tone that he forgives me.

"Next time?" I say shyly.

"I don't see why not. You like me, I like you. Let's do it!"

"Okay, sure. I think I'm ready now." I say, blushing harder than ever before.

"Really?"

I answer him by leaning in for the kiss.

Our lips meet but we pull away after just a second.

I look into Jake's eyes and see something. Suddenly I feel fuzzy and warm inside. I feel a huge attraction to him, not fully in a romantic way. It feels like it's him who is holding me here, like he's the only reason I've ever existed. It's like nothing I've ever felt before.

And then it hits me. Could we have imprinted on each other? We both recently became werewolves.

Oh, God.

Jake seems to realize it too.

"Wow Bella, you're an amazing kisser. I felt all warm and fuzzy inside."

Or maybe he didn't realize it. "Jake! We just imprinted!"

It takes him a second to process this.

"Oh wow, you might be right! Do you know what this means?"

"Uh... no?"

"We've imprinted! We're gonna be together the rest of our lives."

"I don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment. How about if we try to date other people? In the end, if we feel nothing for nobody and attraction just for each other, we try to go for it."

Jake looks more hurt than I've ever seen him. There is also a hint of anger on his face.

"You... you don't want me?"

"No! It's not like that! I just mean I don't want some weird werewolf tradition to determine who I end up with."

Jake, without another word, turns around and starts to leave. I grab his arm and he whirls around.

"I'm sorry Jake. I wasn't thinking. We should give us a try first. I mean after all we are each other's imprints."

I give him my best "I'm sorry" face, and it works.

His face softens.

"Okay, I forgive you Bells."

I smile. "Thank you."

"So... will you be my girlfriend?"

I smile widely and give an enthusiastic yes.

He takes my hand and we kiss again. This one with a lot more passion.