I dropped my eyes to the rocks.

      He was silent for a few minutes. Unconsciously, we both walked slower, barely moving at all.
      “It’s not supposed to be,” he admitted. “But you have to see her — the one that’s supposedly meant for
you.”
      “And you think that if you haven’t seen her yet, then she’s not out there?” I asked skeptically. “Jacob, you
haven’t really seen much of the world — less than me, even.”
      “No, I haven’t,” he said in a low voice. He looked at my face with suddenly piercing eyes. “But I’ll never
see anyone else, Bella. I only see you. Even when I close my eyes and try to see something else. Ask Quil or
Embry. It drives them all crazy.”
      I dropped my eyes to the rocks.

     We weren’t walking anymore. The only sound was of the waves beating against the shore. I couldn’t hear
the rain over their roar.
     “Maybe I’d better go home,” I whispered.
     “No!” he protested, surprised by this conclusion.
     I looked up at him again, and his eyes were anxious now.
     “You have the whole day off, right? The bloodsucker won’t be home yet.”
     I glared at him.
     “No offense intended,” he said quickly.
     “Yes, I have the whole day. But, Jake . . .”
     He held up his hands. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I won’t be like that anymore. I’ll just be Jacob.”
     I sighed. “But if that’s what you’re thinking . . .”
     “Don’t worry about me,” he insisted, smiling with deliberate cheer, too brightly. “I know what I’m doing.
Just tell me if I’m upsetting you.”
     “I don’t know. . . .”
     “C’mon, Bella. Let’s go back to the house and get our bikes. You’ve got to ride a motorcycle regularly to
keep it in tune.”
     “I really don’t think I’m allowed.”
     “By who? Charlie or the blood — or him?”
     “Both.”
     Jacob grinned my grin, and he was suddenly the Jacob I missed the most, sunny and warm.
     I couldn’t help grinning back.
     The rain softened, turned to mist.
     “I won’t tell anyone,” he promised.
     “Except every one of your friends.”
     He shook his head soberly and raised his right hand. “I promise not to think about it.”
     I laughed. “If I get hurt, it was because I tripped.”
     “Whatever you say.”