A/N: Thanks again to everyone who's reading. I really love hearing what you think. Hope this next one doesn't disappoint. They'll be a few more words from me at the end of the chapter.

The rain drops began to splash onto the windshield of Renesmee's car. She had noticed the dark clouds overtaking the blue sky at her last stop and had already put the top up. She'd left Forks early; it was now close to 11 am and she had another half hour left until she'd be home.

Setting the wipers to low, Renesmee tried to get her emotions under control. Between the drops streaking across her windshield and the tears she was crying, it was becoming difficult to see.

Why am I even crying in the first place? She asked herself for what felt like the hundredth time.

When Jacob had asked if he'd see her again, a part of her had been ecstatic. But her better judgment quickly overshadowed any joy she'd felt as her obligations came to mind. She'd known that if Jake were to have stayed, things would have gone a lot further than she was prepared to take them. She just couldn't seem to help herself; she'd never reacted to a man the way she reacted to Jacob. So she told him the only thing she could, that it was complicated.

As she waited for his response, she had seen what looked like disappointment and then anger flash across his features. Renesmee could understand that, she knew Jake had felt all of the things she had been feeling. It was acceptable for him to be angry with her for not exploring those feelings, because there was a lot that he didn't know about her. It wasn't that she didn't want Jacob; she just knew she couldn't have him. It wouldn't be fair, because he couldn't have all of her; she belonged to someone else.

….

Renesmee opened the front door of her home and stepped inside. She had finally gotten control of her emotions just before pulling into the driveway. This was neither the time nor place to fall apart; she could never be sure who would be home.

Just as she was setting her things down on the side table in the foyer, she heard footsteps above and then, "Renesmee, I didn't expect you'd be home this early."

At the top of the stairway stood a handsome man, looking to be in his late 20's. He had sandy colored blonde hair, blue eyes and stood to be just slightly under 6 foot.

Renesmee turned and looked towards the man, smiling up at him. "I'm sorry I didn't call and let you know, I figured you'd be at the office."

He smiled back at her as he started down the stairs, "yes I was earlier, but something's come up and now that you're home we can talk about it."

He made his way to the bottom and stopped directly in front of Renesmee. "But first," he started as he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I've been waiting to do this all weekend," and he moved his head down to hers, softy touching her lips with his.

Renesmee had to fight to remain in control, as soon as he touched her, an image of Jacob flashed across her mind, get out, she thought to herself. She brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders and closed her eyes, allowing herself to melt into the kiss.

She waited, but even as his tongue ran across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to allow him entrance, she didn't feel even a tenth of the thrill just looking at Jacob had sent through her body. But if she were honest with herself, she would admit that she had never felt that kind of a thrill with him, or any other man for that matter.

Renesmee felt him end the kiss and pull away and she opened her eyes. "How was the spa?" he asked.

Oh right, she thought, remembering how she'd lied to him. She had wanted to get away, escape for just a few days and take some time for herself. But when she had brought up the idea of taking a few days to relax, he had automatically asked her which spa she would be going to. Apparently in his circle, it was acceptable for women to escape to the spa for a few days of relaxation. For some reason, Renesmee hadn't felt the need to correct him. Instead she went along with it, pretending to be staying at the Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma to enjoy their first class Savi Day Spa. Her parents were the only people who'd known where she had really been this past weekend, well, them and Jake.

Feelings of guilt began to wash over her as she starred into his eyes. "It was good," she said. "Everyone was very accommodating" Renesmee had never actually been to a spa. She had gotten a mani/pedi at the local nail place once or twice, but she knew those services where far from what she would probably receive at a first class spa, so she was trying to keep her descriptions as vague as possible.

Releasing his hold around Renesmee's waist, he took her hand and led her into the sitting room while continuing to speak, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. And I'm sorry to have to bombard you the minute you return, but some big things have been happening in this case I've been working and I need to talk to you about it. Have a seat." They had reached the couch; he released her hand and took a seat himself.

"Is everything okay Michael?" she asked.

"Things are great with the case," Michael said beaming. "In fact we've uncovered some evidence that's really going to push things in our favor. The only problem is I'm going to have to go to New York for a little while to meet with the partners and settle some things before trial."

"Oh, is that all?" Renesmee asked, relieved that nothing was wrong. Michael worked for a very powerful law firm. Their head offices were in New York and he would frequently have to make trips to the bigger city to meet with the partners before important cases went to trial.

"Well, yes," Michael said sounding hesitant. "But I'm not sure when exactly I'll be able to make it home and I'm afraid I won't be back by next Tuesday."

Next Tuesday, Renesmee thought, racking her brain to try and remember if she had forgotten some important dinner party or benefit set for that day, but she couldn't remember for the life of her.

Michael noticed Renesmee's furrowed brow and he mistook her concentration for anger or annoyance and quickly tried to soothe her, "Believe me sweetheart, if I could be here I would. It's our first wedding anniversary, do you really think I want to miss that?

Oh my God, Renesmee froze, next Tuesday, July27th, how could I have forgotten? She asked herself. She had to recover and say something, how could she explain forgetting her wedding anniversary, he wouldn't understand. "Michael," she began, "hunny it's okay. I know you want to be here. I would never hold this against you. It's your job, you have to go, I understand."

A look of relief spread across Michaels face and Renesmee knew she was in the clear. "This is why I love you," Michael said as he reached for her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I have the best wife in the world. And I promise I'll make it up to you as soon as I get back."

Renesmee felt sick, but she pasted a smile onto her face and responded, "I know you will, and I love you too."

….

Jacob sat in the sand on First Beach, watching as the sun made it's decent below the horizon. It had been a rare, beautiful day in his little corner of the Pacific Northwest. The dreary gray clouds and rain had stayed away all day, giving the younger residents of La Push a chance to enjoy the beach after their busy days at work.

Jakes friends had ambushed him when he'd arrived home after a long day at the shop; they'd all noticed a change in him over the past few days. They weren't used to seeing him without a smile on his handsome face, but he'd been moping around lately and none of them knew why. His sister Rachel had even threatened to strip him down and put on his swim trunks herself if he wouldn't do it on his own. He gave in at that, he knew he could take her if she got anywhere near him, but it was easy to see she was worried about him, and he wanted to assure her and everyone else that he was just fine.

Even though he'd made an appearance, he was afraid he wasn't doing such a good job of convincing everyone he was okay. He'd been pretty anti-social the entire evening, choosing to sit on his own and enjoy a beer or two instead of joining everyone else over by the fire; which wasn't like him.

He just couldn't seem to snap out of it. He kept telling himself that she was just another chick and that she wasn't worth it. But then a little voice would pop into his head and say, but you know that's not true, and heaven help him, it sounded like her voice saying it.

She really did a number on me, he thought as he took another sip from his can of beer.

He heard someone approaching to his right and looked up to see his friend Embry coming his way. "This seat taken?" Embry asked he got to Jake's side.

Jake shook his head no and Embry sat. "You mind tellin' me why the hell you're over here all by yourself when the party's over there?" he asked cocking his head to the right where the fire was blazing and the music was playing behind them.

Jake lifted his can of beer to his lips again before answering, "I just don't feel like being around a bunch of people tonight."

"Well it's a good thing we're not people, we're you're friends and you're family," he started, pausing to take a long pull from his own beer, "So stop acting like a little bitch and get your ass over there."

"Watch it Call," Jake said, a slow smile breaking out on his face, "you know I can take you." This is exactly what he needed to get his mind off of her, a chance to let out a little steam, and he knew his friend was good for it. They'd grown up together, and for as long as he could remember, Embry had always been up for a little friendly competition.

"Oh yeah," Embry said, chugging down the rest of his bear and then setting the can down before standing, "bring it on Black."

Jake set his can down as well and stood to face Embry. He held out his hand and Embry took it and gave it a shake before releasing it. They stood across from each other, each sizing the other up; then with a nod of Jake's head, they went at each other.

It only took a second for the others to notice the two dark skinned men going at it closer to the shore. The women chose to ignore it; it wasn't uncommon for their men to get into a friendly scuffle during one of these things. The other guys got closer; placing bets on who they thought would come out the winner.

Even in the midst of the fight, Jake could see his friends had gathered around. "I've got five bucks on Jake," he heard Quil say. "I'll take that action, Jake's head ain't been on straight the past few days, Embry's got him beat," his brother-in-law Paul answered. I'll show you whose head ain't on straight Paul, you can be next after I finish Embry off. Get ready to win five bucks Quil.

….

Twenty minutes later, Jake sat by the fire, an ice pack pressed to his right eye. It had been a good fight, he had a busted lip and had gotten an elbow to the eye, but he still came out the winner. Embry was sitting across from him while his girl fixed him up. He probably had a broken nose, but he wasn't about to go to the hospital. Jake admitted to himself that he had probably packed a little too much force into that last punch for a friendly fight, but Paul had been right, his head hadn't been on straight.

After Dyani finished cleaning Embry up, she gathered up the rags and the first aid kit to return it to Emily. She gave Jake a very harsh look as she passed him and he knew he'd be in the dog house with her for a while. Standing, he made his way over to Embry and sat on the empty log next to his. "You doin' okay man?" Jake asked nudging Embry's arm with his elbow.

"What do you think," Embry replied, turning to face Jake. "I got my girl fawning all over me, asking what she can do to make me feel better. Hell, I'll probably even get a sympathy blow job out of it tonight, I'm great," he said, smiling from ear to ear.

Jake laughed, "So we're good?"

"Of course we're good," Embry said, "we're bros. Just promise me you'll be there next time I need to let off some steam."

"You know it bro," Jake said, finally feeling relaxed enough to enjoy the rest of the night.

….

Jake looked at the clock again, groaning when he saw it was only half past two. After battling it out with Embry the night before, Jake had let himself relax a little too much, staying out at the beach much later then he usually would have when he had work early the next morning. He had crawled into bed sometime after 3 am, and he was feeling the after effects today. He couldn't wait for five o'clock to roll around so he could go home and get some sleep.

Trying to concentrate, Jake went back to working on the transmission in the '95 Nissan Sentra that had been brought in earlier in the afternoon. It was an automatic but the car wouldn't reverse when shifted into that gear. Jake had figured either the servo had to be defective or the band was broken. He was just starting to check on the servo when he heard someone say his name.

He froze for a second; that voice had been haunting him for days. "Jake, can I talk to you for a minute, please?" he heard her ask. He came up from beneath the hood slowly and there she was, not more than 20 feet in front of him. Renesmee looked beautiful; standing as she was with the sun to her back, it almost looked like she was glowing. She wore a pair of very tiny jean shorts and a red tank top. Her Copper hair was pulled back, away from her face, and Jacob loved how it left the long lines of her neck exposed.

He was confused; he hadn't expected to see her again and had decided to write her off, what does this mean? He asked himself.

He walked to his right, around the hood of the car, making his way closer to her. He stopped before he was half way, grabbed a rag off the workbench and wiped the grease off of his hands. He continued towards her and asked, "I thought you left?"

Renesmee had begun to answer his question, "I did," but stopped with a gasp when Jake had reached her and she suddenly asked, "What happened to your face?" as she reached up with her hand and touched the area around his right eye.

Jake couldn't believe he had forgotten about his black eye. He had been too groggy to really pay attention to himself in the mirror that morning and so he had no clue how bad he actually looked. "It's okay," he said, "just horsing around with the guys, got too close to an elbow."

"Does it hurt?" she asked as she gently ran her fingertips over his brow and down the side of his face.

Jake was having a hard time breathing, she was touching him and he couldn't seem to focus on anything but that. "No," was all he could manage to get out.

She smiled at him then and dropped her hand. Jake immediately missed the contact and he ached to take her hands in his and place them back on his body, anywhere, as long as she was touching him. But he resisted, waiting to hear what she had to say; he still didn't know why she'd come and he was afraid to hope.

"I did leave," she said, picking up where she had left off before getting sidetracked by his face. "But I couldn't stay away. I feel like I owe you an apology and an explanation for the other night."

"Okay," Jake began, "but it's a long drive from Seattle. I know you have my number, if all you wanted to do was explain, you could have called."

He watched as she dropped her eyes to the ground and brought her hands together in front of her. "I had to see you," she whispered so low he could barely hear.

Jake took a step closer to Renesmee, there was hardly an inch separating them now. He could smell her in this new position, she smelled like strawberries and some other scent that Jake couldn't identify, but he loved it. All he would have to do was lean in slightly and her breasts would make contact with his chest. He lowered his head instead and brought his lips closer to her ear to whisper back, "So you're here, now what?" And he lifted his head to look into her eyes.

She looked nervous and a little unsure of herself, but she didn't back down. "Can you come to the house tonight, after work?" she asked.

Jake waited a second before answering, he wanted to believe in this girl, and he wanted her to believe in him as well. She had made an effort, she was here, and Jake knew the ball was in his court. He could either take the next step and play this thing with her out; or he could turn her away, send her home, and probably spend the rest of his life wondering what if.

"Yeah," he said after considering, "I'll come." It was simple; she had taken the first step in coming to him. And Jake was willing to take every step hereafter and do whatever he had to do to assure she'd never regret it.

A/N: So, I hope none of you are too mad at me or Renesmee. But if you're wondering how or why she decided to go back to Forks, here's a little 411 for you – the next chapter is going to flashback 24 hours to the night before and show Renesmee having a heart to heart with someone close to her and divulging everything she's been feeling over the past year and especially about Jake. Can't wait to hear what you think.