Guys! I have discovered the most wonderful thing. Usually, I don't spend a lot of time on my account stuff unless I'm getting links for my favorites to reread (I should really go back to printing them out). But last chapter, I noticed that they have this cool traffic graph thing. It peaked my curiosity (like a big, red button :D) and when I clicked on it, it told me how many views and visitors my chapter/story/stories got but that's not the best part (though thanks guys. I'm looking at over a thousand views in 24 hours and over 300 visitors in the same time!). The best part is it tells me what countries my fic is being read in! Since then I have constructed a little world map with all the countries marked to remind me that you guys are awesome (and cheesy as it is, that we are scattered and different but we share a common love… which in this case is me. Which is just weird).

So thanks for the love. I know the last couple of chapters were a bit rough. I am normally NOT a make-Bella-have-a-terrible-accident kind of writer but I needed a catalyst. Originally it was a boating accident. That one just didn't work out for me. Water is so unpredictable. And many of you asked me if this would prompt Jasper to change Bella. So let me tell you how I feel about that. I think that *if* Bella gets changed, it won't be because she's about to die or something. Jasper just wouldn't do that, not unless she asked and even then I would feel funny about the sword-hanging-over-her transformation. It presents too many adjustment issues. Nope, if I change Bella, it definitely won't be because she's about to die.

Also, I just have to tell you, someone! I don't read a lot of new fics. I'm pretty picky and pretty set in my ways. But I recently decided to pay a visit to the Castle fandom… I'm officially addicted to a lovely little fic called Spiral Bound by Dmarx. If any of you are Castle fans (and who isn't? I mean, come on, Nathan Fillion? Yes and please) definitely go check this out. It is canon and sweet and new and familiar all at once. I am hooked. And it's 100 chapters (they are relatively short).

PS Did y'all know there's a fanfiction app?! Life changed.

The song for this chapter (do you guys even listen to them or am I just weird?) is Country Girl (Shake It For Me) by Luke Bryan (so many words that I want to associate with him). It was tough but I chose this one.

Disclaimer: [Insert witty and original thought pertaining to the fact that I own nothing, least of all these characters, but that I own something completely useless and worthless]

Chapter Sixteen: Country Girl (Shake It For Me)

JPOV:

This was taking forever.

I sat on the porch swing impatiently, shifting every few minutes as the impatience ate at Bella's strict warning swirling around my head. Before she disappeared, she ordered that I needed to just sit here and wait, eyes closed. She'd been gone for five minutes, forty-two seconds.

I was going crazy.

Bella's recovery had taken a grueling, painful, exhausting ten weeks. When she'd had the casts taken off her leg and arm three days ago the first thing she did was blasted music from her iPod and started an impromptu dance party with me. We danced every dance she knew and some she didn't: tango, swing, line, waltz, foxtrot, Paso Doble, anything that made her move her arm and her leg. At one point she busted out the Harlem Shake. The dances were amazing, her bright, relieved face smiling at me as we moved across the den floor, the furniture stacked quickly up against the walls as I hurried to comply with her demands.

I loved seeing her so happy and free again. She had been short tempered and downright pessimistic when she was confined to her bed or her wheelchair. I thought she was going to burst a vein in her head when Carlisle insisted that Esme come and stay with us to help her do personal things like shower and use the bathroom. Bella hated being so helpless, especially for that amount of time. She didn't resent Esme for helping her but the hassle and extra steps that had to be taken to do basic things frustrated her. Whenever I saw her losing her patience and nearing the end of her rope, I would gently carry her to the car and we would drive somewhere to get out of the house. Esme was very understanding and as soon as Bella had her cast off, she left with Carlisle to head back to Forks. She understood that Bella and I needed alone time.

I could hear the rumbling of an engine as it moved up the driveway. I wasn't overly familiar with the engine itself, though experience and a close relationship with Rosalie told me that it was smaller than a car. It grew closer and though I was tempted to peek, I had promised Bella and I would comply with that. I could hear the engine growing louder and could smell the metal and fumes and, oddly, leather. The engine cut and I couldn't help it. I had to look.

Oh holy hell.

I was not prepared for the sight that met my eyes.

Bella was straddling a beautiful, sleek, black motorcycle with the familiar and chill inducing Ducati stamped across it. Her head was encased in a black helmet and she was dressed in black leather pants and jacket with riding boots. Her hands were encased in black riding gloves and as I watched, she took the gloves off and removed her helmet. Her long, mahogany hair swept to one shoulder, shining in the sunlight. She turned to me and gave me a saucy grin as she continued to dismount the machine.

Did she know what she was doing to me?

She had to.

She was an evil tease.

She sauntered towards me and I managed to convince my feet to move towards her.

"Hey," she said casually, cocking a hand on her hip. My mouth went dry.

"Hi," I said. "So this is the big surprise, huh?"

"Yeah, I started taking lessons a few months before the accident. I wanted to surprise you."

"Oh, I am definitely surprised," I said, smiling at her. She blushed in the sunlight and I listened as her heart accelerated.

"Rose got me the riding gear and Emmett got me the bike. He said it was a 'I'm-really-happy-you-didn't-die-or-become-paralyz ed gift'."

"Remind me to send them a thank you note," I murmured. She grinned.

"I was wondering if you wanted to take a ride," she asked, voice confident, a complete contrast to the shy blush that was covering her skin.

Well that gave me ideas.

"I mean, I just thought I could show you how well it handles."

That wasn't any better.

"Jasper," she said and my eyes turned from their inward exploration of all the images and situations this situation could lead to back to her. "I have somewhere I would like to take you. I made some plans and I want you to come with me."

Had I always had the mind of a thirteen year old boy?

"Sure," I said and I watched as she donned her gear and stretched her leg over to straddle the bike again. I hopped on behind her, holding her around her middle gently, since if I fell or we crashed, damage wasn't a huge concern for me. She started the bike and I began to count slowly down from a million as the bike purred to life beneath us. She switched the gear and we began moving down the driveway.

After a half hour of driving on the highway, Bella's body, warmed by the now set sun and leather pressed against me, relief presented itself in the form of a driveway filled with cars while music poured from behind a house. I could smell wood smoke and see the flickering of flames behind the house as Bella parked and cut the engine. She climbed off the bike and I felt my control weaken at the sight of the leather molding to her body.

This was going to be a very long night.

She took my hand and led me around the back of the house where several people were socializing around a fire with some trucks parked nearby, speakers blasting out music. Bella smiled as some of the people began to greet us. I recognized a few from her dance class and assumed the rest were mutual acquaintances. She pulled me over to where the drink stand was and grabbed herself a beer. I tried to contain my surprise; Bella usually forewent the alcohol. But the party spirit was seeping its way into me and I could feel myself loosen up and begin to feel the elation of the guests lift my mood. Bella and I sat in some lawn chairs and she immediately struck up conversation with some of the people around us. I watched mesmerized as she interacted, so at ease, so different from the cripplingly shy girl I had first known.

After Bella had had about three beers, one of her friends turned the already pounding music up louder and called for Bella. She laughed and got to her feet, motioning for me to stay there. Several girls formed a group and began to move in rhythm with the music. I noticed after a few moments that they were in sync and realized this must be a routine they practiced at the dance studio. Bella moved around, swinging her hips, a carefree, sexy smile on her face as she watched me. I could feel my pants getting tighter.

She moved and I was in awe of her. She was graceful and beautiful and this confident, sexy, teasing side of her made me only fall harder for her. Shy Bella was adorable and endearing and Angry Bella was passionate and fierce but Sexy Bella was all of the above and more. She knew exactly what she was doing to me, watched my every move as she danced with her friends. I could almost literally feel my heart growing in size to adjust for this new side of the woman I loved. And in this moment, she was all woman.

After the song ended, Bella staggered over to me, breathless and whispering to me for us to leave. I complied only too happily and helped her to the motorcycle. I slid onto the seat and then moved so that she was straddling me, her arms entwined around my neck and the helmet securely on her head. I started the engine and we made our way back home. The entire drive she mumbled promises and propositions for when we got home and I realized that even at thirty over the speed limit, I still wasn't fast enough.

When we got home, I swung her off the bike and carried her into the house. I deposited her on her bed and began to remove the riding gear, tossing it by the door. As soon as I'd finished with her boots, she lifted her head to look at me.

"Jasper," she whispered. "Would you grab me a glass of water?" I kissed her eagerly and then left to get the requested beverage.

Luck was not in my favor.

When I returned to the room minutes later, Bella was laying on her stomach, her hair splayed across the pillows, eyes closed and breathing deeply in slumber. I stood there, waiting for the disappointment and anger to come. Instead, as I watched her face relax and the small whuffling noises of her breath hitting the pillowcase, disturbing tendrils of her hair in the process, I felt adoration warm me completely. She was beautiful, and I knew that maybe tonight wouldn't be the night that we shared everything with each other but that I had as many days as I wanted with her, to watch her sleep and wake up.

I was completely devoted to her.

And I needed to do something about it.