AN: The next two updates should be on time as well. Yeah for Christmas Break from teaching! Thank you to exquistelyugly and sheewolf85 for being my thesaurus on Twitter when I needed one! And another thank you to malorla for making me talk about this story tonight and realize that I should stop putting it off and update!

And before anyone asks, these chapters are short and will always be shorter in length. There's a reason I'm doing it this way, and it's mostly to keep from burning out. Thanks.

"You loved me 'cause I'm fragile

When I thought that I was strong

But you touch me for a little while

And all my fragile strength is gone

Set me free, leave me be

I don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity

Here I am and I stand so tall

I'm just the way I'm supposed to be

But you're on to me and all over me…"

- Gravity by Sara Bareilles

Bella couldn't help but frown as she watched Paul continue to stretch on the other side of the living room. She really doubted this yoga business, and the conflicting voices in her head weren't helping. One was whispering that getting close and physical with Paul wasn't a good idea, while another part of her was shouting that, yes, it was a very good idea.

She reminded herself that despite the arguing, neither sounded like him, and she was smart enough to know that was probably a good thing.

Long fingers snapped in front of her face. She blinked stupidly at them, Paul's face quickly coming into focus. "You ok, Bells?" His brows were drawn together and she was oddly comforted by the fact that his concern looked sincere.

"Uh, yeah, sorry," she breathed out, laughing to cover the awkwardness. "I was just thinking that there's no way I'm gonna be able to do that."

He smiled, and it was an easy expression. It reminded her of their younger years, when things hadn't been so complicated, when his parents were alive and hers were still married.

"It's easy, Swan. Here, I'll show you."

Before she could protest, he'd manhandled her across the living room to a mat. He lifted her arms up over her hand and pushed her palms together. She opened her mouth to snap at him about keeping his hands to himself when one large palm smoothed over her stomach at the same time the other pressed firmly into the small of her back, forcing her to square her shoulders and tilt her pelvis forward.

The sudden proximity of their bodies promptly silenced her. His torso felt warm against hers, and she was surprised at how solid he felt. It seemed like it had been only yesterday when he was a gangly teenager, and this new physique of his confused her.

"This is the mountain pose," Paul explained, seemingly oblivious to her inner turmoil. "Take a deep breathe and reach towards the sky with your fingertips." The hand on her belly slid downwards until it reached her hip; Bella bit her tongue to keep from shivering. "Keep your feet together and your weight evenly distributed." He tapped her outer thigh. "This is all about balance."

She couldn't stop the snort that escaped her. "Balance? Hi, I'm Isabella Swan. Have we met before?"

Paul laughed. "Nice going, smart ass." He gave her butt a light smack as a rebuke and it made her jump and twist away from him.

"Hey!" She yelped, shaking a finger at him. "We're not soccer players or whatever here. I thought this was yoga!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you did not just attempt a sports reference."

She sputtered and flapped her hands. "That's not – I just – But this isn't…" He laughed and she stopped to glare at him. "Not cool, Paul."

He held up his hands in mock surrender, chuckling in defeat. "My bad, Swan. But hey – you stepped out of line; what else might you expect from a teacher to his pupil?"

Bella stomped her foot at him. "If this was all part of some plot to…" she floundered and blushed. "… seduce me…" she finally squeaked out.

Paul's head fell back in a bark of laughter. Embarrassed indignation flared up inside her. She stomped her foot again. "Damn it, Paul! I didn't come here so you could make fun of me!"

His laughter eased and he looked at her with mild amusement. "I'm sorry, Bells." He held out his arms and thrust out his lower lip. "Forgive me?"

She huffed and rolled her eyes, but walked into the offered embrace. "You can't make me feel stupid all the time and then expect that I'll want to hang out with you, especially if you're already making me look ridiculous with these yoga moves."

His chin rubbed against the top of her head as he nodded. "Sure thing, honey. I was just goofin'. Wasn't tryin' to upset you."

"You weren't?" she mumbled, her cheek against his chest.

"Of course not…. Wait a minute. Did I just hear Bella Swan say 'damn it'?"

She giggled. "Yeah, I guess you did. I think you're a bad influence." She felt his body vibrate with silent laughter, but she couldn't help but sigh again. Would he always be able to bowl her over so easily? "Just… I don't want to feel stupid anymore, ok?"

His body stiffened. "Who makes you feel stupid, honey?" His voice suddenly sounded hard and gruff.

"No one… I was just…" Bella leaned back to look at him, her eyes wide. "I just meant…"

His upper lip curled back into a snarl. "I know who you meant. That ass-"

She cut him off, slapping her open hand over his mouth. "Don't, ok? I don't want to…"

He glared for a moment longer before she felt his body relax against hers. She took her hand back, folding her palm carefully around the moist warmth his breath had left on her skin. "Thanks," she whispered, still staring up at him.

"No problem," he whispered back.

It seemed right to just let him continue to hold her, so she did.