Finally, this is out there. I have been staring at this chapter for days while editing some here and there. Its one of the longest, if not the longest chapters I have ever written. Read, enjoy, review.

Going home, the time change would affect her more than it had coming out. There was a three hour difference. Her body would wake up at four in the morning for school. It was going to totally mess with her head. After a full day of school she would be back in bed by five that even or she would be a grouchy zombie for the rest of the night. Charlie would have to fend for himself for one more night's meal. She'd have no energy to cook after school and there was probably no food in the house anyway; shopping would need to be done. She toyed with the idea of taking Monday off from school and it looked more and more likely. She could readjust to life at home and see how things felt. She laid back and thought about the idea.

The time change didn't affect her internal clock as much the second morning as it did the first. After almost nine hours of sleep, uninterrupted deep sleep, Bella's eyes opened. Hot fresh coffee brewed strong somewhere nearby and the air was filled with it. She lay on her stomach, right hand hanging over the bed near her pillow, almost reaching towards where Jake slept. Her position was curious. Lying on her side was the preferable way to sleep, always; never face down and she normally curled around a pillow or blanket, hands tucked under her chin.

She rolled over and stretched the sleepiness out of her body. Blood rushed into her arms and legs, waking them up for a day of nothing. She strained her heck, checking the status of her roommate. Mmm, sleepy Jake was almost as good as beach Jake in her mind. He was awake or she assumed he was because the other bed was empty. She'd catch him sleeping another morning. He was awake somewhere; it was time to hit the beach.

Bella swept swiftly through the kitchen and out to the deck. Renee was truthful when she said that she spent most of her time in a chair on the deck and that is where Bella found her again, a well read book open in her hand and a mug in the other. The picnic table held orange juice, muffins, toast and jam. The breakfast looked good to her empty stomach but there was no Jake to look at anywhere.

"You seen Jake this morning?" Bella spun around in place to look back in the house and then up and down the beach.

"Good morning to you too. Breakfast?" The other of the two women never looked up from her book.

"Yeah, sure." Going through the motions, she hoped for an answer about the missing werewolf.

"Jake came through here about fifteen minutes ago, loaded up with as much food as his hands could hold and took off running. He did say that he was going to drown himself and put you out of you misery. What was that all about and was he really serious?"

"Inside joke." Bella finished the food in front of her and turned back to the house. "I'm heading out to the beach for the day."

"Kinda figured." Renee murmured under her breath.

Bella dressed quickly in her mostly black tankini top and skirtini bottom. It was modest enough for her not to need a cover-up. A small bag got packed with water, sun block, a couple towels and the book she was reading. In the bottom of her carry-on her unused sunglasses were found. In Forks you don't need sunglasses, that she found any at all in her bedroom was a miracle. Anything else she forgot wasn't an issue, she wouldn't be that far from the house.

A dramatic step from the deck was taken and bare feet touched sand.

Finally vacation. Finally breathing. Finally life stopped and all responsibilities fall away. For once she was a normal teenager who only had a few months left of high school and then a wide open expanse available to her whim. A small way from the house, halfway between the deck and water, she found her spot. The sun beat down on her sitting down on her towel. It melted everything out of her. The breeze cleansed and healed her soul. It was just what she needed; getting away from the drama in Forks.

In the sand, sunglasses in place, she closed her eyes and faced up to the sun. She breathed deeply and held that breath for a long time. It was let out and she smiled – it was time. She embraced the peace and forgot her book or any other sort of distraction. Her lungs expanded more and more with each intake of air until she was pulling in the maximum amount of oxygen each time. The length of time she spent in her special happy place was unknown, but the sun went behind a cloud and the warmth disappeared. Bella started counting the seconds until it came back.

"Well hello Ms. Swan. Enjoying yourself?" The sun disappeared not behind a cloud, but behind a Jake, a very large Jake who was dripping wet from the ocean. Footprints from the water's edge led right to where he was standing. "You look very relaxed sitting here doing nothing. May I join you?"

"No thanks. I'm fine on my own." The perfection she saw was devastating to the system. He was her friend; he was a guy, her best friend, and her best guy friend. All the lines were starting to blur and she wanted them to clear up. The sun reflected off his skin and he was beautiful. She wouldn't say it out loud this time; there was no head trauma to blame her thoughts on. Why hadn't she had her eyes open to see him emerge from the water, that would have been a sight, a James Bond type of moment, and she missed it. "Maybe some other girl down the beach needs some hunk hanging around."

"Sorry to bother you." Jake had taken three steps and Bella hollered out in panic.

"Jake!" It sounded desperate. "Get back here."

"So you do need this hunk hanging around." She could see his ego inflating. "Or you can't handle letting someone else have me."

"You just keep thinking whatever you want. Sit down." A few girls a little ways away cringed seeing their chance at the mysterious man fade away as he crouched down next to a newcomer to the beach.

"How long have you been out here?"

"Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes."

"You're flushed. Is it because I'm here?"

"I'm probably starting to burn?" She peeked at him sideways smiling. There was a macho smirk on his face, but it vanished at her words.

"I'm hurt. I'm wounded." He joked. "You put anything on before you came out here?"

"What? And deny you that small pleasure? Never. But remember, turn about's fair play." She took off her sunglasses and dug into the bag she brought.

Jake warmed somewhere inside at the thought of her version of turn about and if it would be fair. Oh, the places his mind could go with that idea. The places his mind already had been involving her. Some were purely sweet and a step up from what they already did as friends and some he'd caught on the fuzzy cable channels that they didn't subscribe to. A chill of excitement ran up his spine.

"I just need you to get my back where I can't reach."

In his dazed musings he missed out and she already had sun block smoothed into her arms and legs. The bottle was held out to him like the carving knife at Thanksgiving. The unspoken warning of 'don't mess this up' was written all over the object. But his thinking was more along the line of 'skinskinskinskinskin.' His hands shook as he reached out for the bottle. Permission was given, but he was nervous.

Settling behind her on his knees, he watched Bella move her hair over one shoulder and expose more bare skin to him as if his nerves needed that. The material of her suit dipped down to the middle of her back and it was perfect, like an unused canvas brought out just for him. Jake squeezed some lotion into one hand and mapped out a plan of attack. He needed to find the right place to start. The decision was between the slope of her neck, shoulders, or the bare skin in front of him that was just offered like a sacrifice. He wanted it all and it was all right there for his taking.

The lid of the bottle snapped shut and it sounded like a gunshot in their tense filled silence. Bella jumped and looked over her shoulder at him. Both parties broke out into a burst of laughter. The tension of the moment was gone. She waggled her shoulders impatiently. Jake swiped a finger through the glob in the palm of his hand and drew a happy face on her back. Her body flinched away from the cold. Jake's used his warm hands to smooth his doodle away and worked the remaining sun block over her body and kept touching, caressing really; sliding slick fingers on satin soft skin and memorizing every inch. His words from the theater echoed. "I'm not giving up. I'm prepared to be annoyingly persistent." Maybe it was time to be more persistent.

He applied more pressure to her shoulders and began massaging in earnest, the greasy lotion allowing the right amount of friction and give. His ears picked a groan, or was it a moan the he heard? Her head did roll forward and rested chin to chest. He must be doing something right and threw more of himself into it moving up to work the muscles in her neck, listening to the symphony of sounds that she made in reaction to his touch.

In the house Renee spied lovingly on her daughter and the boy whose hands were all over her daughter's body. She dialed the phone number from deep in her memory and listened to the ringing.

"Forks Police Department. How can I help you?"

"Chief Swan, please."

Renee waited again but this time for her ex-husband to answer the phone and she continued to watch the beach. Jake's back was to her and Bella was invisible in front of him due to his broad body. He leaned over her shoulder and appeared to talk to her or doing something else…nope, just talking. Renee sighed in relief.

"Chief Swan, here."

"Charlie…"

"Renee, how's Bella? Wait…she's not hurt is she?"

"No…No accidents yet, but I want to clarify something."

Charlie was puzzled on his end of the phone. "Okay."

"Tell me about Jake and Bella's relationship again."

"They are very close friends. Jake worked miracles somehow and brought Bells back from the pit that she threw herself into when the Cullen's left."

"They're not dating though, right?"

"No, not that I know of, doesn't mean Jake's not trying to get her to go out with him."

"So, one of them, maybe both want it to be more than just friends and they're sharing a bedroom here and you're okay with this?"

"Not in the same bed. She could be forty and I wouldn't be okay with that, but the same room is fine. They mostly end up asleep on the couch on the weekends so separate beds is a step in the right direction."

"Just checking. They're always really close to each other and they seem to be getting closer. I checked on them this morning and Jake had one of Bella's hands in his while he was asleep."

Charlie cheered inside. "Keep an eye out. But Billy and I would be thrilled of they came home dating."

"You might get your wish." Renee finished the call and went back to watching.

Bella was so at ease under Jacob's skilled hands that she was oozing into the sand. Jake's massage left her feeling more relaxed than ever. Magic fingers were a new talent that she discovered and she would take advantage of whenever possible. He rubbed her skin long enough for the skin to become red from the heat, friction, sun, whatever, and stopped for a while. He spread out a towel next to her and shook any sand from his legs then mirrored her sitting position.

"Thank you, now I won't burn." But she was sad that his touch was gone.

Jake scavenged around and found the bottle on her towel and held it out to her. "Turn about and all that…" He bounced his brow suggestively.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll get yours, but I decide when." She played right back at him.

She stared back out to the ocean and tried to ignore him but he made a huge show of spreading a large amount of the lotion over his gorgeous body. The female population of the beach was glued to his movements. All eyes were on him, all eyes except hers. He finished all the places he could reach.

"A little help please."

"Uh…what…oh sure, no problem." The act was way over played on her part of being oblivious and made very quick and sloppy of work covering the rest of his back then wiped her hand off on his towel. "You're all set." It was over in a second. The pleasure of her touch didn't last long enough it was over in a flash. She knew exactly how to push his buttons.

"So what's out plan?"

"To do nothing. My plan is to sit here and read, rest, and do nothing. I'm on vacation." Bella put her sunglasses back on her face and fell back onto her towel. "In a little bit if I'm feeling restless or really hot I'll go cool off in the water. When I'm hungry, I'll go get something to eat. When the sun goes down we go for a walk in the opposite direction from last night and then we go to bed and do it all again tomorrow."

Jake thought long and hard about her plan. His eyes squinted into the sun, arms resting on bent knees, one hand holding the wrist of the other. He bit his bottom lip nervously. "There's a flaw in your plan. You should already be in the water."

"Jake?" It was a warning and a question. She knew how he thought. He was up to something and it was probably no good.

"You're really hot, to me at least, so you should be in the water." He had her up over his shoulder easily and walked toward the ocean.

"Jake put me down."

He kept going.

"Not one of your smarter moves, Black."

More steps taken.

"Stop! Stop!"

She slapped him a few times and stopped short when her hands met the material of the only item of clothing that he wore and saw that it was his ass she was slapping. It might send the wrong message.

"You really don't want to do this."

"Oh, I really think that I do. You're hot and you need to cool off."

The water splashed around his feet, then ankles, calves, knees, thighs. It was getting higher and higher. He was going to dump her really soon. There was nothing she could do to avoid going in. He was much stronger than she was.

"Jake…"

He unceremoniously shifted her in his arms, cradled her to his chest, gave a small toss…and went under. Bella came up sputtering to see him retreating slowly back to the shore. She cut through the water to get to the shore before he did.

"Jacob Black you are a poopyhead." She screamed

No response.

"And a butt munch."

Nothing.

"And a meany"

That stopped him. He glared back at her with humor shining through. "You going to tell me Daddy on me? How old are you? You lose years with every word out of your mouth."

"It doesn't matter, you just dropped me in the Atlantic Ocean." She was almost to him; the water was at her waist.

"You knew it was coming. You had to. It was a cheap move that was obvious." She passed him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, chest to chest. She was taking deep gulps of air, trying to calm down. Eyes locked. "I'm not sorry that I dumped you in to ocean. I'm not sorry that you are all wet, you look good this way. I'm not sorry about any of it. If I were you, I'd expect it to happen again before we leave. I am sorry that you didn't have any fun." Flames of something never seen before flashed in his eyes. If somebody didn't move, something serious was going to happen.

So she pushed him. A wave hit them, made him readjust his balance and she countered with a shove that made him fall back, allowing her escape.

"You didn't just…"

"Just like you didn't just take me and try and drown me." She called over her shoulder fighting against the current to reach the shore.

A warm arm caught her around the waist and pulled her back to his body and he spun her around. Exhilarated shrills of happy laughter squealed from her. Waves broke around them. They played and splashed, pushed and pulled trying to get the other off their feet. Their boisterous sport felt like a building crescendo in a symphony. A wave swept them together and Jake held her up. Slowing down the speed of their time together in the water they waded out away from the beach hand in hand and let the surf push them closer together. Bella latched onto Jake's side for balance more often than needed. The music seemed to fade along with their energy and Jake led her back to the beach.

Their time in the water was exhausting. Food was needed. Renee had a huge stack of sandwiches waiting for them on the deck when they returned. Jake wolfed down three times as many as Bella and went back to his towel. Bella and her mother cleaned up the lunch mess with little conversation and the younger of the two went back to the sun, her sun.

They laid on the beach for most of the afternoon without talking. She read a little. He slept. The sun made its lazy trek across the sky and set the pace of the slow passing hours. Bella dozed off and dreamed wonderfully detailed dreams. She woke late in the afternoon to find Jake in the same position he was in when she drifted off. Someone close had a barbeque starting. Lighter fluid and charcoal carried in the air. Bella's stomach began its protest at the lack of nourishment.

"Mmm food." Bella rolled her eyes. "What's for dinner?" She wasn't even sure he was awake until he spoke. He stretched and flexed. It was fascinating to see how his body changed in the sun when he moved. He was laying on his stomach, eyes closed, arms under his head. Bella copied his position and got almost nose to nose with him.

"You went shopping with me." She cooed. "What do you want me to fix?" Fingers played in his hair again. The question wasn't heard over the rush of blood in his ears. "You want tacos?... Chicken?... Burgers?... Steak?" The length was almost long enough in places to wrap around her fingers. A low rattle from his chest and the goofy grin on his face were signs that he was really enjoying what she was doing.

"You gonna cut my hair today?"

"You want me to?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Let's go do that and you can help me figure out something for dinner."

"Lead the way."

Renee was in her place in the phone talking to Phil. Spring training was keeping him busy and Bella could tell she missed him.

"Oh hey guys." The phone moved away from her ear. "I ordered pizza. I called out of habit and once I was on the phone with them I just doubled the order. They're on the way. It'll be about twenty minutes or so." She went into the house to finish her phone call.

"Get the stool from under the sink and bring it out here. I'll be out in a minute." Bella told Jake.

Renee cut Phil's hair; she used to cut Charlie's too. There had to be some clippers in the house somewhere that she could use on Jake. Scissors would be easy enough to find in a kitchen drawer, but it might take some searching to find where the other was buried.

Jake sat on top of the low step stool waiting. The swarm of butterflies in his stomach grew again. They fluttered all day long and were going to kill him with the knot of pent up excitement that he couldn't act on. He could still fell her hands all over his body from playing in the water. She was beautiful and he couldn't keep his hands off of her while they chased and splashed in the water. It was a feeling he wanted more and more.

"All right." She huffed coming back outside and closing the door behind her. "You ready?"

You don't know how much, he thought. "Yes."

"Sit still."

Heaven descended again. Bella was cutting his hair but that didn't matter. Her body leaned against his back, fingers went to neck, judging how short to trim. She clipped and cut the back first, tugging playfully and joking around. On one side, she trimmed, working around one ear. She was deep into her job and missing the focus Jake was barely holding on to. Checking the evenness of the cut she got close and her breath tickled his neck. He hummed. It was low, he probably thought it was too low to be picked out, but she heard it. If he weren't a wolf she'd have called it a purr, but the word didn't fit. Keeping a hand buried in his tresses she moved around to the other side. She stood a little closer but worked the same way. Her breath rolled down the side of his neck when she got close again and he purred louder. It hit her in the stomach and she liked it.

Perfecting length on the sides and back, there was one last place to finish. Bella stood between his legs to get to the front and top of his head. His forced his hands to stay on the top of his thighs, but he wanted them on her waist. He wanted to hold her firmly where she was. She was so close that he could smell the salt on her skin. If he leaned forward, his head would come to rest under her chin on her chest. He couldn't muffle the sound and vibration of his contentment this time. In response finger nails scratched across his scalp and messed up the way his hair laid. She fisted the front part to make sure she hadn't cut it too short and forced his eyes to hers. What showed there was a little daunting. All his thoughts, all him emotions, everything that was growing strong radiated from his sweet, dark eyes. She had to look away to keep from getting lost in them. A few more clips here and there and she was done. She hesitantly stepped back behind him and disappeared; switching the tools that were in her hands. He couldn't track what she was doing.

"Don't move." Jake froze at the unexpected closeness and the hushed words that flowed over his shoulder. "Sit very still." The electric whirr of the clippers started and he shivered. She could whisper the periodic table to him all night long and he'd sit as still as she wanted. Actually he'd do anything, anywhere, at any time if she asked in that voice..

Bella used a steady hand to trim a neat line across the back of his neck. She did a once over of his head, evening out the rough spots and making him look better than perfect. Small hairs littered his neck when the motor clicked off. She blew on the back of his neck to get rid of some and then brushed her fingers along his shoulders, back, and upper chest to get more. Both moves made him dizzy. It was his turn to let his head dip down and rest on his chest almost begging for more.

'Turn about' Bella thought and removed more of the now non-existent hair. Fingers, thumbs, and palms brushed over his skin. She shook loose pieces from his head long strokes raking over his scalp. Patterns were drawn on the crown then she went back to his neck and shoulders with more pressure. A gasp from him was released when her abdomen made hard contact with his lower back, then her chest touched him higher up. She abandoned the back of his shoulders and kneaded her fingers into the muscles of his collarbone.

His growls grew stronger and louder encouraging her in desperation. They transferred from his body to hers where they touched. She worked harder, deeper; feeding off what he was giving. She was getting lost, lightheaded being this close this long to him. She reached lower on his chest with each pass. Jake rolled his head back up to lean back on the front of her one shoulders and rested his forehead against her cheek.

Movement in front of her made her focus. His hands were balling into fists releasing, itching to move or touch. His sweaty palms rubbed on the top of his thighs. He was about to snap.

"Pizza's here!" Renee called from inside.

The world faded back.

"Pizza's here." Jake whispered.

"Yeah." Was the response whispered back and both wanted the world to fade away again.

Dinner was eaten, the sun said 'goodnight'. Jacob and Bella walked in the wet sand this time, waves sometimes reaching their feet. It was almost awkward. They were two people taking solitary walks next to each other. There was no conversation. Thoughts swirled about the day that was ending. They didn't touch. They didn't need to. Static electricity sparked between them with each step.

A line was nudged that day. It wasn't crossed, just pushed a little with their antics in the water and on the deck. It was more than they've ever done, but yet it was still nothing. Back home there were always interruptions, mostly from the pack, that stopped anything before they got anywhere or even serious. With the boys around everything was comical and never allowed to slow down long enough to get intense. Where would they be now if there wasn't a pack…probably dating. She chewed her nail and drift off to fantasyland, hiding her blush in the dark.

Jake was in agony. His skin tingled with need and want for the girl next to him. The urge to reach out was strong but hands stayed safely plunged into the depths of his pockets and he replayed the day silently. It would be over soon but there was another one tomorrow. What would they do? Would it be better? Would it be worse? What would it hold? Bella walked along side of him and she held the answers to some of those questions. The only nagging issue was that Bella was too quiet. She was thinking and that could be dangerous.

"What are you thinking?" He bumped her with his elbow.

"A lot of things."

Quickly he pulled her close and snaked an arm around her waist. She stumbled, but he caught her with his other hand and encircled her in his arms while they walked. "Tell me one thing you're thinking about."

Bella grinned and ran through all the topics before choosing one. "Bonfires"

"Yeah, I miss bonfires."

"I miss staying up all night watching one die down to embers." And sitting next to you listening to you tell me the legends, listening about your day at school and your classes, weaving my finger in and out of yours, stealing your body heat, nuzzling my nose into the side of your neck hoping to warm it up and resisting the need to nip at your skin. She kept all of that to herself and blushed again.

Jake didn't get it. "What else are you thinking about?"

"Phasing."

"What about it?" He had the tone of 'are you crazy?' He couldn't figure out why she would be thinking about it when he was the one who went through it.

"I wondered, today, if you missed it? Has this been the longest you've gone without since you started?"

Jake couldn't stop the giggles and laughter. "That's a loaded question. If someone walked up to this conversation they might wonder what you were asking."

The statement replayed in her head. She smacked his shirt covered chest. "Who's the one with their mind in other places?" He held her hand to his hard chest while they walked. "What is the longest you've gone without phasing and do you miss it?"

"This is the longest I've gone and I do miss it."

"Why?" Curiosity and wonder filled the beautiful eyes that looked at him.

"I miss running with the pack. I miss the freedom of the woods. It keeps me strong. I'm part of something. I have a bond with the others that can't be broken and I have come to rely on that. They're my second family." A far away gaze, deep reflection, glazed over on his face. He shook it clear and the sparkle reappeared. "Plus, I have a totally different kind of relationship with you when I phase."

"Really?" The crinkle of confusion in her nose made Jake laugh.

He pulled her in as close as he could without hurting her and tightened the hold he had on her. "You open up more when I meet you in the woods as my wolf; you seem more comfortable to talk. I've learned more about you during the hours of endless rambling that I ever have. I'm not able interrupt or talk back and you go on and on." He rubbed the back of her hand over his heart with his thumb. "You touch me more. I think you like the fur, but I could be wrong. Doesn't matter, I really enjoy it. I like the feel of your weight against my side when you lean on me." He stopped talking at that point for fear of revealing too much too quickly. They walked a little further.

"What have you been thinking about over there?" She questioned.

"Tomorrow." He told her.

"What about it?"

"How I want it to be like today, but better."

Okay...there it is. I'm not totally happy with it but I will wait to hear from you about what you think. The "today, but better" chapter is formulating. Help me make it better. Review, uplift me to write and make tomorrow better.