A/N: SM owns the characters, only this storyline is mine. No copyright infringement is intended.

Before I start this chapter, I really want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to every one of you that sent me a review or a PM after my note a month ago. My dad passed away on June 2, the day I left his house, actually, and the 48 hours that I was there were amongst the longest and hardest of my life. Every kind word I got during that time truly meant a lot to me. Thank you so much, too, for your patience while I took a break from writing to get my head together again. To my friends who got me through one of the most difficult times of my life, you already know how grateful I am, and how much I love you, but thank you again, all the same.

Finally, thanks, as always, to Karmabalance and JaspersBella, for pre-reading and supporting me as I found my mojo.

Alice and I giggled as he wrapped his arms around both of us at once and lifted us into the air. We both leaned in and pressed a kiss against the cheek of his that we were closest too, and then gave one to each other. As he set us back down on the ground, I learned into him and pulled Ali closer to me.

We're us again. And everything is going to be ok.

Such Great Heights

Chapter 36

As the three of us sat at my dining room table eating french toast, I couldn't help but notice how different everything seemed in the morning light. It was almost as if everything that had happened the night before had only been a nightmare.

I knew that it wasn't, though. Even while Alice was playfully running her toes up and down my left shin and leading the conversation, talking about the three of us seeing each other in two weeks, and I smiled flirtatiously at Jasper from across the table as my lips slid over the prongs of my fork, I knew that there were clouds hiding somewhere in the sunny sky.

For now, though, the sun was shining. And we had less than an hour left together, so I pushed away the worry as much as I could and just enjoyed the time we had left. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that hard to do.

When we were all done eating, I rose from my chair and collected the plates, carrying them over to the sink. My finger was under the water, waiting for it to warm up, when a pair of large, warm hands came to rest on my forearms. I would have known he was there even without his touch, though; I could feel his presence as he approached, and I'd smelled his manly scent the second he stopped behind me.

I leaned back into him, letting my head rest on his shoulder as I turned my cheek toward him. Sighing in contentment, I asked him what he needed.

"Let me finish the dishes for you," he said. "Ali is going up to shower, and I think she'd like it if you joined her."

"You think, or you know?" I asked.

"I'm pretty damned sure," he replied, squeezing me against him.

Kissing his neck, I turned off the water and turned in his arms to face him. "Well, who am I to doubt your intuition?" I asked with a playful grin, placing my wet hands flat on the soft cotton over his shirt, enjoying the fact that my handprints were now on him, even if they would fade quickly. "You don't have to do the dishes, though. Maybe Ali would like both our company?"

He shook his head. "No, you go. I'll join you in a bit. Promise."

With a sideways smile, he gave me a little smack on the ass, effectively dismissing me from the conversation, and the kitchen. I winked over my shoulder as I walked out of the room, and then walked down the hall with a grin, grabbing a towel from the linen closet on my way.

The water was already running when I opened the bathroom door, hot steam pluming from over the shower door into the room, and I could see Alice's silhouette through the foggy glass. I silently stripped off my clothes and left them in a pile just outside the bathroom door, then dropped my towel on the counter before knocking lightly on the shower door.

Alice opened the door just a crack and peeked out, her eyes brightening when she saw me standing in front of her.

"I thought you might need help washing your back," I said, smiling with as much innocence as I could muster. I'm not sure how convincing I was; you'd be surprised how hard it is to look innocent when standing naked in front of your lover, offering yourself to her...

"And maybe the other hard-to-reach places?" she added with a smirk.

"Well," I replied with a sly smile. "I am here to help."

Rather than reply with words, Ali opened the door wider and stepped back, giving me room to enter her steamy space.

I stepped inside, not even trying to hide the fact that I was staring at Ali's wet, naked form. Her hair hung down over her shoulders, clinging to her skin, the brightly colored streaks – red, now – standing out in sharp contrast against her pale skin. I reached out with both hands and pulled her hair back behind her shoulders so that I could have a better view of her perfect breasts, nipples standing straight up to greet me.

Raising my eyes to meet hers, I licked my lips. "I like it when you're wet," I said, the double meaning of my words completely intended.

My girl, pervy as ever, did not miss it, and took a step forward, bringing her body within an inch of mine. "How do you know I'm wet?" she teased.

"I don't know," I said, sliding my hands up her back as the water cascaded down between us, collecting in a pool where our bodies met. "But I just figured, you know, being in the shower and all..."

Alice leaned in and grabbed my lower lip with her teeth, nipping it gently. She scowled playfully when she pulled away. "So you're just going to be a tease, are you?"

"What? I told you... I came to assist you in getting clean," I said, batting my lashes for effect.

She slid her hands up my sides, slipping her thumbs inward when she reached breast level so that she could graze my nipples. She teased me, barely touching me as her thumb ghosted over my skin, and then leaned in, pressing her body fully against me. "What if I wanted to get dirty?" she whispered.

Giggling, I leaned into her, bringing my lips down on her shoulder and pressing soft kisses over it and up her neck. "I'll just have to get you clean when you're done," I replied just before running my tongue over her earlobe.

"Bella? Baby? Can you do me just one little favor?" Alice asked.

"Of course," I agreed with a nod.

She turned around and then handed me the shower puff. "Wash my back?"

Groaning softly, I took the puff from her and then reached down to the floor, picking up the bottle of shower gel and pouring a generous amount onto the puff. I rose back up and began to run a lather over her back, giving special attention to the white rabbit in the morning jacket that was tattooed in the curve of her back just over her left hip.

When her back was clean, I stepped up closer to her and reached around to her front with the shower puff, washing her chest and abdomen, paying special attention to the underside of the swell of her breasts. I rubbed up and down her arms, and then dropped down into a squat, washing the front and back of her legs before finally trailing the puff between them.

I stood up when I was finished, letting my arms rest casually on her hipbones as I reached around her to let the water rinse the lather off of my hands. When I saw that the water draining from it was clear, I placed the puff in her hands and pressed a few open-mouthed kisses over her neck.

"Your turn," she said with a soft smile as she turned around in my arms a minute later. She kept her eyes on me as she bent down to pick up the shower gel, looking at the bottle before she poured it onto the puff. "So that's what you always smell like," she murmured as she set it back down on the ground.

She stayed low, washing my legs first, then lifting my feet up, one at a time, to rub the puff over the soles. She rose up to her feet when she finished, washing my arms and shoulders. "Turn around," she commanded when she was finished cleaning between every finger.

I did as she asked, and then she rubbed the puff all over my back. I closed my eyes, enjoying her tender touch. When my back was thoroughly washed, her arm crept around my waist and she began washing my stomach, circling my belly button several times before she traced the curve of my breasts with her sudsy hands, the puff having fallen to the floor as soon as my belly button was deemed clean.

My head fell back, resting heavily on my shoulders, and I panted as her fingers twisted and turned over my nipples. I was pretty sure that they'd never been cleaner, but I had a feeling that Alice's intentions no longer had anything to do with bathing me.

"Mmm, Ali," I breathed as her right hand abandoned my breasts to trail back down, crossing over my belly and then reaching down between my legs.

Unable to keep my balance as her fingers began to tease my clit, I leaned against her, feeling the hot water warm my back as it pooled between our bodies. She continued to play with my nipples, letting her left arm rest across my chest to hold me where she wanted me.

"You like that, baby?" she asked as she began to nip at my neck. "You like it when I touch you?"

"Oh, god yes," I moaned, just as she slipped a finger into me.

I wanted to tell her just how much I liked her touching me, how good it felt. I wanted to tell her how my heart was beating crazy fast because I wanted her so badly, and because less than twelve hours ago, I was sure that she'd never touch me again. But the only thing I said was her name, over and over, like a prayer.

"Please don't stop, Ali," I begged as my knees began to shake. Whether she knew it or not, I wasn't just talking about that moment.

"I won't, baby," she assured me as her ground her hips against my ass, letting the heel of her hand add pressure to my clit. "I'm so sorry, Bella. Please don't give up on me."

I reached back over my shoulder with one arm, circling her neck and pressing my fingers into her wet scalp, holding her to me in the only way I could. "Sshhh..." I urged. "I'm here; just feel."

Her lips were all over my neck, kissing and licking, teasing and nipping. "You feel so good in my arms," she whispered, her lips brushing my earlobe as she spoke. "I want to make you come over and over, until you can't stand anymore. I want to hear those sounds you make... I want to feel you come, just for me."

"Please, Ali," I whimpered, beginning to writhe in her arms. "Fuck...Ali...so good..." I strung words together with no effort to make sense as her fingers took me over the edge.

She held me tighter, and rubbed herself even faster against me as I closed my eyes and lost myself in the bliss I felt, and then I heard the sound I loved: Alice's quivering voice, sounding almost as if she were crying, calling out my name. Despite having just come, I fell over the edge once again, with her this time, a keening cry falling from my lips as my body tensed and relaxed in her arms.

Just as Alice let her body fall limply into mine, her hot breath warming my shoulder as she panted tiredly, I heard the low growly-groan, the one that I would recognize anywhere as the sound of Jasper's pleasure, from behind us. Turning my head quickly to look over my shoulder, I moaned deeply and tightened my grip on Ali's hair as I watched Jasper make himself come with his hand.

I licked my lips at the sight of his hand wrapped around his length, a sight I'd seen so many times on skype, but never in person. It was ridiculously sexy.

"When did you get here?" I asked when he opened his eyes again a moment later, leaning my cheek against Ali's forehead. "I didn't hear you come in. Or open the shower door, for that matter."

"You were a little preoccupied, baby," he said with a smirk. "I was just in time to see how dirty my wife could make the process of getting clean. And I couldn't take my eyes off the two of you."

I felt Ali shrug. "She was wet and naked, Jasper. How could I resist?" She let her arms drop from around me. "But now it looks like you need to get clean," she added, making me giggle softly. "Hand me a towel?"

"You don't have to get out," Jasper offered as he rose from his seat on the counter.

"If I don't get out now, I never will. And you should take a few minutes with our girl." I didn't need a mirror to know that my expression probably matched Jaspers, and he looked an awful lot like a deer caught in the headlights, but Ali shook her head, leaning up to kiss me on the cheek before taking a step toward Jasper. "It's ok. Really," she assured, resting her palm on his chest and looking up into his eyes. "No eggs; I promise."

Jas looked over the top of her head to meet my eyes, silently asking me if I was ok with this. Deciding to trust my girlfriend, I nodded, and so he picked up Alice's towel and kissed her gently as he wrapped it around her, then stepped into the warm water with me.

Alice smiled at us, then closed the shower door and walked out of the bathroom. Jasper wasted no time stepping closer to me, slipping his arms around my waist and pulling my naked body against his. With his chest pressed against mine, I could feel how hard his heart was still beating and smiled as I rested my lips on his shoulder. His fingertips moved slowly over my back, barely grazing the skin with each pass.

"I don't know how we got here," I whispered into his shoulder. "This all feels like a dream."

"Are you referring to last night, or to this relationship in general?"

Pulling back to look him in the eye, I studied the deep brown irises I'd come to love so much. I could see so much in his eyes at that moment, and wished with all my heart that I could make the hurt and the fear go away. But I hadn't caused those feelings, so I knew that I could only do so much.

"Both, I guess," I replied softly. "But I mostly meant last night."

He shook his head. "I've got nothing in the way of an explanation. I'm as lost as you are; I'm just trying to be grateful for the fact that I didn't lose everything that mattered to me last night, even though I got close."

"I know what you mean," I whispered just before pressing my lips to his. I let my hands travel up his arms and find their way into his wet hair, holding him so that he wouldn't pull away from me.

The water poured down around us as we lost ourselves in that kiss. Some part of me still feared that it could be the last one we'd share, so I ignored the warm water that was slipping into my mouth through my lips as they parted between kisses, just swallowing it down and kissing Jasper harder.

When I finally pulled pack from his lips, I gasped for air and then slid my hands down to wipe the water away from his eyes, and then held his cheeks between my hands. When he opened his eyes, I smiled. "I love you," I mouthed silently, not wanting to risk saying the words out loud again.

"I love you, Bella," he mouthed back, stroking my cheek.

"Let me wash you," I requested as I reached down to pick up the bottle of shampoo. When he agreed, I poured a bit into my hand and then stood upright again, bringing my hands to the top of his head.

Jasper was taller than me, which gave me an excellent excuse to press my body as close to his as possible so that I could massage the shampoo into his hair properly. It didn't take long, since his hair was so short, and so I used the excess lather on my hands to clean his entire body, my hands moving across every inch of his body with both intimacy and innocence at once. I wasn't trying for more – I didn't need it.

When I finished washing him, he used his hands, still resting on my hips, to guide me as he switched places with me, positioning himself under the water so that he could rinse the soap from his body and hair. I watched with rapt attention as the water cascaded over the hard planes of his abs and the black ink that covered the defined muscles in his right arm.

I was so absorbed in looking at his body that I didn't realize that he'd wiped the water from his eyes and was looking at me with a smirk on his face. "Like what you see?"

I raised my eyes to meet his as I felt the blush cover my face, and offered a shrug. "It's not bad."

Scowling playfully, he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me to him. "Not bad?"

"Ok, ok, I like it!" I said through giggles as my feet came off the shower floor. When he set me safely back down with a kiss on the lips, I shook my head. "I would have thought that was obvious."

"Still nice to hear it sometimes," he said, smiling. "Now, did you get your hair washed already?"

I shook my head. "No...We um... We got a little distracted."

"Yes, I noticed," he replied. "And I'm definitely not complaining." He let go of me and reached down, picking up a bottle. "This the right one?" he asked, showing it to me.

When I nodded, he squeezed some into his hand, then stood back up, bringing his hands to my hair. I stood there, facing him, as his fingers worked the shampoo into my hair, his touch effective, yet so tender, and just gazed into his eyes. There were a million thoughts running through my head, but I somehow knew I didn't need to voice a single one of them. His eyes, staring back into mine, told me that he understood.

The water was already starting to cool down as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair, so I used the conditioner on my own, fingering it through my long hair and then kissing Jasper as I let it soak in. He reached around me, trying to turn the hot water up, but I shook my head. "It's as hot as it can go. Just get out. I'll rinse quickly and follow you."

He kissed me one last time and then opened the shower door, grabbing his towel off off of the counter and wrapping it around his waist as he stepped out. I shivered under the cold water as it rinsed the last of the cream out of my hair, then quickly turned it off and opened the shower door again, finding Jasper standing there with a towel held open for me. Appreciating his consideration, I stepped into his open arms and let him wrap me up in the warm towel.

About fifteen minutes later, which, in my opinion, was entirely too soon, the Whitlock's SUV was loaded with their things and we were standing just inside my front door, saying good bye once again.

"You'll call me when you get home?" I asked.

"Of course, sweetie," Alice assured. "And I might even text you from the road, who knows?"

"Do you have something to do today?" Jasper asked.

I nodded. "I've got some things to get ready for work tomorrow, and I want to finish that magazine article I was working on... Plus I have to go to the store and get a few things for Esme's visit."

He squeezed my hand. "Good. You'll be too busy to miss us."

"Hardly," I replied, knowing that I'd miss them the second the stepped out of my door.

Alice looked down at her phone, and then stepped toward me. "I wish I didn't have to say this, but..."

"I know, I know... You have to go now," I finished reluctantly. This was my least favorite part of our relationship. Well, that and the ridiculous egg-throwing drama we'd been experiencing far too much of lately. She pulled me into a hug. "I'll miss you," I whispered as my lips grazed her ear.

"I'll miss you too," she replied, letting her lips trace the line of my jaw until she was kissing my lips. "But I'll see you soon."

"We'll have that talk soon, right?" I reminded, pulling away.

"Tomorrow night. I promise."

Nodding, I let go of her and stepped to my right, directly into Jasper's waiting arms. I buried my face in the spot where his neck and shoulder met, inhaling deeply, filling my lungs with the pure scent of him. His hands rested in the small of my back for a moment as we lingered in the hug, then he reached up with one hand to stroke my cheek. Pulling back enough to see him, I met his gaze, and then his lips. The kiss was slow and soft, yet still full of emotion.

When we finally pulled back to breathe, we found Alice waiting for us, and the three of us shared one final kiss.

"See you soon," I whispered as I let go of their hands.

"Soon," they repeated.

I watched their tail lights disappear around the corner at the end of my street before I walked back into my room and collapsed on my bed. I was exhausted, emotionally and physically, but hopeful that, just like their truck had done moments before, we'd finally turned a corner, and things were going to stay good this time. It was the comfort of those thoughts, combined with the scents of Jasper, Alice and I combining on my pillowcase, that were my company as I drifted off to sleep.

A/N: I finally got a full time job three weeks ago, so I'm going back to once a week updates, on Tuesdays, once again, after this. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Until next time... You know...