Jake POV

All night long, I couldn't get Bella out of my mind, much to the annoyance of Embry. He finally huffed and trotted off, leaving me to do the last half hour of patrols on my own. I didn't mind, it'd been quiet all summer anyway.

I decided for our first day together as….whatever the hell we were, I wanted to take her to the beach. I trotted back home, phasing back into human form in the woods just behind the house. The first fingers of dawn were streaking the dark sky with paler shades of gray as I crossed the grass. Dad had left the light on for me, unnecessary, but nice.

I glanced at the clock and noted that it was early, but that Charlie would be up. I could leave a message with him for Bella, then lie down and sleep for a while. I picked up and dialed the phone. It rang a few times before being picked up.

"Hello?"

Shit, it was Bella. From the sounds of it, I'd woken her up. I had to admit, I loved her just woken up voice. It was crazy sexy. "Hey pretty girl, still in bed?"

"Jake?" she sounded confused "What the hell are you doing calling at….6.30 in the morning?"

"I thought Charlie would pick up."

"He's out, some call about a missing person or murdered person or something. I don't really remember what he said. I'm not good at retaining information when I first wake up." She yawned. "So what do you want, puppy?"

I chuckled. "I wanted to tell you what we're doing today."

"What."

"Wow…don't get too excited on me. You could hurt yourself."

She groaned. "Shut up. It's early."

"Yeah, I got that. Anyway, bring your swimming suit and some warmer clothes. We're going to swim and then there's a bonfire tonight."

"Swimming? Isn't the water like, 40 degrees or something?"

"More like the 50's, but its fine. You'll have me, your own personal space heater."

"Sounds thrilling," she muttered drily.

I chuckled. "So, suit, warmer clothes for later. See you around four?"

She sighed. "Yeah sure. Bye Jake."

"Bye."

I headed to my room and collapsed on the bed, falling asleep to dream of Bella.

I woke up a few hours later, feeling somewhat rested, but too anxious to sleep anymore. I pulled on a pair of athletic shorts and headed into the kitchen. I scarfed down a couple sandwiches then headed out to the garage. I was working on a car for one of Dad's friends for some extra cash. Quil and Embry were in the garage looking through some of the car magazines that focused more on plastic women in skimpy clothing draped over hoods and motorcycles than on the vehicles themselves. I rolled my eyes and lowered myself onto the dolly to get underneath the car. I absentmindedly listened to them ogling and pointing out best assets while I worked, my thoughts going back to Bella.

"Hi guys!"

I sat up quickly, surprised, momentarily forgetting about the car I was under. I smacked my head hard enough to see spots. I groaned as I rolled myself out from under the car.

"Hey Bells," I grinned as I stood up, shaking my head slightly to stop the ringing. I grabbed a rag to wipe my hands then pulled her into a hug. She grunted and I let go. "I thought you wouldn't be here until four." I looked her over, hoping against hope for an imprint.

Her hair was pulled up in a messy half ponytail looking thing and she wore a little knee length red dress. Bare legs and shoulders. Shit.

She shrugged and pushed Quil on the shoulder so he'd make room for her on the old couch. "It's the damndest thing. I woke up super early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I ate breakfast, cleaned house, read a book, ate lunch, watched some TV and it was only like, 2 pm! So, I decided to come pick on you losers." She reached over and snatched the magazine Embry was trying to hide between his body and the arm of the couch. She raised her eyebrows. "Motor Mamas?"

Embry turned bright red. "They're Quil's," he muttered staring at the floor.

"Dude! Not cool!" Quil exclaimed, punching Embry on the arm.

Embry punched him back and it quickly escalated into a wrestling match. Bella picked up her feet from the concrete and crossed her legs on the couch, watching them with a grin as they rolled onto the floor. I rolled my eyes and picked up a bottle of water and squirted them with it. Quil looked up startled, allowing Embry an opening to get him where it counted with his knee. Quil winced and curled up in the fetal position, hissing curse words. Embry rolled his eyes as he pulled himself up, making an attempt to dust himself off.

"Come on, loser, let's get you home and cleaned up. You smell like a dog. Plus these two need their privacy." He threw his head back, laughing like he'd just made the funniest joke anyone had ever heard. He turned to me and Bella. "See you at the beach later?" I nodded and he helped Quil out the door, still laughing, Quil still shooting him murderous looks.

I looked over at Bella, suddenly nervous. She smiled up at me. "Come sit, we should talk and establish some ground rules."

Ground rules? That sounded fun. I dropped onto the opposite end of the couch and turned to her, waiting. She shifted in her seat so she was facing me, looking somewhat nervous now.

"I want us to keep this a friendship first. I want us to be honest with each other about everything, if possible." I nodded. That sounded reasonable. "As for physical stuff…" she turned that delicious shade of pink again "I think we should just let it come naturally, not try to force it."

Naturally for me would be sex right here right now, but I knew really she meant her pace. I nodded. I could do that.

"Do you have any…rules…or anything?"

I frowned, thinking. "No, I think that's good. Friendship first, complete honesty, slow pace."

She smiled again, relaxing. She held up the magazine the guys had left behind. "So….is this what you're into?" she teased. "Big boobs and skimpy clothes?"

I rolled my eyes and reached for the magazine. "Please. You know me better than that."

She held the magazine out of reach, laughing. "Well, maybe I don't know everything. Maybe you're keeping secrets from me."

I stuck my tongue out at her. She wasn't paying attention, so I made my move, tackling her and tickling her. She writhed under me, laughing so hard tears were leaking out her eyes. I loved feeling her skin, but was careful not to get too personal. Her foot kicked out and hit me dangerously close to a sensitive area, making me stop, still holding her down. She looked up at me with a grin.

"Didn't you say something about going to the beach?" she blurted out as I started to lean towards her.

I sat back, getting the message. "Sure sure. Let me just grab my suit. You need to change?"

She shook her head. "I came over with it on." I noticed then that there were green straps under the red straps.

I nodded. "Cool deal. I'll be back in a second." I ran inside and changed quickly, grabbing a couple towels and a blanket before heading back to the garage.

She was stretched out on the couch, reading Motor Mamas. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her foot. "Come on you big lesbo."

She laughed but pushed herself up. "You know I only read it for the articles."

It was a short walk to the beach and I noticed that she shivered slightly when we got closer to the water's edge. Even though it was mid-July, the weather was cooler than usual. The air was in the 60s, so I knew the water would be colder than that. I cast a glance over at her, wondering if she'd chicken out, but her jaw was set, determination in her face. I spread the blanket out on the sand and dropped the towels while she kicked off her shoes and pulled her dress off, dropping it on the sand. Nice, I thought, looking at her appreciatively.

She walked towards the water and stopped, a few feet shy of the edge of where the water was lapping at us. She put her hands on her hips and frowned. I looked down at her, questioning. "Ready?"

She shook her head. "I hate the cold. Plus, I'm not a great swimmer. Maybe I'll just play in the shallows or sun or something. I brought a book…" She was losing her will to go through with it. Suddenly, I had an idea.

I scooped her up in my arms and ran into the surf. She threw her arms around my neck shrieking and laughing. When I was about waist deep, I launched her out. She shrieked as she flew through the air, then went silent as she submerged. She came up spluttering and shot me a glare.

"Fuck that's c-c-cold," she exclaimed, swimming towards me.

I grinned. "Yeah, but it's better to just do it all at once, then it's not so bad." She was standing in front of me now, still glaring.

"Is that true, puppy. Then how come you're still half dry?"

"Because you're not big enough to dunk me," I taunted.

She scowled at me. "You know how I said that sometimes I hate you? This is one of those times." She launched herself at me with a little growl, laughing at the same time. I caught her easily and we fell back, both going under.

We splashed around in the water for a while, coming out when the others showed up. I noticed then that she was shivering and covered in goose bumps. I wrapped both towels around her and chafed her arms to bring some heat back. She leaned into me, resting her cheek against my chest.

Before too long, the others in the pack had gotten the fire going, deciding not to wait until sunset like usual. Emily passed around plates heaped with food and we eagerly dug in. Bella sat comfortably against me, using my chest as a back support. We'd sat like this lots of times, but this time it felt different, a little more…intimate.

She got full before she finished her plate, so she passed it to me and I inhaled the last of her burger and chips, wiping my hands on my shorts before putting my arms around her again. She sighed contentedly then made a little grumbling sound as she pulled forward.

"My hair," she explained. "It's never gonna dry if I don't take it down." She tugged the hair tie out and let her long dark hair fall down. It smacked me in the chest, leaving a cold wet trail as she leaned over and turned her head so the curtain of her hair was facing the fire and she was facing me. She smiled as she fingered through it.

"Come here," I instructed, turning her slightly. She frowned but complied. I started at her hairline and gently combed my fingers through the wet strands, carefully pulling out the knots as I hit them. She sighed contentedly and wrapped her arm around my leg and leaned against it.

When I had the knots worked out, I carefully divided her hair into two sections and started to braid it.

"You know how to braid?" she asked surprised.

"Hello, Indian."

She rolled her eyes. "I should have known." She laughed. "I can just imagine you with a couple dozen little braids all over your head, sticking up everywhere."

I snorted. "Yeah, that'd be attractive. A Rasta Indian. I'd for sure be unique then."

"Yeah, poor you, being just one of the pack."

I grinned and tied off the ends of the braids, using her hair tie and the thong I tied my clothes to my ankle with when I phased. She smiled up at me then took her spot back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling the blanket up around us. I didn't need it, but she still felt cooler than she should. Before too long, I could tell from the deep even breathing that she was asleep. I grinned and pulled her closer to me.