A/N: A little bit of an update spree today. I hope you enjoy this chapter. The end is the best IMO! :)

Chapter 08
What's this?

I would have spent all day at Taco Bell talking to Jacob Black, but I knew I couldn't. I had to get back to work. He walked me back to the shop the entire way we talked and joked around like we were old friends.

I was so relaxed around him, and I enjoyed every minute.

"I guess I've got to get back to work,"

Jacob nodded his head, "Maybe I can stop by and see you when your shift is over?"

I smiled brightly at him squeezing his hand that I was holding, "I'd love that,"

I couldn't get enough of his smile. I could probably sit here all day and just look at him smiling and be absolutely content. God, that sounds completely pathetic. Two meetings and I'm already drooling like a little school girl.

"I'll see you then," He grinned pulling my hand up to meet his lips.

"Suave," I laughed quietly.

He grinned against the skin of my hand and I felt an electric current run through my veins. I was totally struck by him. There were no other words to describe the sudden butterflies and this impossible feeling that I couldn't go a day without seeing him.

He bowed out gracefully and I slumped around The Bean for the rest of the night. Mr. Greene was nice enough to let me off early. I hadn't seen Donovan for the rest of the day, which was a great thing in my book.

I really didn't want to see him. He brought back some good memories, but sometimes he brought back even worse ones. I really didn't want to have to deal with that now. I was finally content with what happened and who I was, and I did not want him to ruin it for me.

"Goodnight Mols, see you tomorrow morning?" Mr. Greene asked wiping down the counter.

"Yes sir," I smiled folding my apron and tossing it in the laundry basket Mr. Green kept in the back.

I collected my things and headed out of the shop. I exited the coffee house and looked around; I headed towards my car, finally feeling relaxed after a long day at The Bean. I remembered working here when I first moved to Gunnison, a lot of things had changed since then. Some for the better, others for the worse.

But such is life. I had to putter through all of it to get to what I wanted in life. I wanted to graduate, and become a well known photographer. I wanted to do something with my talent. Share the world with people, and whether or not that included a boy of any sorts was definitely up in the air.

Two names crossed my mind after that thought. Donovan and Jacob. I had thought Donovan and I would last, but I had been sadly delusional when I met him. We were pretty good for each other, that was until it all blew up in my face. And Jacob. I don't even know where to begin with him or where to end. I know some basic things about him, and I enjoy spending time with him, but he's a stranger to me, and for some reason I am so drawn to him. It should be unnatural, but it wasn't.

I turned the corner; my car was parked only a block away. I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn't bother to look around me. When I finally looked up I was shocked to see Jacob Black sitting on the hood of my car.

"Jesus Christ, Jacob!" I held my chest, breath caught in my throat. He gave me a sheepish smile and I shook my head, "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to get off of work," He mused with a smile.

"How did you know which car was mine?" I asked him.

"Process of elimination," He shrugged his shoulders. "And the Denver College of Art and Design decal kind of gave it away," He pointed to a sticker on my windshield; the same sticker that gave me access to my school at anytime.

I gave him a small smile and took out my keys opening the door, "I want to go home and change, want to come hang out?" I asked him.

I watched a grin spread across his handsome face and felt that damn fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach again. I unlocked the car doors and Jacob climbed off of the car and in to the passenger's seat. I watched him get in for a second before getting in myself.

My car seemed so small with his much larger frame occupying the passenger's seat. I laughed remembering the first time Donovan road in the car with me. Though he was slightly shorter than Jacob, he was still very tall. He complained about my compact car being too small for him and that it might ruin his hair.

I don't know why that came to mind, but it was instinctively funny when Jacob's knees were hitting the dashboard. He reached below him and scooted the seat back as far as it would go. He glanced at me, a look of wonderment on his features.

"I'm sorry," I covered my mouth after shoving the keys in to the ignition.

"It's not your fault," He grinned at me toothily. "Long legs,"

"Long everything," I muttered. I flushed as soon as the words came out of my mouth. I don't know what was up with me today, but for some reason every time I thought of Jacob it wasn't always so innocent. I saw him blush and fidget in his seat, "I didn't mean it like…" I trailed off not wanting to finish my sentence. "I'm going to just shut up now…"

Still blushing he laughed at me and sat back comfortably. The ride to my house was a bit quiet but I didn't complain. After my major malfunction back in the car I wasn't going to open my mouth and have something stupid fall out again.

"Is anyone home?" Jacob asked me looking up at the dark house.

"Probably not, my dad works mostly at night and doesn't come home until late."

Jacob turned to me as I searched for my keys, a small smile on his face. Ok, so I'm not the only one who gets dirty thoughts, I guess that's a good thing. I watched as that familiar blush raised on his cheeks, and I think my face started to mirror his. My cheeks were hot, and I smiled at him for a second.

I watched his eyes, they darkened a bit, almost like a wave of realization or disappointment flooded his emotions. A bit startled, I looked elsewhere. I shoved my key in to the door and let us in to the house.

He stood in the doorway for a moment longer than I thought he would and I just felt like something was wrong. So, being the nosey person that I am, I had to ask.

"Oh, it's nothing…" He shook his head.

"Jacob," I prolonged the last syllable and he looked up to meet my gaze, that look in his eyes was slowly slipping away.

"Really, I'm sorry. I just…" He shook his head and looked away from me.

"Is it me?" I asked carefully. "Did I say something?"

"No, oh no…" He shook his head and reached out to take my hand. I smiled and he brushed his thumb over my knuckles. "It's definitely not you,"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive,"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He looked as though he was contemplating it but shrugged it off, "It's no big deal,"

I sighed and nodded my head; I guess I really couldn't probe him. I couldn't force him to tell me what was wrong. It really wasn't my place. It wasn't like he owed me an explanation or anything.

"Are you ok?" Jacob asked me.

I realized that I was standing in the middle of the hallway, fumbling with my keys in deep concentration over my internal struggle with myself. I shook my thoughts and smiled at him.

"Yeah, you hungry?" I asked him.

"Starved,"

I should have known, I laughed and grabbed his hand and dragged him in to the kitchen, flipping a few lights on. He sat down at the bar and I shuffled through the fridge. I tried to find something to heat up because I was a lousy cook. My dad had some leftovers from the restaurant and I pulled them out.

"Leftovers, ok?" I asked him.

He stared at me for a second, a bit confused, and I pointed to the take out box.

"Uh, sure… of course…" He gave me a small smile, but there was that disappointment again floating around in those beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

"Jacob," I set the food down on the counter and started pulling out some plates. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

He looked a bit alarmed at first and then his features turned a little serious, more so than I had ever seen him look before. I tried to find the right way to put it as he nodded slowly.

"Did she hurt you that badly?"

He looked very alarmed after I let the thought that was running through my mind slip past my lips. I couldn't help myself. That was the only way I could explain the look in his eyes. He was comparing me to this girl. I could see it all over his face, especially now. He regrets it. I shook my head and licked my lips.

The only reason I know is because I know exactly how he feels. I did the same thing with any guy that came after Donnie. I compared every aspect of their being to him and that wasn't fair to the person I was with at the time.

Not that Jacob and I are with each other… in that sense.

"How do you know about her?" He questioned solemnly.

"Heartbreaks a bitch, Jake…" I shrugged my shoulders. "The guy from earlier…"

"Donovan?"

"Yeah, I was head over heels in love with him for almost two years and he tore my heart out." My lips twitched a bit at the thought of what happened back at The Bean. "I thought we were going to get married and have little Molly and Donovan's…" I let out a bitter laugh. "I was sadly mistaken,"

"What happened?" He asked.

I glanced at him, he was trying to change the subject, "This isn't about me… this is about you and this girl…"

"It's really not that big of a deal…"

"It must be if you're carrying it around with you Jacob Black…" I stared at him for a second. Trying desperately to find the answer in those amazing brown eyes. I went back to remember the conversations that we've had. Something hit me. He said he had been leaving Washington. He went back and then he left again. I shook my head, he was running from her. I decided to voice my realization to him in a question.

He stared at me, not really wanting to tell me the truth, but he told me he would always tell me the truth. We'll see how if he lives up to that.

"She got married," Jacob swallowed hard. "And I loved her," He shook his head. "She loved me too, but she loved him more,"

His voice had slowly cracked when he said the last part, my heart twisted for him. It literally felt like it broke again. The anguish in his eyes was hard to fight off. The next feeling surprised me, I felt angry. How could someone not love him? He was amazing, on top of many other endearing traits.

"How?"

"How, what?" Jacob asked confused.

"How could she possibly love someone else more?" The question left my mouth before I really thought about it. I was letting a little too much emotion show here, I'm going to run him off.

He blushed slightly and shook his head, "Well, she always thought I was too young…." Jacob shrugged. I made a face, he was a lot younger than me, could she possibly that much older than him? "She's not that much older than me," He lifted a shoulder and I watched him carefully, it was like he could read my mind. "She met Edward, that's her husband now, and she became infatuated with him…" Jacob sighed rubbing his eyes.

I watched as he explained to me what happened between himself, the girl and this Edward. I couldn't really see what was so great about this Edward guy, especially after he actually left her, thinking it was best for her. I could tell Jacob was leaving some key parts out, but he was being so open, and so honest that I didn't bother to question him.

This conversation made Jacob appear so much older in my eyes, he looked so mature just sitting at my kitchen bar explaining this to me. I couldn't believe that he had been through so much heartbreak in such a short period of time, it made me want to cry.

The thought made old memories resurface and I had to turn away from him to hide the tears that were now glistening in my eyes. I didn't even hear him get up and cross the kitchen to me, I didn't notice he was there until warmth encircled me like a cocoon of comfort.

"Are you ok?"

"I should be asking you that," I whispered pushing back the emotions rising in my throat. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that Jake… it's not fair."

"From the looks of it, you went through something similar with that Donovan guy, right?"

I silently nodded; I wasn't in any form to talk about what happened with me and Donnie. Not now, not after hearing Jacob's story. I felt myself calm down when his arms tightened around me.

"We'll save that story for another day, ok?"

I nodded in to his chest, his chin resting on top of my head. He pulled me away at arms length and he smiled, making me smile through the tears that were forming in my eyes. He just had that aura about him.

His hands moved from my back to my face, my cheeks now cupped between his large, warm hands. His head tilted down to meet my gaze.

"Then I ran in to you," He whispered. "And you might not realize it now, but you've changed a lot for me…"

I stared at him, not sure how to take what he had just said. It sounded like he was telling me that he liked me in not-so-many-words. I wasn't sure, at least that was up until he kissed me.

It was so gentle, and so welcomed. I literally melted in to him. My arm circled around his neck I leaned in to it, forcing myself to my toes trying to reach him as he stooped down to meet me at a better angle. He released my face, his hands sliding down my arms to my hips, encircling my waist.

I really hadn't expected this to happen, and not so soon, but I was going to complain. I was enjoying every last second of this kiss. If there was a way to make this moment last forever, I would probably do it.

I pulled away first, my eyes slowly opening to meet his. He looked relieved. Was he expecting me to push away and tell him to leave me alone? C'mon. He was amazing, charming and not to mention a complete babe.

"I'm sorry," He started to apologize. I held a finger to his lips and shook my head.

"I'm not."

"You're not?" He asked a small smile on his face.

"Are you kidding me?" I smirked at him giving him a playful pat on the chest. "You just told me the most heart wrenching story ever, tell me that I somehow made it better and then deliver an award winning kiss… I think not."

He looked quite amused by my small little explanation and I grinned. Shrugging my shoulders I sidestepped him and finished reheating our food. I could feel him watching me, he moved back to his original seat and I smiled to myself.

"So, where does that leave us?" He asked carefully.

I stared at him for a second, "Where do you want it to leave us, Jacob?" I asked him.

He looked down sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders, 'I was hoping you would know."

I walked to the bar and leaned over the counter, "I think we should take things slowly, you know. Not rush in to… whatever this is…" I wagged a finger between the two of us.

I felt my heart pounding in my chest a mile a minute. His smile grew larger and he leaned forward looking intently at me, not saying anything.

"And I guess we'll go wherever the road takes us…" I continued leaning in further, finding myself on my toes again. I tilted my head just slightly and met him the rest of the way; letting my lips fall on to his.

Yes, so I couldn't wait for them to kiss and become a 'thing' ... whatever the 'thing' is. Anywho... tell me what you think.