A/N: Okay, here's this. It's another shorter chapter, but I think it's cute. The next chapter will be a little deeper and really start to explore Ness and Jake's relationship, so I thought it was best to stop here. Hope you enjoy.

Claire shut the door to the nursery and motioned for Ness to follow her down the hall. They made their way into the living room and Claire flung herself onto the couch; she looked exhausted.

"Okay, so, tell me about the date plans." Even her voice sounded tired.

Claire and Lennon had come home from the hospital a few days before, but Ness hadn't had the chance to come over and see them until that afternoon.

They spent an hour just fawning over the baby. She was beautiful, the perfect combination of Quil and Claire with her big brown eyes, incredibly long lashes, and high cheekbones.

They'd just put her down for a nap and Ness missed that wonderful new baby smell already.

"Honestly I'm not really sure what the plans are; dinner most likely and after that, your guess is as good as mine. I've been so anxious at work all week waiting for tonight, and I think Jake has too. But we can talk about Jake any time; tell me all about being a mommy." Ness' voice developed a saccharine characteristic on the last few words.

Claire's response was a groan, followed by, "no, no mommy and baby talk please. I want to talk about grown up things, not diapers and bottles. Just for a few minutes please."

Ness smiled at her friend, even though her eyes were closed and she'd rested her head against the back of the couch. "Okay, well…we thought it'd be best to wait to go out until tonight, so we both have off tomorrow. After he gets off work he'll head home to change and should be at my place by 6, then I think we'll head to Port Angeles."

"What are you wearing?"

Ness moved over to the recliner in the corner and sat, "I have two options. The first is this white, knee length dress with a bubble hem. It's got spaghetti straps and black embroidered trim on the neckline."

"That sounds nice."

Ness nodded, "it is…but I can't decide if it's too dressy. That's why I have a second option. Its cotton, mid-thigh, black and white polka dot, and has a halter top. But the part I love the most is the neckline because it has this red ruffle trim, which gives it this pop of color."

"yesh hmun, nishe." Claire's words made absolutely no sense to Ness until she looked over at her friend and noticed her relaxed posture and deep breathing; she was falling asleep.

She didn't want to tell Claire she was leaving and risk waking her. So she quietly got up and made her way to the door. She stopped by the detached garage on the way to her car to let Quil know that both baby and mommy were sleeping. The all-encompassing smile he gave pulled at Ness' heart strings and made her envious of the life her friend had.

But as she drove she realized she had her own bright spots to be thankful for, which amazingly enough now included Jacob.

…

Three hours later, Ness sat in the front passenger seat of Jakes truck. They'd been driving for almost ten minutes but other than standard pleasantries, it had been quite; they were both too nervous to come up with much to say.

Thinking some music might be nice Ness asked, "Do you mind if I turn on the radio?"

Jake shook his head, "nope, put on whatever you like."

"Thanks." Ness flipped the radio on and began scanning the channels. If her time in Forks had taught her anything, it was that they had a very limited selection of radio stations.

But after a few scans Jake heard a song he liked and asked her to leave it.

Jake started nodding his head with the beat, "You know this song?"

Ness shook her head, "no, but it has a good beat. Who is it?"

"Usher. I think it came out about ten years ago. I went through this R&B phase when I was in junior high. All I listened to was Jay-Z, Kanye, Usher; shit like that."

Ness was surprised, she wouldn't have figured that. "Did you dress like a thug too?"

Jake let out a short laugh and ran his left hand through his hair, "Uh…yeah. But I think I was able to destroy all the evidence."

"Oh no…I have to see pictures."

"Sorry Ness…I couldn't let that stuff get out. It's bad enough all my friends remember it."

"Hmmm." Ness tapped her chin with her pointer finger as she thought of something.

"Hmmm what?" Jake questioned.

"Weeeell…I was just thinking…and if I know your sister, I bet she has a few of those pictures hidden away somewhere."

Jake looked over at Ness, eyes wide, and shook his head. "No way, I made sure they're all gone." And then as an afterthought, "Besides, even if she does have any, she wouldn't show 'em to anybody."

With his reaction, Ness couldn't resist teasing Jake a little more. "But I'm not just anyone Jake. And I promise I won't tell anyone else about them."

Jake smirked, "Nu-uh Ness, sorry, it aint happenin."

Ness pouted.

"That's not fair; you can't just pout and expect to get your way."

She just deepened her pout in response.

"Ah Ness, come on…that's not fa-"Ness' lip twitched and she couldn't hold back anymore. She started laughing, cutting Jake off.

He gave her a questioning look, "Were you playin' me?"

She was still laughing so she just nodded her head.

"Okay," Jake nodded, "I see how it is. You find something I'm insecure about and you make a joke out of it."

"Uh-huh."

"Nice." Jake tried to keep a straight face but it only lasted for about twenty seconds before he started laughing too.

"Sorry Jake, I couldn't resist."

Jake looked over at her, wearing the half smile that made her heart skip a beat, and all thoughts were wiped from her mind.

He looked back towards the windshield, concentrating on the road. But at the same time, he reached for her hand that was resting on the middle console and wrapped his warm fingers around hers, "I forgive you."

He didn't let go until they reached the restaurant in Port Angeles. It was a small Thai place and Ness got very excited once she saw it, she'd always wanted to try Thai food.

"Is this okay?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, it's great; I've never had Thai before."

Jake parallel parked across from the restaurant and cut off the engine.

"Just a sec," he opened his door, hoped out, and ran over to the passenger side before she could respond.

He offered Ness his hand after opening her door and she felt almost giddy. She wasn't used to seeing this side of Jake and she had to admit it was nice.

Ness placed her hand in Jakes and he helped her down, shutting the door once she was settled. From the moment he'd picked her up he'd been dying to kiss her. He'd resisted so far but standing so close made it hard.

Then the wind picked up and Jake was surrounded by Ness' sweet scent. He couldn't resist, he bent his head and gently pressed his lips to hers.

It lasted only a few seconds, but it was exactly what Jake needed. The feel of her lips on his made him feel confident, strong, needed; it was the greatest feeling.

As he pulled back he kept his eyes locked on hers and noticed the surprise, "what was that for?"

"Just something I've been wanting to do." His voice sounded raspy even to his own ears and he couldn't believe it was only from one chaste kiss. That's how strongly she affected him.

"Well, I might need a repeat performance later." Her smile was shy but he could see something else in her eyes, a spark of desire.

"I'm pretty sure that can be arranged." He quipped as he wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her close to his side to head over to the restaurant.

Dinner passed quickly. The place wasn't very busy so it was quite and the service was quick. They kept up a constant conversation; but the subject matter didn't get very deep. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between them that they would stick to the safe subjects; friends, music, movies, places Ness had visited. But they steered clear of relationships, both past and present.

Once dinner was done and the bill was paid, Jake filled Ness in on the rest of the plans, "so, one of the reasons I picked this place was because it's close to the boardwalk. On Saturday nights a lot of local vendors set up tables. I thought we could walk over and check it out."

Ness nodded, "yeah, that sounds great."

They decided to walk over even though the wind had picked up some since the sun had set. Jake kept her close to his side, his arm wrapped around her waist, determined to keep her warm.

As they made their way to the boardwalk, Jake pointed out shops and places he liked to visit whenever he came to town. Ness found herself glancing up at him every few seconds as he spoke, alternating between his lips and his eyes. Everything about him captivated her, enthralled her, and she was helpless against the spell he cast over her.

Even when they reached the boardwalk, Ness found it hard to shift her focus from Jake to the vendors he pointed out.

Jake could feel her eyes on him every time Ness looked his way, and it was damn hard not to react. But he kept walking, only slightly tightening the hold he had on her waist.

They reached the end of the boardwalk after a few minutes and Ness noticed two older gentlemen to their right; one was playing an acoustic guitar while the other sang.

Jake didn't miss a beat. He used his arm that was wrapped around her waist to pull Ness around to face him, "Do you wanna dance?"

Ness starred up at Jake, all she could do was nod.

He moved closer, wrapping his other arm around her waist and leading her out of the main flow of traffic, closer to the performers.

Jake was a good leader, he made Ness feel secure and she couldn't help but wonder what they looked like to those passing by. Certainly more than friends. They were close, very close, and as they danced Ness could feel his hands sliding lower and lower down her back.

The wind was picking up as well, but Ness could hardly feel it surrounded as she was by Jake.

At the same time, his head was bending down, until his lips were only centimeters away from hers. "Ness," he said her name on an exhaled breath, and it was full of longing.

She tilted hers up, trying to close the distance. It seemed endless until finally her lips met his hot, soft mouth and she let out a groan.

Jakes hands involuntarily gripped Ness harder when their lips met and he heard her groan. Things were progressing even better than he had hoped; and he had high hopes indeed.

He parted his lips and let his tongue reach out to caress hers. She tasted so sweet, just as good as she always smelled, and Jake couldn't get enough.

But before he could deepen the kiss, he felt it. Then he felt it again and again; it was rain, and it was coming fast.