STARING AT THE SUN

CHAPTER 4

BELLA P.O.V

"Mom? Are you there?" I said into the phone. I had finally got the yes from Jacob and we were both planning to go to Florida for a weekend away to see my mom.

"I'm here, Honey. How are you?"

"I'm good. I had a question." I said. I don't know why I was nervous to ask her. My friendship with Jacob had changed over the last week since we kissed. There were a lot more shared kisses between us. I guess I was worried about someone finding out. If my dad knew what was going on between Jake and I he would never let us go visit her.

"Anything."

"Do you remember Jacob Black? Billy Black's son?"

"I know the name." She confirmed.

"Well I was wondering if Jake and I could come visit for a weekend?" I asked. "We were thinking two weeks from Friday." I confirmed the dates while looking at the calendar that we had hanging in the kitchen next to the phone.

"I would love that!" She shouted. "That would be great! I think you both would have a wonderful time."

"Oh awesome." I smiled. "So we're going to fly down Friday night and then leave Monday night."

"Where did you get the tickets?" She questioned.

"Esme and Carlisle bought them for my birthday." I answered. "I never used them but I figured Jacob needed a break from his everyday life." I shrugged even though I knew she couldn't see me. And it was true, Jacob did deserve a break. I think getting out of town and going on vacation together would be good for both of us.

"I would love to see you both. We'll pick you up from the airport."

"That would be great." I answered. "Thank you."

"So, Jake huh? Is something going on with you guys?" She asked making me blush. I tried to stamper out a response but she laughed before I could. "Do you like him?" I hadn't even admitted it to myself yet why was I going to tell my mother that I liked him?

"I have... Feelings for him." I said. "God, I feel like a 12 year old who has a crush on her best friend."

"How does he feel about you?"

"Mutual. He's made his feelings clear. I haven't told him anything yet." I was probably going to keep this to myself for a little while longer. As much as I liked Jacob I don't think I was ready to jump into a new relationship. I also didn't want to ruin our friendship. "And please don't say anything when we come to visit. Let me handle this."

"Bella, it's okay to move on." She said softly. "If Jake makes you happy and you want to be with him, don't let past events stop you." I sighed. It was a lot more complicated than people were making it. I didn't want to ruin our friendship and I did not want to hurt Jacob in anyway. "You don't have to feel guilty about being happy."

"He does make me happy." I commented. "I just don't know if I'm ready to take it to the next step."

"That's okay. But if he's in it for the long run, if he wants to be there to help you, I think it would be a good thing for you."

"I think it would be an awesome thing but like I said. I want to wait."

"I'll support you either way. You make the decisions on how fast you move in this life. Some people need that extra time and there's nothing wrong with it. Jake is also younger than you, there's no rush to do anything."

"Yeah." The front door opened and Charlie came in with a box of pizza. "I gotta go mom, Dad's home." I commented.

"Alright honey. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye." I commented before hanging up.

"Renee?" He asked setting the box down and grabbing two plates.

"Yeah. I was just asking her if it would be okay for me and Jake to go see her." I answered opening the box and picking a piece. "It's still okay that I'm taking him right?"

"Yes. I think you both need to get out of here for a little while. Sit on a nice warm beach." I smiled. "Get a tan." He joked.

"I'm sure I will not be tanning." I commented. "But Billy said Jacob could go. Maybe we'll go an amusement park or something while we're there."

"Just be careful." He commented as we ate.

"Always am."

*TWO WEEKS LATER*

"You know I've never been on a plane right?" Jacob asked. We got their early so that we could be first in line. On this flight we got to choose where we sat. If we sit at the emergency exit he will have a lot more leg room.

"I know. Don't worry." I held his hand tight in mine.

"But you know if this plane goes down I'll survive and you won't right?" He asked.

"I'm sure the plane wont go down." I laughed as he sat in the window seat. I sat right next to him and prayed that no one would sit next to me. Not that it would be a big deal but Jake was huge and it would be uncomfortable for both of us to be squished together. Not that he would mind it. "How's Leah doing?" I asked trying to get his mind off the fact that the plane was minutes away from taking off.

"Not good. She's really struggling." He answered. "And the guys aren't helping." He had told me that he wasn't trying to make her life harder but I also knew that when he was with his friends he was a different person. "You should hang out with her sometime." He casually commented.

"I've thinking about it but I don't know her."

"I'll introduce you. You guys can relate." He commented throwing his arm over me and pulling me into his side.

"That's what I was thinking. It sucks she has to be around Sam though." I frowned looking at him.

"When do they come around with snacks?" He asked.

"Once the plane is in the air. What do you want?" I asked. "I'll ask the flight attendant for it."

"Pretzels. And a coke."

"Will do." I smiled. As soon as the plane moved I felt him tense beside me. I held his hand and rubbed my thumb over his hand. "It's okay." I whispered.

"It just makes me nervous."

"Wait until we take off. It's the worst part." The minute we started getting up to speed I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. I leaned into him and kissed his cheek.

Once we leveled out he relaxed. And then once he got his pretzels he was really good to go. He was so funny but I wasn't going to mention it.

"Okay it wasn't that bad." He finally answered making me laugh. He grinned at me before resting his head on my shoulder. "I'm gonna sleep."

"Try not to snore." His snores often kept me up while we were trying to sleep.

"No promises." I giggled and held his hand. Within minutes his breathing changed and he was sleep. I reached over him and closed the window shade so that he would sleep better although he was nuts and never closed his shades so every morning the light would wake us up.

Jacob slept for more than half the flight. He only woke up when I shifted to get more comfortable in my seat.

"You okay?" He mumbled.

"Yes." I answered lifting the arm between us and leaning into him more. He leaned back wrapping both of his arms around me. "My butt hurts." I whispered making him chuckle. His chest moved below me. I rested my head on his chest listening to his heart beat. It was calm and steady. I closed my eyes and breathed him in.

"How much longer?" He asked.

"Probably another two hours." I answered.

"Have you ever peed on a plane?" He asked.

"No. I usually just hold it." There was no way in hell that he was going to fit in that tiny bathroom. "You're too big for the bathroom anyway." I added.

"I'm too big?" He asked. I nodded my head and looked at him.

"The bathroom is small and you're not." He groaned. "As soon as we land we can go to the bathroom."

Just like I promised, as soon as we landed we rushed off to use the bathroom. Then we went over to baggage claim and got our bags. We walked out of the terminal to meet Phil and Renee who were both ready with open arms.

"Mom, Phil, this is Jacob." I smiled. Of course mom went right in for the hug and she seemed tiny in his arms. Jacob towered over Phil but shook his hand.

"Are you two kids hungry? Figured we could go get something to eat." Phil commented taking my suitcase from me.

"Starving." Jacob answered. I smiled walking next to him to the car.

"There's a really good steak house near here."

"We don't need to go somewhere expensive." I commented. I didn't want them spending all their money on me.

"Don't worry about money darling." Charlie had tried to give me money to come down here but I wouldn't allow it. I'm sure he would need it for next three nights trying to feed himself. However he did promise Jake that he would go see Billy at least one night to make sure he was eating. "Did you guys bring bathing suits?"

"Yeah." We both answered.

"I'm totally going for a midnight swim." Jacob commented as we got to the restaurant.

"Our house is right on the beach. Feel free to swim whenever you would like. Just don't drown."

"You don't have to worry about me drowning." He answered smiling at me.

"That's because you're taller than the ocean is deep." I smirked getting out of the car. He grabbed my hand when I came around the car. "I'll go swimming with you though." I smiled leaning into him a little.

"Great." We walked behind Renee and Phil and got a booth. I sat on the inside beside Jacob. "What are you gonna get?" He asked me as we looked over the menu.

"No idea." I answered. "Probably the steak tips with a caesar salad."

"Okay, I'm getting the lobster and steak."

"Knock yourself out. Just remember no one is going to take it from you okay?" I rested my hand on his arm.

"I'll remember that." He answered before ordering and I went after him.

"Is there anything you two would like to do while you're here?" Mom asked.

"I would love to go to an amusement park or something."

"Well Disney World is less than three hours away." Phil commented.

"I don't want to go that far." I said. "Wanna stay local."

"Jacob, how's your father?" Mom asked.

"He's good." He smiled. "My sister is finishing up college for the semester so she'll be coming home so he's pretty excited about that." Conversation flowed easily throughout dinner. I was started to feel exhausted but I knew that Jacob wanted to go swimming.

"Now, there is only one bedroom. So either you share it or someone sleeps on the couch." Mom commented. It wasn't that we had never shared a room before, we've done that a lot. But we've never slept in the same bed.

"I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, Jacob. Take the bed. You'll fit better."

"Just share the bed." Mom smiled. "Don't tell your father's." My eyes widened as I looked at her. I knew that she was just trying to get us to be closer and get together. I shook my head but followed Jacob over to the bed where he laid his stuff down. He dug through his suitcase for his bathing suit.

"We're still going swimming right?" He asked. I nodded as he went off to find a bathroom while I changed into a black one piece bathing suit. I went out the back door where mom and Phil were both sitting drinking beers.

"Did Jacob come out yet?" I asked just as he came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder's.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded. The sun was just setting but I knew that he would be able to see perfectly fine in the dark. I got to the sand that was burning hot even though the sun was no longer shining down on it. "Get on my back." He commented leaning down so I could climb on. He held my thighs as he walked down to the water and stuck his feet in.

"Is it warm?"

"Everything is warm to me." I giggled but gripped him tighter so he wouldn't put me down. He walked further into the water but made sure that he didn't let go of me. "Are you sure you're okay sharing a bed?" He asked. "I have no problem sleeping on the floor or something."

"It's not like we haven't slept in the same room before." I shrugged.

"We've never slept in the same bed." He said looking at the sunset. The color of the sky made his skin almost look like it was glowing. I ran my hand down his arm just as he got far enough into the water that my butt was touching it. "I don't mind sharing the bed." I commented. Maybe at some point on this trip I would admit my feelings for him.

"Then we'll share it." I smiled and kissing his cheek. "Love you, Bells." He smiled.

"Love you, Jake."