Hello again. I want to thank all of those who have put this on alert. I see you and appreciate it. Excited about almost 150 hits! Keep reading. Enjoy. I in no way own any of this, just borrowing for mindless pleasure.

Bella inhaled deeply and warm air made itself at home in her lungs. The air smelled and felt different in Jacksonville than it did in Forks or La Push. The cold air at home burned her nose when Bella inhaled too quickly. It hurt her lungs to hold it in for too long. There was salt in the air at home but there was also salt in the air on the Florida beach. It took the whole week for her to understand that it was a memory she would take home with her. And that trip home would start in a few hours.

Bella pushed sleep away and looked around.

She wasn't in her bed.

She wasn't on Billy's couch.

The sun was up, but her body hadn't rested enough.

Jacob was in a bed across from her, body turned in her direction and snoring like it was going out style. She pushed her body up a bit to watch him but she wouldn't stare. His supernatural senses could pick up on when she was looking and that woke him up. He needed to sleep. He was on vacation after all.

Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, with her hair pulled up off the back of her neck in a messy ponytail, she silently searched the house for signs of life. The only life found inside were the few cacti that were transported from Phoenix. They sat around in small pots around the house. In each room, one sat on a table or window sill. There was a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen and the sliding glass door out to the deck was partially open. Living in Forks taught her that you never leave a door or window open or unlocked unless you want someone or, in certain cases, something coming through it. The sun bleached out her vision until her eyes adjusted. Renee sat on one of the deck chairs reading a book.

"Hey Mom."

"Good morning, kiddo. What are you doing up so early? How did you sleep? Can I get you something to eat?" The questions fired faster than the answers could have been formed and said. "Tell me about your trip. How's school? How's your dad?"

"Okay mom, slow down." Bella perched on the other deck chair and rested her elbows on her knees, head in her hands. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten. I was gonna let you sleep for a little bit longer and then wake you up. I have no food in the house. Either before or after lunch, I am sending you and Jake to the grocery store to get food. I've put off shopping for the whole week until you got here." Bella laughed at the idea of grocery shopping with Jacob and what the total would look like with his big appetite.

"That's cool. The sun woke me up. We're not used to it this bright, this much back home." The idea of Forks being home struck her.

Her mother's initial questions still rolled around in her head. "Um, I slept well. It will take some time getting used to sleeping in a different bed. As for eating, I'll wait for Jake to get up so that I can make something for both of us. The plane trip was long, very long, but I slept for most of it. School is school; nothing has changed since I last talked to you. And Dad is Dad. He loves his work and his weekend fishing." Bella ran through the list of questions again to make sure that everything was covered.

"Same ole Charlie." They mused quietly about the common man in their lives. "Oh, I'm so excited you're here." Renee launched herself into hugging Bella. "I have nothing at all planned; however, I do want to take a day and visit some of the colleges and try to convince you to come back to stay after graduation."

"Mom…"

Don't "mom" me, it's not often I get you here and it's my job to do all I can to keep you. I miss you."

Understanding her mother's position, Bella let it drop and nodded her head while playing with a few strands of her hair that fell over her shoulder. Deck umbrellas overhead kept from beating directly down on them, but it was already warm and folks were out enjoying the beach. Bella watched a family play in the surf. A mom and a dad were swinging a small boy between them. His squeals of laughter reached the deck.

"So…" Her mom started. "In your e-mails, as few of them as there were," Bella blushed. "You raved on and on about Edward. You talked about him on the phone. You sent me pictures. There was never anything negative about him and from what I gathered, his family liked you and you liked them. It was all I heard about. IN the six months that he was around you fell hard and fell fast. I was sure that we'd be heading to your wedding sooner than later."

"Mom, I'm too young to get married." The comment was quickly ignored.

"Then you sent me a three sentence e-mail saying that he was out of your life. Your dad started to call. You started having nightmares that didn't go away. He didn't know what else to do after months of no change for the better. I was about to fly out and bring you back here." Bella stayed quiet, nothing was untrue. "So what happened?"

It seemed so long ago to her now. She pulled in a deep breath and prepared herself for the onslaught of memories. "The day after my birthday Edward showed up at the house and told me that Carlisle was switching hospitals, they were moving and he didn't want anything more to do with me, ever. My best friend, Alice, was his sister; I talked to her about everything. Rose, Em, and Jazz became my brothers and sister. Carlisle and Esme filled in as second parents. I wrapped so much of myself in him and his family that my world crashed when they left." In retelling the events it all seemed a little silly and foolish. "Alice called one day, a month ago, out of the blue and told me how they were, what they were doing and that the family was sorry for what Edward put me through. We've stayed in contact since then, but the damage was done."

"How does "Mr. Mud Pies" in there, who looks like he just stepped out of an underwear ad, play into all this?" Lots of phone called between Renee and Charlie occurred and she'd heard all about their "friendship."

Bella scoffed. "Mr. Mud Pies? Why does everyone remember that?"

"Because we have pictures."

"Um, remember Dad threatening that if I didn't get out of the house I would have to come live with you?"

"Oh yeah."

"Jake was a logical answer." She continued to amend the story as she went. "I needed some mechanical work done, he was the one who rebuilt the engine of my truck, he was a family friend and Charlie was happy I was getting out of the house. I sat in the garage with him while he worked on…some stuff. Sometimes we talked, sometimes not. His friends came around." She smiled at some of the memories. "And gave me a hard time. It didn't fix me but the emptiness seemed to go away a little each day."

"Your dad says you're like magnets."

She laughed at the thought and then sobered at the truthfulness. "We do have a tendency to end up in the same place a lot. It doesn't hurt that his dad is Charlie's best friend."

"And…" Bella's mom sounded like a teenager waiting for the juicy details of a date rather than a mom.

"What? There's no 'and'…at least not yet."

"And yet here he is in Florida with you."

The younger of the two laughed and scratched at her brow. "That in some ways is still a mystery to me too."

"It's payback for all the repairs I had to do to the garage after her emotional hurricane. I'm still missing a few tools. I have no idea where a few of the sockets landed." Jake stumbled out of the house almost tripped over the track for the sliding door. He wore his usual shorts and t-shirt that once had sleeves. He scratched at the back of his head and then rubbed sleep from tires eyes. Bella blushed at the statements passed between her and her mother before he appeared and hoped that he didn't hear any of them, but with wolf hearing she doubted that he missed what was implied. "What is all this brightness everywhere?"

"That's the sun." Bella tried to sound scientific with an edge of 'well duh.' "You'll get used to it. How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good. Then this light came through the window and I thought we were being invaded by UFOs or something. I had to come out and check."

He headed to the steps leading down to the beach. Bella handed up her cup of coffee to him as he passed. He sat on the top most step with his back to the railing. He sipped the coffee, closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Unprotected by the overhead umbrellas, the sun struck him dramatically. Bella's breath caught in the back of her throat. Jake was beautiful in this setting, the most beautiful she'd ever seen him. There was no stress or tension in his body, no pack responsibilities pulling him away and the sun danced on his skin. Instant images of him without the shirt and playing in the water invaded her mind and all the 'and…' implications that her mother hinted at became enticing.

"Bells, does that sound good?" Jake's voice asked. The smile he wore told her silently that she'd been caught staring again.

"Does what sound good?" Looks went back and forth between Jake and her mother.

"You're leaving with Jake in a few minutes to stock up on food. When you get back, we'll have lunch. Jacob's hungry."

"When is Jake not hungry?" Bella uttered under her breath, but Jake laughed.

Jake pushed the buggy and Bella tossed items in as they traversed the aisles of the large grocery store. The cart was almost full and only a third of the store was behind them.

"You were staring again." Jake spoke up after a lot of thought. "Too bad your mom was around but at least I was awake this time." She couldn't tell if he was thinking out loud, talking to himself or meant for her to hear him.

"Of course she was around; we were catching up, until you literally fell out the door." Duh.

"Catching up, that go well?"

"It's amazing how much of the truth I was able to tell her without mentioning," she looked around to see if anyone was too close, "werewolves and vampires. She asked about Edward's departure and I told her the truth. Carlisle switched hospitals, took the family with him and we made a hard, clean break; shattering me at the same time."

"I'm impressed, what did you say about me?" Playful eagerness shined in his eyes.

Bella rolled her eyes at him. "That Charlie forced your friendship on me and most of the time I wanted to throttle you but that I played nice to stay in Forks. You are along for this trip in hopes of me drowning you in the ocean without too many eyes to see."

"Very funny."

The sun reached its highest point and moved across the sky. Jake and Bella put the groceries away and made and early afternoon lunch for themselves and Renee, who had the same questioning look on her face as Charlie often wore, when she was how much Jake ate. They sat on the deck and talked easily while food disappeared. The waves in the background made for a hypnotic soundtrack to their meal.

The beach called but Bella wanted to unpack and get fully settled into her home for the next week before giving into complete laziness. Jake did the same under duress and whined about it being his vacation but would do anything Bella said. Together, they rearranged the small room and made a little more space to move around in. One bed ended up under the window and the other against the adjacent wall. The heads of the beds met in an "L" shape in one corner.

"I'm gonna grab a quick shower before starting dinner."

"While you do that, I need to go for a run and burn off some energy." It never occurred to her what he would do with all the pent up energy he would have from not going wolfy all week. "After dinner I'm taking you for a walk down the beach just like we do at home." He bumped her shoulder with his as he left the room and out the back door.

Bella stood at the sink washing the veggies for dinner and watched the beach activity out the window. Couples walked hand-in-hand, kids dug in the sand, people ran by, others sat in the sun and read.

"Are you afraid of the sun?" Renee entered the kitchen from another part of the house.

"No, mom"

"You haven't even stepped in the sand yet."

"Trust me, tomorrow you will have to drag me in from the beach for meals. I wanted to be settled in first."

"Where's Jacob?"

"He went out for a run a little while ago. I assume he went down the beach. He'll be back soon, never misses a meal."

"No kidding, does he always eat like that?"

"He's a…growing…boy…Mom." The words came out distractedly and choppy because they boy in question came running up the beach. The shirt he ran off in was removed and tucked into the waist of his shorts. Absolute focus and drive were evident on his face. Absolutely nothing distracted him including all the stares he got, mostly from the females he passed. He already had the body any girl would desire but it glistened in the sunshine making it look even better. His legs fought against the give of the sand. Muscles stretched tightly. The full out running pace he was keeping up slowed to a walk. He twisted and shook out his arms to cool off and calm down from the exhilaration of exercise. Bella turned off the water and watched his approach to the house. She 'd just about had enough with looking, now touching was becoming a desire and not the daily amount of touching that they already did, but touching with purpose. The shirtless part she was used to. The Jacob part she was used to. The running as a human in the sunshine and heat was all new. He all of a sudden looked down right sexy.

"Yeah right." Renee observed. "There's nothing else between you, I don't believe that." Jacob was almost to the door. "Close your mouth daughter, you're starting to drool." She removed a bottle of water from the fridge, having to maneuver around the frozen statue like Bella to do so, and made ready for him. "So Jacob, how was your run?" She asked so sickly sweet.

"Good, thanks." Half the bottle was drained. "Dinner smells great, let me shower and I'll come help."

"Uh-huh, right, just friends." Renee added in Bella's direction once the bathroom door clicked shut. Bella thought she was channeling Charlie with her comment.

"You guys go." Renee shooed them out the door after the table was cleared. "I'll clean up. You cooked." There were only a few fingers of light holding onto to the sky and their hold on the day slipped up minute by minute leaving the beached dark. "I got this, go take your walk." Renee called out one more time. "I'll leave the deck light on."

They fell into the rhythm they had when walking at First Beach, shoulder to shoulder. They walked closer to the water, but just out of reach of the waves. Heat radiated from the sand. It was much different than home. Cliffs didn't define the boundaries of the beach. "End of the first day and I finally got you out onto the beach."

"You knew it would happen eventually. How far did you run today?"

"'Bout five miles up and then back?"

"Run into anything interesting?"

"Yeah, more sand. It's doesn't end." Jake pointed to the endless beach in front of them and showed her how there was no end.

"Not used to that."

"More dunes here and the beach is wider, slopes up from the ocean. Water is a lot warmer here too."

Lights flickered high above the beach ahead of them and caught Bella's eye. Half of Jacob's description wasn't heard. "What's that?" She pointed at what she saw and Jake guided them in the right direction to figure it out.

People further up the beach were flying trick, stunt kites with small lights attached to them. The glowing triangles swooped and dove but then pulled up and soared again. Others were standing and some sitting around watching the aerial dance. Jake found a place to the side and dropped his rear into the sand, patting a place for Bella between his bent legs. Leaning back into his chest, it was decidedly the best way to watch the show. Everyone oohed and aahed. More people stopped to watch. The air cooled and Bella used Jake as her blanket, sinking deeper into him.

Twenty minutes later the kite flyers packed it up and the crowed thinned. Bella made no move to get up. The waves on rolling onto the shore became her new object of study. The ambient light from neighboring buildings and the moon cast ever changing shadows in the water. Jake shifted her to one side of his chest to make it easier to talk over her shoulder.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" She turned sideways to see his face but never left the circle of his arms.

"Beach, food, beach, food, beach, food, walk, bed." She told him ticking each item off on her fingers.

"I like the way you think."

"I think I might be persuaded to get into the water at some point."

"Oh, I'm sure I can get you wet somehow." The whispered, loaded words sent shivers up her body. "You ready to head back?"

"Not just yet." His arms were pulled around her tighter and she snuggled into him.

Back at the house, a clock chimed eleven o'clock. They went through their routine getting ready for bed. Bella sat cross legged on her bed reading when Jake came back in, shirtless, again.

"Your hair is getting long again." She slowly met him in the middle of the room and reached over his shoulder to test the length between her fingers in various places. "Thought I liked it long, but short looks good too." Fingertips scratched against his scalp and he inhaled sharply. It took all he had not to emit the low growl that tightened in his chest. He wanted to lean into her touch, but didn't want to press his luck too far. He wanted to do a lot of things. He hoped for good dreams. "I could cut it for you." His eyes fluttered closed. If she was going to keep touching him in any way than she could shave him bald for all he cared.

"Yeah, alright."

"We'll figure out a time tomorrow." She hugged him quickly and retreated back to her bed. "You okay with spending most of the day on the beach."

"You'll be there right next to me, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm definitely okay with it. More than okay."

Their talk slowly tapered off and they fell asleep with ideas about the next day.

Hey, talk to me. What did you think? Let me know.