A/N: I'm baaaaack!! I had a wonderful, fantastic vacation and it was really great to come back and see all the reviews my story's gotten. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all the positive feedback. whew – and to think that I was about to abandon this story, when I didn't really want to! I just figured, why keep on going when no one's reading?? So thanks for letting me know that you're still there... don't worry! it's not over yet...

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Chocolate Cakes

I tucked away the last of my folded t-shirts into my bureau drawer and jumped up from my seated position. I grabbed my now empty duffel bag and tossed it on my bed, making a quick mental note to put it in the basement later.

My stomach loudly grumbled and I checked the alarm clock next to my bed. It had been a few hours since I had pulled into my driveway, back from our weekend trip to Sea City. I figured I was well due for a late lunch and headed downstairs to our kitchen.

A few minutes later, I had whipped up my own version of a gourmet meal: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chocolate chip cookies and a cold glass of Sunny D. One bite out of the sandwich and I made my way to the family room TV, setting everything down on the coffee table to go on The Hunt for the always missing remote control.

The phone rang barely a minute later and I let out an irritated grunt as I came up empty-handed from my crouched position, after searching under the love seat.

"Hello?" I asked, propping the cordless phone under my chin as I proceeded to check in between the seat covers.

"Hi." It was a guy's voice that sounded extremely familiar, like I'd heard it a thousand times before. I abandoned The Hunt for a quick second to search my head for the face to match the familiar voice. No such luck. "This is Char, right?" I realized that I hadn't said anything for the past 5 seconds.

"Um... yeah," I answered cautiously. "This is her." The guy on the other end laughed.

"I'm guessing you have no clue who this is..."

"Would I be the biggest jerk if I agreed with that statement?" I asked, starting to feel bad. "You obviously know who I am."

"You bet I do," he replied, chuckling. "And I can't believe you can't tell who this is!"

"Any clues?" I asked sheepishly.

"Why bother?" the mystery person asked, laughing. "You always sucked at guessing games."

"Wha--? How did--? Who is this??"

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes."

"You really really wanna know?"

"Yes. Really really." I smiled.

"Then open your front door."

"... Open my front door?" I repeated, completely confused.

"Yeah. I'm right on the other side of it." I took a moment to process that in my mind.

"So wait. You're here -- At my house."

"Yup."

"You do know how creepy that sounds, right?" I asked, slowly getting up and making my way down the hallway to the front door.

"Creepy? Maybe. But I get a kick out of trying to scare pretty girls." He let out a mock evil laugh.

"Rrrright – And that's going to help convince me to open the door... how?"

"Just do it!" he laughed. I slowly turned the knob, about a tenth of my being wishing I wasn't about to make a big mistake and find some crazed lunatic rapist standing on my front steps.

I pulled the door open and BAM. There he was. I gasped and almost dropped the phone in shock

Jeff. The Jeff Schafer was here. In Stoneybrook. Standing barely a foot away from me, with a cellphone to his ear and a huge grin on his face.

"You're here," I blurted out. He looked down his body and back up to look at me.

"Sure looks that way," he grinned, shutting his flip phone. "Just got in this morning, actually."

"It's – It's great to see you," I stammered, giving him a quick hug, and adding, "You -- grew." I had just noticed that I had to stand on my toes to give him the hug and that I was looking up at him now. He was still recognizable but he looked different. He was leaner and more muscular, his tan much darker and his once short hair was now longer and streaked blonde. He looked.... good.

"Thanks?" he said uncertainly, running his hand through his hair. I smiled and invited him inside, leading him into the family room.

"How's California?" I asked, taking a seat on the couch. He sat across from me in the love seat and leaned forward on his knees.

"Warm," he said simply with a smile. I laughed.

"That's it?"

"Nah, California's good. I actually got back into surfing," he said. "Just taking some lessons for now but I'm thinking of trying out for the school team this September."

"That's awesome! How's Dawn and Mary-Ann?"

"Fine, I guess. I don't see them much though. Just once every couple of weeks."

"Oh, that's right! They live on campus..." I recalled, trailing off.

"Yup. They're doing okay. But with their summer courses and everything, they can't even come back here for vacation. I think it's Mary-Ann who really misses Stoneybrook though."

"And you don't?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Jeff laughed.

"I miss it -- especially the people," he replied with a twinkle in his eye. "But most of all, above everything else... I miss your gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," he joked, leaning forward to pick the sandwich up off the coffee table. I smirked at him as he took a huge bite out of it.

"Fish if thow dood," he mumbled while chewing. I cocked my head sideways, giving him a confused look.

"Huh?"

"I said -- ," he replied, swallowing. "That this is really good." I laughed and shook my head. Standing up, I grabbed him by the arm and led him out of the family room.

"Sit," I ordered as soon as we set foot in the kitchen, pointing to a stool next to the kitchen counter. Finishing off the sandwich, Jeff brushed his hands off his jeans and saluted me. "You're obviously very hungry. Let me fix you up something," I offered, heading for the fridge.

"By fixing me up something... do you mean giving me a slice of that chocolate cake I see in there?" I turned around to glare at him and saw that he was leaning sideways from his seat, about to fall off, looking longingly into the open fridge.

"Sure," I replied, laughing, carefully picking up the cake with both hands and placing it on the kitchen counter. Jeff rubbed his hands together and licked his lips in an exaggerated manner, staring at the rich chocolate goodness like he was about to attack it any second.

"Buddy! Calm down!" I cried, grinning, taking out paper napkins and a pair of plates and forks from the cupboard. I placed two thick slices on the plates and we dug in. I burst out laughing at the orgasmic expression on Jeff's face, covering my mouth to stop from spitting cake all over the place.

"Is it really that good?" I asked, grinning.

"Ohhh yeaaahhh..." Jeff moaned loudly, totally into his 'When Harry Met Sally' gag. "Give me more, baby! Oh yeahh, That's it... You want it harder?... Harder?..." I crunched up my paper napkin and threw it in his face. Keeping one eye closed, he looked at me and said with a sheepish grin,

"Too much, huh?"

"Just a little," I smirked.

"Sorry," he apologized, back in his normal tone. "But I do have to say that this cake is awesome."

"I'll make sure to tell Mom," I said smiling, finishing off the remaining crumbs on my plate .

"Tell me what?" I turned around and saw my mom standing at the doorway, keys and suitcase in one hand and a tall pile of folders in the other.

"Hi!" I greeted, taking the suitcase to ease her load. "I didn't even hear the car come in."

"Well, you were obviously too busy entertaining a special guest! Jeff! It's great to see you!" she cried, giving him a hug. "Stay for dinner, will you?"

"Really wish I could, Dr. Johanssen, but it's my first night home and my mom's making this big homemade dinner," he explained. "I should be going soon, too."

"Oh. Well, that's a pity," my mom replied. "But you have to come over for dinner while you're here in Stoneybrook, okay? At least one night. We'd love to have you."

"Sure," Jeff said, smiling. "You're cake's really good, by the way."

"Grandma's secret recipe," my mom replied with a wink as she walked out of the kitchen with her stack of folders, heading for the upstairs office.

"You don't happen to know what the secret is, do you Char?" Jeff asked, hopeful.

"Wish I did," I replied with a pout. "But hey, let me wrap the rest of this cake up -- just so you can enjoy it in the privacy of your own room later." Jeff smirked and got up to put all our plates and stuff in the sink. He then jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter to watch me as I packed up the cake.

"Here you go!" I said as I handed him the Tupperware container.

"I'll guard this with my life," he replied with a laugh as he jumped off the counter. "I really should be going though." He stood next to me, with a slight bit of hesitation, like he was deciding what to say next. Afraid that things would get awkward, I piped up.

"I'll walk you to the door," I offered, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. We walked silently down the hallway and across my front yard to where he had parked his mom's red sedan. Once there, Jeff let out a deep breath and said,

"Thanks Char – I mean, for everything." He looked straight into my eyes. "Honestly, I was scared to even come here today. Just because of... you know, everything that happened between us last year. So, thanks for being so great about it."

"Yeah, "I replied quietly. "No problem." He then smiled and leaned forward, wrapping his hands around my torso to give me a tight hug. Standing stiff, I relaxed after a few seconds, and returned his hug, genuinely glad to see him again. He lifted me up in his arms and I laughed as my bare feet touched the ground again.

"Man, sure is good to hear that laugh again," he replied with a grin, getting into the car. I smiled back and waved good-bye.

"I'll call you," Jeff called out and I just nodded and waved again as he drove off down the street.

As I walked back towards the house, I recalled that the slightest touch, the smallest smile from Jeff used to get my heart all a-flutter and make my stomach do about a million somersaults.

But now it was different – I was confident of that.

...Because everything changed once Byron happened.