Peyton was reluctant to admit she was nervous. She had been on a lot of dates in her life, but Jake made her nervous – hell Jake made her a lot of things. Too many things for her liking. She picked up the phone to call Brooke or Haley – she felt like she needed reinforcement, but then quickly changed her mind. Brooke didn't know about the kiss, and Haley – she had her own life to be concerned about. Plus, she was married – she never had to worry about first dates again.

As she parked her car and walked up to the theatre entrance, the urge to run as far and fast as she could in the opposite direction was overwhelming. Then she saw him. He was waiting out front for her with his hands in his pockets. When Jake saw Peyton he smiled at her. His smile quieted the flee response in her stomach and brought new butterflies with it. She returned the smile.

"Hey," she said almost shyly.

"I'm so proud of you Peyton," He grinned. Jake was obviously teasing her.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I thought for sure you'd bail."

"Now why on earth would I do that?"

"No reason. So, should we go get our popcorn?" He asked offering his arm.

"Ok."

The movie was supposed to be a horror flick, but it was more of a campy comedy. They enjoyed making fun of the obviously cheesy dialogue. After the movie let out, they went for ice cream, still making jokes about how bad the movie really was.

"I can't believe you picked that flick Sawyer, what a waste of eight bucks," he repeated.

"How was I supposed to know? The previews made it seem pretty good. Plus, it did have its moments." Peyton offered. They looked at each other and then said in unison, "Not really." And laughed. "So what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know. What do you feel like?" he asked.

"You're the guy, aren't you supposed to have a master plan?" she teased.

"I did have a master plan, but you kinda blew it out of the water."

"How did I do that?"

"You showed up." He stated.

"You really thought I'd stand you up," she was almost hurt.

"Tell me you didn't think about it." He retorted.

She was smiling, he knew her too well. "OK, I admit, it crossed my mind. But, I came. Surely I get points for that."

"Yes you do. But as for my master plan, it was more about convincing you this was a good idea, I didn't really think about what could happen after the movie." He admitted.

"Well, what do you feel like doing?"

"Wanna take a walk down by the water?" Jake suggested.

"Sure. My car or yours?"

"Why don't we drop yours off at home and take mine." He said.

"I got a better idea. Why don't we drop yours off and take mine?" She smiled at him.

"You know Pey, I think you are a great person, and a really talented artist, but..." he was looking for the words.

"Not you too Jake." She grimaced, knowing what he was trying to say. "My driving is not that bad."

"Yes, it is." He joked.

"Fine, this once I'll let you drive. But just so you know, come summer, I don't go anywhere without my convertible." She cautioned him. It was really nice to be able to joke around with someone.

"Got it. So I'll follow you to your place." He said.

Once they got rid of Peyton's car the headed for the waterfront. It would have been nice if it was warmer and they could walk barefoot in the sand, but beggars couldn't be choosers, so they were content just to walk together on the beach.

"So I want to ask you something Jake," Peyton started. At some point during their stroll, Jake had taken Peyton's hand in his own. He gave it a little squeeze.

"What's that?" Jake asked looking down at her.

"Why did you really come back?"

"A lot of reasons."

"Like what?" Peyton pressed.

"Well, the big three would have to be, Jenny, Lucas and you." Jake said.

"I don't understand."

"Running doesn't solve anything. I knew that when I left, but I needed some time to sort out my head. The summer in Savannah helped me do that. If I could pick another mom for Jenny I would, but that isn't an option, and the fact is – she is Jenny's mom whether I like it or not. I need to set a good example for Jenny and breaking the law isn't exactly a good example." Jake explained.

They both were silent for a moment and then took a seat in the sand. "What if you had lost the case?" Peyton said quietly.

"It was a chance I had to take."

"What did you mean about me and Lucas?"

"When Luke found out that Dan wanted custody of him and Karen prevented that – well it made him question a lot of things. I didn't want Jenny to question things later. I hope she'll grow up with a good head on her shoulders and I have to believe that either Nikki will actually change or that Jenny will eventually see through her. But if I had made that decision for her by running away, then Jenny will never trust me."

Peyton pondered that for a moment, nodding her head in agreement. "What about me?"

"I know that you would give anything to have time with your mother. Girls need their moms." Jake said. It was not exactly what Peyton was hoping to hear, but it made sense. She nodded again.

"Oh," was all Peyton could say.

"Look Pey," Jake turned his body so that he was facing her. "I think you are amazing. And when you kissed me on the docks, well I was more than a little surprised." Jake kept his eyes focused on Peyton's face, acutely aware that she might run, but at the same time wanting her to know how he felt. "In fact it was all I could think about for a long time. I had to come back to see..." he drifted off. Peyton didn't offer any words so he kept going. "I had to see if there was something there."

Peyton didn't know what to say to that. Jake could see the thought flitting across her face, and before she had too much time to digest what he said, he leaned in and kissed her. If the waves were making noise crashing against the beach, Peyton didn't hear it. The only thing she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears. She was thankful she was sitting down because she was pretty sure her knees would have given out. When they broke apart, he was smiling softly at her. She smiled back at him.

"Figured it was my turn to go first." He said quietly.

"About damn time Jagielski," She teased. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned in. They sat that way on the beach for quite some time, just enjoying the feeling of each other. The sound of a cell phone interrupted their moment. Both Jake and Peyton pulled out their phones.

"It's me," Jake said. He flipped the phone open. "Hello?... What?... Ya, OK....I said OK....Give me twenty minutes and I'll be home....Twenty minutes...Bye." Jake turned to face Peyton. "Apparently Jenny is colicky. I have to go home, Nikki is bringing her back."

"Did you want me to come with you?" Peyton offered.

"Na, it's OK. It will probably be a long sleepless night. I'll take you home." Jake got up off the sand and offered Peyton his hand.

"OK." The walked back to the car hand in hand, not saying a word. "If you want company Jake, I'd be glad to come over." Peyton said once they were driving.

"Thanks for the offer Pey, but it's really not necessary. I'll call you tomorrow." He replied.

"I had a good time tonight Jake."

"Good. I did too. And I'm kinda hoping this wasn't a one-time thing either." He admitted.

"Me too. You'll call?" she asked as they pulled up in front of her house. She regretted the words the instant they came out of her mouth. She almost sounded needy and the one thing she didn't want to be was needy. Having Nikki intrude on her first real date with Jake was not the best of situations.

"I promise. I'll talk to you later Pey," he leaned in and kissed her again.

The kiss helped erase some of her doubts. Maybe he really was trying to spare her the sleepless night. She quickly went to bed before she had time to overanalyze the situation. Peyton knew there would be plenty of time to do that the next day.

A/N Please let me know your thought/suggestions. Reviews make my day! Carys