Thanks to everyone who added the story for giving me a reason to write !

Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight…O well (sigh).

I instantly wondered what type of person would take someone else's jacket. A thief? Definitely. A man with a fetish for female clothing? Probably. But this guy looked like neither. He seemed very sweet and genuine. Physically, he looked older then me and when he stretched up to his full height, he was definitely taller than me by at least a foot. But his face still held the mischief of a young boy as I looked into his deep brown eyes. I couldn't help it. I felt drawn to him, even more than I had felt towards Edward and Bella. He grinned and his white teeth contrasted beautifully with his copper skin. I probably stared at him for a while, but I finally got over it and managed to mutter a "thank you" as I reached for my jacket. I had to avoid those eyes or I would be lost again.

"You're welcome" he told me, still smiling. His stare was penetrating, like he saw something more than my face. Honestly, it was disconcerting. Only Chris had ever looked at me like that, and the fact that this stranger was also scared me. A lot. We stood there awkwardly for a second, but he broke the silence. "Hi. My name's Jacob Black." His voice was so warm; it eased my fear a little.

"Um. Hi, I'm Shanae. Shanae Torres. Thanks for picking up my jacket, I thought I had lost it for sure."

"No problem. I found it laying on my— I mean, that beached tree over there and went looking for the person who dropped it."

"Yeah, that would be me. Sometimes I can be a little absentminded." I admitted, embarrassed. I wanted to keep talking to him so I said, "This is a really nice beach. Although I have to admit, I prefer a more Mediterranean climate." It was hard to avoid his face, but I knew I had to or else my mind would go blank and he would definitely think I was just some stupid girl. Yet, it was incredibly difficult to look away because the only other option was to stare at his broad, muscular chest and then I would be dazed for sure.

"I knew you weren't from here. I definitely would have remembered you." He said shyly. "So where are you from?"

His questions were rather direct and I would have ignored them from any other random stranger, but instinct told me that Jacob was a good person and I couldn't help but feel comfortable around him.

"Well I grew up in Southern California, then I moved to New York for college, and now I live and work in Madrid."

"Wow. I had no idea you were a jet setter." He said smirking.

"Um. Hardly. Actually I'm kind of scared of planes." I admitted.

"How did you handle moving around so much if you don't like planes?"

"Honestly. I have no idea. I guess I just wanted all the other stuff enough to just get on the plane and go for it. It would bother me if I gave up on my dream just because I have a severe fear of flying." Wow. I can't believe I was sharing all this with him and we had barely met 5 minutes ago. Uh oh, 5 minutes. I had to get back to the car or Chris and I would be late. Chris. I bet he wouldn't be ecstatic if he saw me talking to a handsome bare chested man on the beach.

"Um. Well it was nice to meet you. Thank you so much for the jacket. I owe you one."

"Leaving so soon? But we just started talking." He said, his face falling.

I smiled involuntarily. "I wish I could stay." I winced inwardly knowing that it was the truth. I really did want to stay and find out more about Jacob. He was really nice and it had been a while since I had talked to someone so effortlessly. "But, my fiancée is waiting in the car and if I don't hurry, we'll be late for dinner with his family."

The boyish look was gone in an instant, replaced by a look of disappointment and (was it my imagination?) devastation followed by frustration. Most surprisingly, I felt bad about that. Really bad. I didn't want to be the cause of his pain.

"Um. Do you hang out here a lot? Maybe you can show me around the area sometime?" I asked hoping to put that smile back on his face.

"Yeah! Definitely! I'd like that." He said smiling.

I smiled too. "In that case I'll be here tomorrow."

He laughed. "Alright. I'll be waiting, but don't stand me up. Remember you owe me."

I smiled reassuringly and with that I ran off nearly sprinting to get back to the car.

* * *

"Well that practically took forever. I thought you said you were fast." Chris mocked.

"Well, I'm faster than you." I mocked back. That shut him up. It was no secret that I could beat Chris in a race any day. 15 years of playing soccer and running track had made me an excellent athlete.

"Yeah. But I'm taller and older, so I win." He replied.

"Ok, fine. That still won't help you beat me though." I laughed.

"Hey, do you want to walk to The Lodge?" He threatened jokingly.

"I surrender Chris. You are the best at everything. Master of the Universe."

"That's what I wanted to hear." He said grinning.

He really liked to tease me sometimes, but (and I didn't like admitting this out loud) I thought it was really cute. I smiled as I sank back into the car seat thinking about the day. Forks was turning out to be more interesting than I had thought. Slowly, guilt built up inside me as I acknowledge the reason why I suddenly felt so differently towards this place.

* * *

The next morning I was not surprised by the gray light coming through the window. Was it actually possible that I was getting used to clouds and mist? I shuddered at the thought. If I didn't watch it I would end up missing this place when we finally left. As I got up to look out the window, I could feel excitement surge through me. Today I would go back to La Push and run on the beach. And, hopefully, see Jacob. But then I remembered Chris, and that sense of guilt eclipsed my excitement. It wasn't that I liked Jacob romantically or anything. He was good looking, but so were a lot of people. I was in love with Chris, there was no denying that. Yet, I couldn't ignore the fact that I wanted to see Jacob. I guess I was drawn in by his attitude. He was so relaxed, something I hadn't been for a while. Ever since college actually. Chris and I both worked really hard, and we were surrounded by like minded people back home. So, it was no surprise that I had completely forgotten what it was like to just relax and enjoy life.

Plus, those few minutes with Jacob had made me feel younger. I was only 22 but work and my responsibilities forced me to act maturely and sometimes I did forget I was young. But seeing Jacob's youth glow despite his apparent manhood showed me it was possible to do both. I envied that. I couldn't wait to be around him and feel that way again, now the only problem would be getting to the beach.

"Hey Shay? Are you awake?" Chris asked through the door.

"Just barely. I think I might still be jet lagged." I replied yawning.

"Well in that case, do you want to stay home today, so that you can relax? I think I might hang out with some old friends. You could come, but I don't think it would be that fun for you." He said as he opened the door and came in. He was so good looking it made my stomach do somersaults every time I saw him (another embarrassing secret I liked to keep to myself). I was so lucky, all my friends back home acknowledged my fortune in finding such an amazing and handsome guy. Not that I liked Chris just because he was handsome, but it was definitely an added bonus.

"No, that's ok. I think I'll hang out here for a bit and then maybe go for a run." I replied.

"Ok. Just be careful, it's a small town but you can still get lost." He joked.

"Please Chris, I navigated through Barcelona without the slightest problem. Besides, if I got lost in Forks I could just tell someone I know the Fords and they can bring me back here." I said.

He laughed. Everyone knows each other in Forks.

"Ok, just don't stay out too late, and call me so that I know you weren't eaten by wolves or something." I rolled my eyes, but I could sense his concern.

"Alright. You better get going or you'll miss out on all the burping and beer drinking and stuff." I laughed. "I love you"

"I love you too." He said as he took a step forward and put his arm around me. His blue eyes were impenetrable as he bent down to kiss me. Too soon he pulled away and was gone. Immediately I began to doubt what I was going to do. What would Chris say? Would he be hurt? I knew that at this point I was keeping a secret from him, something I had never done before. If he knew about that he would begin to doubt my love for him and I could not let that happen. But I had told him I was going to the beach, so what if I went and just happened to run into Jacob, that wouldn't be that bad right?

* * *

The beach was incredibly cold, much too cold for my liking, but my body soon heated up as I found my rhythm and eventually I had to take off my jacket. Although the thought of seeing Jacob was in the back of my head, I was soon captivated by the solitude of this beach. It was marvelous to have the place to myself and, as annoying as the mist was, it was also oddly therapeutic. The run had cleared my mind, and the mist refreshed it.

I stopped for a while to look out to the sea, incredibly different from any other I had seen in my life. In California, the water had been a deep blue. In Spain, it was several different shades blending to create a spectrum ranging from aquamarine to indigo. This water was entirely gray. As depressing as that was, I found it relieving. It reflected the way I pictured my mind. Clouded. Lately, I hadn't been able to keep my thoughts straight. My mind felt like it was in an unbreakable knot. I was over worked and over stressed, but the run really helped me forget everything and soon I was able to calm down and start to think about why I had been feeling this way. I was so deep in concentration; I didn't realize he was already waiting for me at the tree. He looked so happy, I couldn't help but feel glad I came. I just wished he could have made it easier on me to behave. It was hard to remember that I was engaged in the presence of his sculptural muscles. I didn't think he did it on purpose, though. He didn't realize his beauty.

"You came! I thought you were going to stand me up for sure." He laughed.

"Hey, I said I was coming didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." He was smiling a huge smile and I couldn't help but loosen up and smile back. His attitude was infectious. "You're pretty fast." He said, appraising me as he looked me up and down. "But I bet you can't beat me."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I mean you just look so strong and fast. I bet I wouldn't last a second against you." I said trying to lead him into a false sense of security. It would be easier to beat him that way. "So, do you want to race? You know, just to make sure you are faster?"

"Well, I already know I'm fast, but I don't want to hurt your feelings when I smoke you."

"I won't cry. I promise." He was totally falling for it. I couldn't wait to beat him. "Ok, so we run all the way to that rock and back here. Winner gets bragging rights." It was a fair distance, probably about 200 meters total. This would be easy, I thought.

"Alright you're on."

"Good. Then we go on 3. 1, 2, 3."

I felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I picked up speed. Immediately I knew this would not be as easy as I had thought. Jacob was very fast. But, I had run the 200 m race at least 200 times. I knew how to pace myself and when to push myself harder. We were neck and neck, going so fast that the surrounding beach was just a blur in the background. We were nearly at the rock and Jacob was ahead of me by a meter. As we rounded the rock I picked up my pace again. I don't think I had ever pushed myself so hard in my life. My breath was coming in short little spurts and my calves burned with fury, but I couldn't stop. I really wanted to win. The small gap between us was closing as I gained speed each second. We were about 25 m away from the tree. It was now or never. I pushed myself once more using every ounce of energy I had left in my body. Blood was pounding in my ears, blocking out the sound of the howling wind. 5 m. 2 m. 2 feet. I won.

And then I collapsed. It took me a couple minutes to get my breath back. Then I started cheering. I was about to rub my victory in his face when I noticed Jacob's stunned look.

"What's wrong? Never seen a girl run before?" I asked. "Oh, I get it. You're mad because I beat you. C'mon it was just one race, no big deal."

Then he snapped out of it. "No, that's not it. It's just that…you're extremely fast. Inhumanely fast."

I didn't get where this was coming from. "You're fast too. You almost had me."

"Yeah, well that's different. I have special…training." He replied.

"Yeah, well I've been running all my life. I've trained for 15 years."

He looked at me again questioningly. Then he helped me to my feet. I still felt incredibly tired and was very near collapsing again, but Jacob held me in place. Then he leaned forward and touched my face tenderly. Oh, no. I wasn't ready for this. My heart started to beat quickly again as he held my face in his hand. Was it my imagination or was his hand blazing? Oh God. I hope that's not my body reacting to his touch. How embarrassing, I hardly ever blushed. To my chagrin, he soon let go.

"I guess you're right. You are just fast." I still didn't understand. "You look really tired and I bet you're hungry." I hadn't thought about that, but I soon realized he was right. My stomach growled in confirmation. "Lucky for you, I know a place that serves a great home-cooked meal." I was about to protest―there was no way I was going to his house, even if I was famished. Did he think he could take advantage of me or something?— but before I could, he said, "Relax. It's not my house. It's my friend's, well brother's, house. His wife is a great cook."

It still didn't seem like a great idea, but I was so hungry and I really needed to sit down for a bit so I could get my strength back.

"Um, ok. Should I follow you in your car?" I asked.

"Actually, why don't you drive? I didn't bring a car." He replied. That was weird. He must have walked a long way.

"Ok. But it might be uncomfortable. That mustang wasn't made for giants." I joked as we walked back to the car.

So what did you think? I've got a proposal: How many of you would like to hear part of this story from Jacob's POV? Let me know! Thank you and please review!