Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or profit from it. Your reviews are my rewards.

Rating: Mature Audience:

Beta: Jessipooks

Pre-readers: Mist and LuvinJ

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Hope you enjoy the new chpt. xoxo August

The Almost Affair Chapter 9: Think Like A Man...

Jake chewed on his thumb nail while he read the reply message from Bella. Twice now he had asked her if could come by and she had denied him with one lame reason after another. He was starting to fear he might be getting the brush off by her.

It was odd because the last time he visited her they had a blast together. Her waking him up to send him home was a big downer but overall they had shared the entire day together,locked away in her tiny apartment.

He was finally starting to get to know her. She was a funny girl who was clumsy as hell but had mad skills in the kitchen.

They both seemed to have a shared view on how cruel the world could be when you didn't exactly fit in it the way others thought you should.

The one thing she had not brought up was her past history with men. It surprised him to be honest. Most women seemed to enjoy talking about the men who broke their hearts but not Bella. In fact, when he askedwho her first boyfriend was, she clammed up and started a pillow fight with him.

He had a hunch that Isabella had been burned and it was the real reason she had her guard up when it came to men.

"What's wrong? You look like you've lost your dog or something." Embry teased.

"Nothings wrong." Jake put his phone back into his pocket and grabbed his hammer.

"Oh really so why have you checked your phone, oh like a hundred times since lunch?" Embry challenged.

"I was hoping Bella would want to get together tonight but she has some book club thing she has to go to." Jake replied.

"A book club? Seriously? What was her excuse Monday? Did she have a tea party to attend?"

"Shut up!"

"Seriously Jake can't you read between the lines. The girl is keeping a safe distance between you. Hell, she might have another lover on the side and goes back and forth between you guys." Embry saw jealousy fill Jake's eyes.

"Dude, calm down. You two agreed this thing you got going was only an affair. No strings, remember. I thought you were good with that. Maybe you should go snatch up some new ass to help ease your frustration over this one. " Embry patted Jake on the arm and gave him a supportive smile.

"I don't want any other ass." Jake frowned.

"Then you've moved to the next level in your relationship and she can sense it and that my friend, is why she is pushing you away."

"Nah. That can't be it." Jake shook his head, trying to clear his muddled thoughts.

"Think like a man. Clearly she is. She can feel you trying to sink your claws into her and she ain't buying it. She wants her freedom." Embry sighed heavily as he watched it all sink into Jake's thick head.

"This sucks." Jake growled, running his fingers through his hair.

"Yep. Love sucks sometimes."

"Love? Who said anything about love?" Jake exclaimed.

"Man, it's all over you. You reek from it." Embry waved his hand through the air and held his nose.

"Bullshit." Jake laughed nervously.

"Take a whiff is love that I smell and you're covered in it. " Embry pressed his lips together and looked his friend in the eyes.

"You know sometimes I think your mother dropped you on your head when you were a baby." Jake rolled his eyes and stormed away.

Embry laughed loudly and knew in his heart that Jake had fallen for a woman who thought and acted like a man and for once Jake wasn't the one in control.

XXX

Alice's head bobbed up and down. She was hoping to smooth things over with Sam by giving him a quick morning blow job. She knew he wasn't too happy with her as of late and she feared he might be rethinking his decision about their living arrangements.

She knew she had been a bit on the bitchy side lately and she really couldn't explain it even to herself. Sam was good to her. He made her feel special. Not many guys had made her feel that way before.

Jake was one of the few who had but he scared her with how much he adored her. She liked the chase. When it was clear that Jake was about to pop the question to her, she jumped up and ran. She didn't start out her relationship with Sam with the intentions of falling in love but he did help her break things off with Jake.

She really wanted to make this relationship work but if she was honest with herself she knew it wouldn't last forever. Sam liked her and she liked him but outside of their relationship they really had nothing in common.

Cupping his family jewels she put enough pressure on them to feel his manhood starting to throb in her mouth. She knew it was only a matter of seconds before he found his release. Pulling her mouth away she used her other hand to finish the job.

"Ahhh...yeaaa..." His whole body convulsed as he orgasmed.

Alice pulled her hand away and reached for the towel she had left on the floor from the night before and cleaned herself.

"Man...what a way...to wake up." Sam's voice shook.

"Glad you liked it." Alice stood up and leaned over the bed to place a tender kiss on his lips.

"What did I do to deserve that, cause I want to keep doing it." Sam teased.

"Nothing. I just felt like surprising you." Alice smiled tenderly at him.

"Well, it worked." Sam sat up in the bed and ran his fingers through his unruly hair.

"What are your plans for today?" Alice asked as she went to the closet to choose her outfit for the day.

"I have two lectures and about a hundred papers to grade. After that, I'm all yours." Sam replied.

"So you should be home around seven?" Alice turned her head to look at him.

"Pretty much." He agreed.

"Good. I will have dinner ready for us." Alice winked at him.

He wondered which restaurant she would be calling for delivery.

"I'm going to jump in the shower." Alice took her clothes and left the room.

An hour later, Sam and Alice met in the kitchen where they both had a cup of coffee and a piece of wheat toast together.

"What are your plans for today?" He asked as he glanced over the sports section.

"I'm hanging out with Alyssa at the shelter today. We are on a quest to get more donations and coats before winter sneaks up on us." She replied.

"Oh. That's nice of you girls." Sam still wasn't sure if he was buying into the whole samaritan act. She just wasn't the sort of girl who went out of her way to help the less fortunate.

"I know. I try to do what I can when I can." Alice beamed.

"Alright. Well, I'm off." Sam pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly before he grabbed his keys and left the house.

Alice stared at the closed door after he left and wondered why she couldn't be happy with the way things were. He really did have potential to be more than what he was at present time. She remembered her mother's warning that when it came to men, it was just too much of hassle to try and change them. She had to agree. She had tried to push Jake into a more solid career move but he refused to stop working for Paul.

It made no sense to her. The man had a degree in architecture. He could make more money designing skyscrapers and million dollar homes rather than build them.

Shaking the painful thoughts of Jake out of her head she headed to her room to get her laptop and see if she had anything new in her mailbox.

Her face lit up when she saw that she did have a new email and the name in the sender box made her heart leap with joy.

It was silly of her to react this way but it was a start for them. If she could get him to open up then maybe they might have a shot of becoming more than just friends.

Sending a quick and seductive reply she hit enter. Grabbing her things she left the house feeling ten times better about her day and her possible future.

XXX

"I can't believe you're blackmailing me like this!" Leah cried out.

"Look, I promised not to tell Paul and you just have to give me Jake's apartment key. It's a fair dealand it's not like I'm asking you for money." Emily snorted.

"You are crazy. You know that." Leah reached in the desk drawer, located Jake's spare key and then held it in the palm of her hand while she looked Emily straight in the eyes.

"You can never used this against me again. Do you hear me?" Leah's voice was stern and her face was flushed from the anger that was spewing in the pit of her stomach.

"Promise." Emily raised her right hand up.

"This isn't going to help you win his heart." Leah warned her cousin.

"First, I will win his body and then his heart will follow. It's a fireproof plan." Emily snickered.

"I know Jake better than you and he isn't going to like this one bit."

"It can't hurt to try Leah. I can't get him out of my mind. Anytime he is the room with me I get goose bumps. I need to at least give this a solid attempt." Emily's eyes pleaded with Leah to understand why it was so important for her to try and be Jake's girl.

"Okay. Just remember when you come crying to me that I told you so." Leah sighed heavily and allowed her to take the key.

"Have fun tonight at your yoga class." Emily giggled before racing out of the room.

Leah watched her leave and hoped that Emily kept her promise about not revealing her secret to Paul. When the time was right, she would confess everything to him but now was not the time. She wasn't ready to explain her actions. She knew he would be severely upset with her but hopefully he would see why she had chosen to do it, in the first place.

XXXX

"Hey I have to send one of you guys to get a check from our client. She is at work at the moment." Paul looked at the three guys crowded around him.

"She?" Embry wiggled his eyebrows.

"Yes, she. She is Esme Matthews. You know the 6 o'clock news lady." Paul watched as their eyes lit up.

"Wait a second, isn't she the client who kept ogling our guys and kept walking around the house in a bikini?" Collin asked.

"Yep. That's the one." Paul laughed hysterically.

"Oh hell no! She is one horny milf." Collin stepped out of the circle with his hands above his head.

"I would think you would want to get a taste of that?" Embry joked.

"Not after what my guys saw." Collin shook his head.

"What did they see?" Paul and Jake asked curiously.

"She had two men in her bedroom and she was going to town on the both of them. The guys were all into that but then two more entered the room. The woman was getting a solid gang bang. The worst part of it was she knew damn well that she had the curtains pulled back so our guys could witness the whole thing." Collin informed them.

All of them stood there shocked and a bit amused.

"She needs a lot to get her rocks off." Embry laughed roughly.

"Jake you should go. I mean hell, you know a few people at the news station." Embry's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"What?" Jake looked stunned.

"Actually Jake would be a good candidate for her. You know how to kiss ass with clients." Paul patted him on the back and strolled away.

"What's wrong with you?" Jake looked harshly at Embry.

"Bella might be there. She will see you talking to Esme and who knows, maybe even get a tad bit jealous." Embry crossed his arms over his chest and flashed him a smug look.

"That's ridiculous!" Jake huffed.

"Oh really. Well, it can't hurt to give it a shot then." Embry walked off.

Jake pulled out his truck keys and wondered if Embry could possibly be right. Was Isabella the jealous kind? Would it take making her jealous to see how much she liked him?

Driving to the news station he told himself he would be professional and receive the payment from Ms. Matthews and if he just happen to get lucky and spot Isabella, then that was okay too.