A/N: Excited? I am. I'm pretty sure no one's expecting Ness to put on a grand show and strip like a professional, but if you are, prepare to be disappointed. She's still a little scurred. But, as always, Jake's there to encourage her like the amazing man he is!

Enough of my rambling. Enjoy! Ain't mine. Never will be. Why the hell am I still saying this at the beginning of every chapter? I think y'all get it now.

Give Me a Sign

Chapter Thirty-Five

Everything

Look into my eyes - you will see,
What you mean to me.
Look into your heart - you will find,
There's nothin' there to hide.

Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for.
I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more.
You know it's true,
Everything I do - I do it for you.

-Everything I Do (I Do it For You) – Bryan Adams

Jacob

Nessie was taking forever with the laundry. She'd already started the load; what the hell could be taking her so long? I was really happy that she'd had a good time at the spa with Leah, and I hoped she wasn't lying when she told me she hadn't been pressured into anything.

I shook my head at myself and got up to get a drink. I knew Leah better than that. She might try to push me every single chance she got, but she wouldn't aim that low. I got a soda and waited a few more minutes in the kitchen. If Nessie wasn't out soon, I'd go find her. I had missed her while she was gone.

Almost as soon as I'd made the decision to go after her, Nessie came into the room. I held out my arm for her, and she came up to me.

"What happened? You were gone for ages." I kissed her forehead.

She smiled. "I'm sorry. I had something I needed to take care of." I stared at her blankly. She blushed brightly and added, "In the bathroom."

"Oh, okay. What would you like to do now?"

She shrugged, and her brow furrowed a tiny bit, just enough to be noticeable. "I don't know. We could . . ." She stopped for a minute, and I swear she did a little dance that made her look uncomfortable. "We could play a board game or something. You've still got those, right?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Yes, I do. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm great. We should play Sorry again and see if I can still beat you."

She seemed fine, and her eyes didn't look upset at all, so I dropped it. "Sure, but then we're playing Clue, because I know I can still kick your ass at that game."

I went to get the game, and she followed me to the closet. "Whatever, Jake. Just because you have more attention to detail than I do."

"That just means you should pay more attention." I handed one game to her and took the other.

We cleared off the coffee table together, and she smirked as she looked over at the bookcase. "I guess I should."

I raised my eyebrow and looked where she had. For a moment, I didn't notice anything, then my mother's picture caught my eye. "Nessie?"

She looked up at me innocently as I stood up. "Yes?"

I went over to the bookcase and picked up Mom's picture. Next to it was my dad's. "Did you put these out here?"

I glanced over at her, and she nodded. "Yes, I did. I thought it was a shame to have them hiding in that room, so I put them out here with a few of my things a few days ago. Are you upset?"

I sighed and put the picture back. "No, Ness. I'm not upset." How could I be upset with her? "But this means you have to put one of your parents up here someday." Her eyes widened. "Not right now, baby. Just someday. Right now I'm going to win a game of Sorry."

She opened the box. "You wish."

I had her grinning and laughing by the time the game was over. She won the first round, so I called for a rematch. She won again. "I think you're rigging the game."

She shook her head. "How could I do that?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't know, but somehow you are. I've figured you out, woman."

She narrowed hers back at me, but I could still see the smile playing on her lips. "No, if you'd figured me out, you'd know how I was rigging the game and be able to counter-rig it so you would win. Since you haven't done that, you haven't figured me out at all."

"Your logic astounds me. Clue?" I held up the box.

She laughed again, and I loved the sound of it. "Sure, Jake. I'll just win again, though."

I smirked and used her words from earlier. "You wish."

She did win. "I told you." She sat back on her heels and smiled smugly as she held up the little piece of rope. "You've been hung."

I took the piece from her. "I think you meant to say that I am hung, Ness."

"Oh. Okay, well, you're hung, Jake."

I tried so hard to keep from laughing. "Yes, I am. I'm glad you noticed."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

I shook my head. "Absolutely nothing. Should we play again?"

She pursed her lips. "After you tell me what's so funny, sure."

I cleared my throat and made myself stop smiling. I really hoped she wouldn't get upset. "You said I'd been hung, which meant I lost the game. I corrected you to say that I am hung, which means I have a big dick."

Her eyes widened. "Jacob Black! You tricked me. Again."

"I'm sorry, Nessie; I couldn't help it. What do you mean 'again'?"

She sighed and looked down. Even though I couldn't see her face, it was easy to tell she wasn't happy. "With the German thing."

I moved over to the other side of the coffee table and sat next to her. "Hey, Nessie, come on. I swear I didn't know you'd be able to say ich will dich ficken, and I'm sorry about this hung thing. I didn't mean to upset you."

She shook her head but didn't look at me. "I know I'm naïve, Jake, but do you really need to do that to me? I don't want to feel like I've been taken advantage of like that. Especially by you."

Shit, I felt like an asshole. I rubbed her back and made her look up at me. "Baby, I didn't think of it like that. I swear I won't do it again."

She sniffled and nodded. "I know you didn't mean it like that. It's just earlier with Leah I felt so stupid because she was saying things I should have known about. Then this, and I'm sure a lot of women out there know it means when they say a guy is hung. It's common knowledge to everyone in the world, but I'm left out."

"Leah made you feel stupid?" She wouldn't like me very much the next time I saw her.

Nessie shook her head again. "No. Well, she didn't mean to. When she first started talking about everything, she didn't know that I know next to nothing about all of it. She was really nice about it all, and in the sauna she explained it without laughing at my ignorance."

It seemed Leah would live. "Okay." I met her eyes again. "Forgive me, Ness? I really am sorry."

The corners of her lips pulled up in a small smile. "I forgive you."

I kissed her. "Thank you. Do you still want to play again?"

She took a deep breath and smiled a little bigger. "Sure."

I couldn't be sure if she was still a little upset and not paying as much attention as before or what, but I won the second game. "Do you want to play something else? I do have a few other games. Or we could play some cards again."

She licked her lips and looked down for a minute as if she was thinking about something serious. When she looked back up, she shrugged and smiled. "Are those my only options?"

"We can do anything you want, baby." We put the games away, and she turned to lean into me.

"I want to cling to you while we watch something scary."

I kissed her head. "Should I put a shirt on?"

She laughed and pulled back. "No. I trimmed my nails the other day, I think you're safe."

I took her hands to look at them. "Good. What do you want to watch?"

She quirked her lips, thinking about it. "I don't know. What scary movies do you have?"

I kissed her. "You should know I have a ton; it's my genre." We went to my movie cabinet so she could look them over and decide. "Do you want hack-n-slash horror, ghost horror, psychological horror . . .?"

"There are too many different kinds. I don't know. I don't want anything gory, but I want something that will scare me." She picked out a movie and looked at the cover. "What about this one? Ju-On."

I took the movie from her. "This one scared me, Ness. I think we should stick to something a little less intense. If you want ghost scary, let's try this one." I gave her the new case while I put the other one back.

"The Haunting? Frankly, Jake, this one sounds creeper than the other one does."

I smiled and kissed her lips. "Ju-On is the original Japanese version of The Grudge. Basically it's about a spirit that hunts down and kills any person that steps foot in her house because she holds a grudge, hence the name. The Haunting is about a girl invited to take part in a paranormal study at an old mansion. Both are good, but this one is a lot less scary." I tapped the case she was holding.

"Yeah, I guess this one does sound better. Is the other one gory?"

"No, not really, but it's heavy on the creepy."

She nodded. "Okay. Do you want to set it up while I get some drinks and stuff?"

"Sure." I kissed her one more time, then she went to the kitchen while I put the movie in. She came back with a bowl of pretzels and M&M's mixed together and some sodas. I opened one and handed it to her, then I started the movie. She tensed up a little at some parts and jumped once or twice, but overall she did great. She was leaning into me but completely still and focused on the TV at the end of it. She finally relaxed as the credits started to roll. "What did you think?"

She sat up and turned to me. "Wow. It was good."

"I'm glad you liked it. Are you getting hungry?"

She licked her lips and stood up. "I, um . . ." She hesitated and furrowed her brow. "Yeah, I think so." She looked irritated about something as she picked up her soda can and the empty bowl.

I followed her to the kitchen and noticed she was walking a little funny. "You okay?"

She turned to me and blushed. It confused me. "Yeah, I'm okay. What should we do for dinner?" She looked down and shifted her weight.

I made her look up at me, but she surprised me by pulling back. She shifted her weight again. "Are you sure you're okay, Nessie? What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I'll be right back, though. I need to, um . . . readjust." She walked away before I could stop her. I wondered what she needed to readjust, then figured I probably didn't want to know. I was a little disappointed, though. If it was that time of the month, she probably wouldn't be up for making out much.

When she came back a few minutes later, she kissed me and smiled like everything was fine. I had kind of hoped something was actually wrong so I could fix it and try to move forward a little more tonight. Oh, well. We decided on some quick sandwiches for dinner since neither of us felt like cooking. That and we were getting low on shit to eat; we'd have to go shopping soon. It wasn't something I normally enjoyed, but I was a little surprised to find that I wanted to do it with her. Well, more like I wanted her to do it, and I'd just be there.

"What time is it?" she asked when we finished eating.

I checked my watch. "About seven-thirty."

She nodded and was quiet for a few minutes as we cleaned everything up. Something was still bothering her, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I'd never noticed much of an attitude difference in her the past months when she was on the rag, but we'd never been so close either. When we'd put everything up, she turned to me in the kitchen.

"So, um . . . are you tired at all?" She licked her lips and looked down. She was nervous. I wondered how the hell I hadn't picked up on that before. She was probably expecting me to start something. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to have to explain what was going on.

I kissed her forehead. "Not really, baby, but you can go to bed if you are."

She picked at her fingernails for a second before she looked up at me. "I was kind of hoping you could come with me." She sounded unsure, like I would tell her to get lost or something.

"I'll lay down with you for a while, Ness."

She smiled and stood up on her toes to kiss me. We went back to the bedroom, and she sat on the edge of the bed. I laid down and tried to pull her with me, but she hesitated. I was about to ask her what was wrong when she stood up and turned to me.

"Can you wait there for a minute?" she asked. She almost sounded panicked.

"Yeah, baby. I'll be here."

She nodded and walked away to the bathroom. I hoped she was okay. She came back a few minutes later and climbed slowly onto the bed. I held her lightly, a little afraid of hurting her. She kissed my neck, then propped herself up on her elbow.

"Jake?"

I ran my fingers through her hair. "Yes?"

She licked her lips again and took a deep breath. "Um, I wanted to do something. I mean, I kind of had a surprise for you." She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. "Oh, I don't know what I'm doing." She sat up and pulled her hair to one side.

I sat up with her, confused. "What do you mean, baby?"

"I don't know how to do this. I should have talked to Leah. I didn't know I was going to do this, though. And now I've probably ruined everything anyway." I knew she was talking to herself, but I couldn't stand how upset she sounded or the tears in her eyes. I pulled her over to me and kissed her head.

"Hey, Nessie, it's okay. Calm down and talk to me. What's going on?" I rubbed her back and waited for her to relax.

She sniffled and looked up at me. "I'm sorry, Jake."

I shook my head and kissed her. "Don't be sorry, baby. Just talk to me. Why are you scared?"

She wiped her face and sighed. "After talking to Leah about everything today, I wanted to do something for you. She didn't try to push me for this; it was my idea. I mean, she told me I had to try it on, but she didn't tell me I had to do it like this. I thought it would be nice to surprise you, but I had this whole idea in my head that I'd make this production out of it, and I don't know how to do that. I feel so . . . I don't know."

I had never been more confused. "Okay, so you wanted to surprise me with something that you tried on?" Suddenly it clicked. There was no way in hell my Nessie was wearing that tiny bra and panty set. And if that was the case, then it wasn't her cycle making her uncomfortable. Dear God, please let it be true. I cleared my throat and tried not to sound too eager. "Was it what Leah gave you?"

Her body tensed up, and she hesitated for a second before she nodded. I felt like cheering and giving thanks to the gods of sex. She sniffled again, and I realized that I still needed to help her get past this. I made her look up at me and kissed her lips. "It's okay, Ness."

She shook her head. "It's not okay. I wanted to make this special for you."

"Baby, this is special for me." I moved over so I was sitting with my back to the headboard, then I tugged on her arm to get her to come with me. She straddled my lap and hugged my neck tightly as she pushed her face into the space between her arm and my throat. I kissed her temple. "Nessie, you don't need to make a big production and dance around the room stripping to make me happy. Although, I do have to admit you'd be hotter than Salma Hayek if you did. But that's not the point." I had to keep myself on track if I ever wanted to actually see the thing on her. "The point is that you put it on for me. Yes, I want to see it. I'd love to see it. I don't care how long it takes, baby; I'll sit here with you and talk you through it."

She took another deep breath and leaned back a little to meet my eyes. "I told myself I wasn't going to freak out."

I smiled and kissed her. "At least you haven't given up and changed yet, right?"

One corner of her mouth lifted up in a tiny half-smile. "I guess."

"No, not guess." I shook my head. "We have made a ton of progress since you moved in with me, Nessie. You weren't even able to put it on a week ago, and now look at you. Sitting here on my lap with that under your clothes."

She licked her lips and smiled a little easier. "So you're not upset that I couldn't put on a show?"

I rubbed her back and pulled her a little closer to me. I really wished she would have changed into her sweats or some shorts or something other than jeans. I'd have to make it work, though. "Of course not. Honestly, Ness, I'd rather take your clothes off myself."

She blushed and looked down, but that only made her blush harder. She looked off to the side. "I, um . . . I have to ask you for something, though."

I made her look back up at me. "Anything, baby. What is it?"

"I put it all on. I mean, besides the robe, obviously. But, um . . . the bottom part." She hesitated for a second. "I don't know if I'm really ready for . . . you know . . . touching there."

I nodded. "Okay. Can I touch your ass?"

"I think so. Yes." She nodded and took a deep breath.

This was getting sweeter and sweeter. "Can we try to work up to touching your pussy?" I didn't want to push it too far, but if she was up for it, I'd do what I could to make her comfortable.

She slid her hands around my shoulders and stared at her fingers. "I don't know."

I moved my hands to her hips and pulled her even closer. Her eyes closed when she moved against my hard-on. "That's okay, baby." It wasn't a definite no, so I was happy. "Just try to relax, okay? Just because you're wearing special underwear doesn't mean this has to be different than any other night."

She tensed up again. "But it is very different."

I tried a different tactic. "You're right. It is a little different, but that doesn't mean it has to be hard. Let me kiss you, baby. Let me make you feel good. I'll make sure you're okay before I do anything new."

She nodded and leaned in to kiss me. I pulled her into me tightly and deepened the kiss, maybe a little impatient to get her shirt off. I tried to pace myself; I knew if I fucked this up, she'd close herself off and any chance I had would be gone. I grabbed her ass and tried to get her to move her hips with me. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she did start to relax. I was sure it couldn't feel as good for her with jeans on, but I also knew if we did this right, she wouldn't have them on much longer.

I tried to take my time as I worked up to palm her tits. She tensed up just a little bit, but got over it quickly. She pulled away from the kiss when I started to lift her shirt.

"It's okay, baby," I kissed her, trying to keep the fire alive. "We've done this before. You've been completely bare in front of me. This part isn't anything new." She nodded and let me lift the shirt off her.

She almost covered herself, but I dropped the shirt off the side of the bed and caught her arms. She looked at me with wide eyes, and I just pulled her close again and kissed her. She pulled back and swallowed. I didn't want her to linger too much on this part. I made her look up at me.

"You are so gorgeous, baby." Not one person in my life had ever been sexier, regardless of the circumstances. I knew getting her pants off would be more difficult, but the fact that she was sitting here in that bra made me so proud of her.

"Really?"

I nodded and kissed her again. "Really. Do you want to leave this on?" I picked at the strap of her bra.

She nodded. "For now, yes."

"Okay. Come here; I need to kiss you."

She relaxed again after a few more minutes, then I shifted us so I was laying on top of her. She moaned into my mouth and lightly scratched my shoulders. I moved down her throat to her tits, and she didn't hesitate once as she shoved her chest up and grabbed my hair tightly. I didn't move the bra; I just nibbled on her nipples through the fabric. It was see-through, but even if it wasn't, they were so tight anyway. When I'd given both tits adequate attention, I started to slowly kiss my way down to her stomach. She shifted her hips more urgently and cried out louder, but she seemed to come back to reality when I popped the button on her jeans. Her hands in my hair tugged up, and her whole body tensed.

"Jake, wait," she begged.

I kissed her stomach and moved back up to her lips. "It's okay, baby."

She swallowed and took a deep breath. "I don't know if I can."

I nodded. "Yes, you can, Nessie." I pushed my hips into her and watched her respond to me. "You feel that, baby. I know you do. Remember how good it feels without your jeans?"

She sighed probably the most erotic sigh I'd ever heard and nodded. "Yes." Her voice was breathless.

"Do you want that again? If you let me take your jeans off, Ness, I can make it feel even better." I kissed her lips and ground my dick against her.

"God, Jake . . . I want it, but I'm scared." She opened her eyes and looked at me as she lightly combed my hair with her fingers. "I don't know how to let it go."

"Just trust me, Ness. That's all you've got to do. I swear I won't do anything you're not ready for. All you've got to do is say the word, and I'll stop. Do you trust me, baby?"

She slowly slipped her hands around to my face and lifted herself enough to kiss me. "I say stop, and you'll stop?" I nodded. It would be hell, but I wouldn't push her. She took a deep breath and nodded. "I trust you, Jake."

Thank you, Jesus. "That's good, baby. That's so good. Do you want to help me, or do you want me to do it?"

She swallowed thickly, and I noticed her hands were shaking a little when she moved them to my shoulders. "I don't know."

I kissed her and squeezed her tit as I pushed my hips into her again. "You can if you want to. I'd be happy to do it, though."

She whimpered and held my neck as she bucked her hips up. "Please . . . you do it."

"You just relax. I'm going to take your jeans off, okay?" I pushed myself up enough to reach her zipper.

She licked her lips and nodded. "Okay."

She tensed up like I'd expected her to as I slipped the pants down, but she didn't ask me to stop. I let them fall to the floor and took a moment to just stare at her. I touched her legs, sliding my fingers up to her hips. "My God, Nessie."

She reached down and put her hands over mine. I managed to tear my eyes away from what little the panties covered and looked up to see her staring at me nervously. "Leah said, um . . . she said that wouldn't bother you."

I raised my eyebrow. "She said what wouldn't bother me?"

She blushed brightly and moved one hand to touch the hair outside her panties. I couldn't even think about her touching herself. The image was too damn hot.

I smiled and kissed her just under her belly button. "Baby, you have no idea how sexy you are." I moved up a little and kissed her between her tits. She kept her hands on mine as I slipped them up her sides. "Every single part of you, Nessie." I licked her neck and bit her lightly. She shivered. "Each new step we take is so amazing and always worth the wait."

I kissed her lips and put myself between her knees. She gripped my fingers and moaned breathlessly when I pushed against her. I wanted to lose the sweats. Fucking Christ, I was so goddamn close to everything. Without even having to persuade her, she wrapped her legs around me. I pulled back a little to see her face. She was so fucking sexy when she was turned on. I wanted to make her cum again.

"God, Jake. I love you." She opened her eyes and smiled at me. "I did it."

"Fuck yes, you did. I am so damn proud of you, baby. Now tell me what you need."

She licked her lips. "I need you. If, um . . . Could you do what you did before?"

I had a feeling I knew what she wanted to say. I remembered what I had promised the last time we made out. I was still nervous about pushing her further than she was really ready to go, but I wouldn't go back on my word. If she felt comfortable touching me like that, I'd let her. "Yeah, baby. I'm going to reach down here, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

It was still weird holding my dick like this, but the look on her face when I found the right spot was worth it. It was a little different this time; slightly to the right of her clit rather than the left. Her legs tightened around me, and her hands fisted in my hair. "There?"

"Ye—Oh!" She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "Right there. Don't stop, Jake."

I imagined her saying those exact words when I fucked her. "I'm not stopping until you cum, Ness." I made damn sure I stayed right where she needed me. It felt good to me, too, but it wasn't as physically intense as I liked. I wasn't close to cumming when she tightened up and arched her back, crying out loudly. Fuck if I wasn't turned on, though. More than anything else, I noticed that the lack of cover her panties provided let her wetness soak through my sweats just enough to feel it. I wanted to be a jackass and sneak a swipe with my fingers, but I knew that would only backfire on me. I'd built up this much trust with her, and one dumbass move like that would put me right back to square one.

She pushed on my chest, and I stopped and pulled back. "I love you," she panted breathlessly.

I kissed her lips. "I love you, too." I tried to be patient, but I needed a release now. She had closed her eyes and was just gently combing her fingers through my hair. I thought about just pushing against her again; it probably wouldn't take long to cum. I couldn't hurt her, though. "Nessie?"

She opened her eyes and smiled a beautiful, lazy smile. "Hmm?"

"I need to know what I'm doing now."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm going to die if I can't cum soon. I won't hurt you, but I promised last time I'd let you touch me if you were up to it. If you're not, please don't push yourself. I just need to know."

She licked her lips. "Oh. Um, yeah . . . I want to try. Will you show me how?"

Could this day get any better? "Yes, I will. But, you have to promise that you'll tell me if you get overwhelmed." I made her look at me when she answered.

"I promise."

I was satisfied that she wasn't just saying that to make me happy, so I moved to sit up against the headboard. She sat up, too, and I couldn't get over how fucking sexy she was. She licked her lips again and looked down at her body. She blushed and started to lean over like she was going to get her clothes. I couldn't have that. I leaned forward and caught her arm. "Nessie? Will you do something for me?" She met my eyes, and hers were wide and nervous. "Please stay like that. Just for a few more minutes?"

She took a deep breath and looked down at herself again. "I don't really see what you like about it, but okay."

I pulled her gently so she was straddling my knees. "I see my shy, sexy girlfriend who has gotten over some major emotional obstacles to do something very special for me. A few very special somethings, actually. Not only do I get to see you close to naked in skimpy lingerie, but I also get a handjob."

She smiled and reached out to put her hands on my shoulders. "I hope."

"I know you can do it, baby. But, I also want you to know that I won't be upset if you need to stop, okay?" That was a lie. I wouldn't get mad, but I would be very disappointed. Not in her, though. I didn't want to have to explain that difference to her right now, so I went with the lie.

"Okay. What do I do?"

I rubbed her arms. "Are you really sure you're ready to do this?"

She hesitated for a moment before she nodded. She met my eyes and smiled. "I'm ready."

I kissed her lips and shifted enough to pull my sweats down. She tensed up again when she looked down, and she swallowed. A part of me wished the situation was just a little different so I could walk her through everything and go step by step, but as it was, my dick hurt too damn badly to do anything but get off. I leaned down just enough to kiss her again, and I slid my hands down to her wrists to guide her. She wrapped both hands around me, one above the other. I groaned; her touch was too light.

"Hold me tighter, baby." She did, but it still wasn't enough. I put my hand over hers on top and squeezed a little bit. "I need pressure, Nessie. Don't be afraid of hurting me."

She swallowed again and squeezed. It was incredible. "Is that better?"

"God, yes. Now follow my lead." I kept my hand over hers and showed her what to do. I grabbed the back of her neck with my free hand and pulled her close to kiss her while I increased the pace. I knew I wasn't going to last long, and it only got better when she gripped tighter. My hand slid down her back to her ass, and she moaned just a little and kissed me deeper.

I pulled away from the kiss and growled as my body tensed just before my release hit. She gasped and jumped a little when my cum hit her chest, but she didn't stop. I had never, in all my life, seen a sexier sight than my Ness sitting there with cum on her tits. I was a little bit worried that she'd be upset about it, though. I probably should have made sure I had something to cover my dick.

She sat back once I'd finished and almost pushed her hair back when she realized she had cum on her hands, too. Instead, she leaned back and shook her head to make sure her hair stayed out of the mess. I leaned forward and kissed her. "I'm sorry, baby."

I couldn't say why I was so fucking lucky today, but she shook her head. "It's all right. I just didn't expect it to . . . you know . . . shoot out like that. Was that okay?"

I kissed her again. "That was really fucking amazing. I didn't think a handjob could be that good."

She smiled brightly then looked back down at her hands. "So what do I do now?"

"Now we clean up. Hop up and go into the bathroom to wash off." I patted her hip, and she climbed down, paying attention to her hands as she tried not to touch anything. I watched her ass as she walked to the bathroom. She didn't shut the door. I took a few seconds to thank whoever the fuck made all this happen, then I got up, grabbed some clean sweats, and joined Nessie in the bathroom.

She smiled up at me as she leaned over the sink and wiped her chest with a rag. I could get used to her strutting around in her underwear. I could also get used to her leaning over shit. Her tiny hips were barely over the top of the counter, and her very fine ass was sticking out, just begging to be smacked. I wasn't sure what she'd think of that, though, so I didn't do it. I kissed her instead, and she blushed deeply as she looked back down and finished what she was doing. I cleaned myself off and changed my pants. I figured she'd already seen everything; there was no reason to hide from her. I wasn't sure she'd be comfortable with it all the time, but she didn't seem nervous at the moment.

She was taking a long time to finish. She was still wiping her tits by the time I was done. I stood behind her and put my hands on the edge of the counter on either side of her, then I leaned down and kissed her shoulder. "Are you okay, Ness?"

She turned her head to look back and me and nodded. "Yeah." She blushed, though, and turned back quickly. I guess she must have forgotten that there was a mirror right in front of us, and I could see the way she furrowed her eyebrows and mouthed something that looked like 'oh, my God.'

"Are you sure, baby?" I rubbed her arms, following them down to her wrists. One was on the sink and the other was still at her chest. The rag was damp, and from what I could tell, she was clean. "What's the matter?"

She took a deep breath. "Nothing's really wrong, Jake. I just don't really know what to do now. I mean, I'm kind of tired, but I don't want to go to bed. And I know you like to see me in this, but I feel so exposed. I didn't feel like this before, but now . . . I don't know if that's normal. I had thought that once we got past that, I'd be okay. I'm not okay, though, and I don't know how to be."

I kissed her neck and moved my hands back to the counter. "It's okay to be confused, Ness. I can't even tell you how proud I am that you were able to do as much as you did tonight. I'll get you some clothes and bring them to you, all right?"

She nodded. "Okay. Could you . . . I need different panties, too."

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "No problem, baby. I'll set them on the counter for you."

"Thank you."

I stood up straight and touched her back before I walked out. "You're welcome." I went to the dresser and picked out some pajamas for her. As much as I wanted to give her the tiny flannel shorts, I figured she'd probably be more comfortable in something that covered her up more. I got her gray sweats and a t-shirt, then smiled to myself as I chose a pair of panties. I probably shouldn't tell her how much I liked her underwear sitting there with mine. I took everything to the bathroom and set them down beside her. "Here you go, babe." She smiled nervously at me. I kissed her head and shut the door on my way out.

I sat on the edge of the bed to wait for her. It took her another fifteen minutes to get done and open the door. When she did come out, she put her lingerie in the clothes hamper then came to sit next to me. I put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. "I love you, baby."

She looked at me and smiled. "I love you, too."

"Do you want to lay down with me?" I figured she probably needed some time to just relax emotionally and be okay with everything she did. I wouldn't let her do that alone.

She nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

We got into bed, and she curled against my side. She lifted her arm over my chest and wound her leg over mine. I held her close to me and lightly rubbed her arm with my fingertips. "Did we do too much tonight, Ness?"

She kissed my neck. "I don't think so. It was a lot, but I'm happy we did it. Thank you, by the way, for keeping your hand on mine."

I smiled and made her look at me so I could kiss her lips. "You're welcome, baby."

She sighed contentedly and nuzzled her face in my neck for a few minutes. Everything was quiet, and it was so peaceful just holding her close to me. I listened to the sound of her breathing and thought about everything that had just happened, and everything that was going to happen in the next few days. I wasn't excited about starting therapy on Tuesday, but I was pretty eager to get her in. I just hoped Dr. Furst didn't turn out to be an asshole.

"Are you looking forward to Tuesday?" I asked her.

Ness leaned back a little and shrugged one shoulder. "I can't say that I'm overjoyed, but I am curious about it. I'm also nervous."

I kissed her forehead. "I'll be there with you, baby. You know that."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just know he's going to ask about my dad. That's what I'm most worried about."

I wasn't really sure what to tell her. Of course I'd be there and hold her every minute, but she already knew that. She knew that I wouldn't let the man push her too far. The best I could do was try to comfort her as much as possible and hope it was enough. "It'll be okay, Ness."

She nodded again, but didn't say anything. She took another deep breath and kissed my neck. We were both quiet again for a few minutes. She started to move her fingers lightly over my collar bone, then began to explore more of my chest. "Jake?" I kissed the top of her head and hummed. "Do you remember what Leah said about those flower arrangements earlier?"

"Yeah, I do. Do you want to do that?"

"I think so. But I was wondering . . . would you be really upset if I wanted to do it here?"

I made her look at me again. "Why would I be upset?"

She smiled. "You know, all those flowers being in the house and everything."

"Oh," I laughed. "I could probably live with that."

She lifted herself up on one elbow and kissed my lips. "Really? You're not just saying that?"

I smirked and touched her nose. "I don't just say shit, Ness. You should know that by now."

Her smile grew bigger. "Yeah, I probably should." She kissed me again, and this time she deepened it. I tightened my arm around her waist and let her lean over me. I was beyond relieved that it didn't take her very long to relax and move on from her insecurity in the bathroom. The kiss simmered down to a few light, closed-mouth pecks, and she reached up to scratch my jaw. It felt good. "Do you plan on shaving?" she asked, her lips brushing against mine.

"Are you sure you want me to?" As much as I hated having it, I loved the way it made her react when I kissed her neck and her ears.

She scratched a little harder. "Well, if you don't like having it, then yes. I want you to be comfortable."

I lifted my chin a little higher. "Okay. Yeah, I'll shave tomorrow after work." She sighed and pouted a tiny bit. I smirked. "Unless you don't want me to."

She kissed my cheek. "It's not that; I just forgot that you had to work tomorrow. I like it when you get to stay home with me."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I don't want to go either." But I had to.

"I guess I should probably let you get some sleep then, huh? Since you have to be up early." She glanced over at the clock. I looked, too. It was almost nine o'clock.

"Yeah, I guess so." I kissed her one more time before I got up and turned off the lights. I set my alarm before I got back in bed, then she snuggled close to me again. "Goodnight, baby."

She sighed happily. "Goodnight. See you in the morning."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Was it what you had thought it would be? Better? Worse? Craptastic waste of words? J/K, lol.

I'm on Twitter, SheeWolf85

Also, the Jake/Leah outtake series, Simple Design, was updated. Check out the second o/s, Secrets.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in another A/N, but there are also two Sam/Leah outtakes. Feels Like the First Time and You. All of them, so far, are pre-GMAS. Someday I might write some that are within this story time frame. Who knows?