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Bella's POV

I woke up to something very cold poking me very hard in the side. "Get up." The cold thing said. Nope. I pulled the blanket tighter over my face and rolled over. "I said, get up." Poke, poke, poke. Maybe if I roll the other way, it will go away. Poke, poke, poke.

"Argh!" I exclaimed, sleepily opening my eyes. I uncovered my face and looked for the offending thing-Jasper. He was grinning at me, almost stupidly, and then proceeded to pull the covers the rest of the way off. As I slowly came to my senses, I realized I probably looked a mess. And Jasper was in my room.

"Jasper, what the hell?" I asked him, sitting up. His grin got bigger. That was never a good sign, especially if I was looking for a nice, relaxing morning. I had expected to feel some kind of pressure after our little conversation last week, but surprisingly I never did. I was just as relaxed with him as I always was, and it was nice. The best part was that I didn't have to feel embarrassed any time one of my 'naughty' little feelings slipped by, because I knew he felt the same way. And there was nothing to rush, no reason to freak out-we were just friends.

"Time for step six!" he exclaimed, throwing some clothes at me. Shorts? Did he forget we were in Forks?

"Step…what? Shorts? Jasper, you're going to have to elaborate a little bit here, or else I'm going back to bed." He snorted.

"Fat chance. As if I'd let you. I said, step six! We're going to go for a ride. A trip is more like it. And where we're going, it will be warm, hence the shorts." He continued rummaging through my drawers, including the top one-underwear. I blushed. "Stop it. It's just underwear, and it's not like you're wearing them right now." I blushed harder. He laughed.

"Where are we going?" My curiosity peaked.

"I was thinking…this whole town reeks of them. So, the best thing to do would be to leave-and I'm talking farther than Port Angeles." More rummaging-he had found my suitcase. Uh oh.

"Jasper? How far is far?" I'm not leaving the country, if that's what he's thinking. I think my passport expired…

"Texas. Houston, to be exact. I own a piece of land down there, and it's where I'm from. So I thought it would be fun to head down there for the weekend. I could show you where I used to live, and we can ride horses, and it'll be just us."

"Wait a second-horses? Jasper, have you met me? I'm not the most…agile…person in the world. And a horse is a pretty big thing for me to fall off of." He threw his head back and laughed unabashedly. I scowled in his direction, and snuggled back under the covers. If he thought for two seconds that I was getting on one of those…things, he had another thing coming.

"Yes, horses. And I won't make you ride your own horse, you can ride with me! So no fear of falling off. And I'm pretty good. It'll be fun!" He peeled the covers back from me and pulled me to my feet. I had never seen him like this before-it was wonderful. He was carefree, and excited, and completely Jasper. I couldn't deny him his fun. I rolled my eyes, but started towards the bathroom.

"Give me a few minutes to clean up, and let me clear it with Charlie. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to tell him…" I mused.

"I already took care of it. I left him a note, from you of course, saying that you got a last minute opportunity to look at a college down south. You were flying out today, and will be back by Monday." He beamed.

"Alrighty then. Sounds good to me! Be right back," I said, marching into the bathroom. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and didn't even bother to dry my hair. I just let it fall freely, and hoped I didn't look like a drowned rat. I was kind of excited to go with him-I'd like to know more about where he came from. And the whole weekend away from Forks? It didn't get much better than that. As long as he kept to his word and didn't make me ride alone, I'd be good to go. I bounded back in to my room, and Jasper seemed pleased by my mood change. He was just looking at me, smiling.

Jasper's POV

When Bella came back in from her shower, I couldn't stop staring. She didn't dry her hair, but it was beautiful. She seemed so…carefree. I could feel the excitement rolling off of her, which was quite an improvement from my reception this morning. I haven't been to my home in Texas in a long while. In truth, I'd never even taken Alice there-it was just my own little place. It wasn't because I wanted to keep her out, but that's where I went when I needed to get away. She understood. But with Bella, I felt ready to share it with her. And I was undeniably excited to see her on a horse.

We drove to the airport in comfortable silence, as we both took in the green. I think Bella will like Texas-it's not green at all! The plan was to fly to a private airport, and then drive the rest of the way. I had to make sure I wasn't seen, because the sun was out most of the time and let's face it, glitter doesn't fit in around Texas. But once we got there, it would be easier-I told her it was secluded, and it was true. There would be no one around for miles. I had arranged to have a few horses there when we arrived-it made no sense for me to have my own.

Not surprisingly, she slept most of the way. It was only a few hours on the plane, but I think the excitement drove her to nap. When the pilot finally announced our arrival, I turned to Bella. I shook her gently, and she roused. "We're almost there, Bella. Time to wake up." She turned to me and smiled sleepily, shaking herself awake. From the airport, it would take about 20 minutes to get to my house. As long as I was driving, that is.

"Look over there, Bella," I pointed towards the horizon-my house was in view. She squinted, but I could feel her excitement level.

"Do you have plumbing?" she asked. That was the first question she had for me?!

"Of course. The house isn't as old as me, silly. I like to keep it pretty up to date. You never know when a human will come to call." She looked at me and rose her eyebrows. "Alright-I see your point. But still-I prefer electricity and the likes." It was true-but I mostly had those things installed for the workers who came and cleaned every now and then. I had to keep up appearances, after all.

I lead her up to the wooden porch. She ran her hands over the fine wood, tracing her finger over a knot. It was more of a log cabin, if you wanted to go that far. Smooth wooden rails lined the porch, which was covered in worn planks. The inside was much of the same. It was comfortable to me.

"It's so…you. I mean, I can see you here, before you became a vampire. I like it." I smiled.

"Thank you. It's much like my home growing up, minus all the frills like electricity and plumbing. In fact, I can show you where I used to live. Come on," I said, grabbing her hand. It was warm here, and I could tell Bella was glad that I packed some shorts for her. We walked at her pace, and there was no rush. My old house wasn't still standing, but some of the pieces were still there, as well as the stone foundation. I stopped, remembering.

"Right here?" she pointed. I nodded, and she walked forward. She sat, gingerly, on the foundation and closed her eyes. I watched her hands rub circles on the worn stone. I didn't have to be a mind reader to know what she was seeing-my childhood. "I can see you, running around in your little cowboy hat and boots," she chuckled. "Tell me about it. Before." I knew what she meant.

"It was nice-simple. My brother and I used to climb that tree over there"-I pointed-"and hide from our mother. He was a year older than me, and joined the army first. He died, right before I joined. In fact, I joined because of him-I wanted to make him proud." I smiled sadly at the memory. It doesn't matter how long I've been alive-or dead, however you look at it-I would always miss my true family.

"What was his name?" Bella whispered.

"William. William Whitlock. I always used to laugh at him for having such a mouthful of a name, but I could never see him as anyone else." Bella laughed with me, and we headed back to my house.

"Well, Mr. Whitlock, what shall we do now?" she asked. I grinned wickedly, and stalked closer to her. She backed away, and I could feel her apprehension.

"Well, Ms. Swan, I think it's time you learned to ride a horse." I watched her eyes widen and felt the fear flow from her. "But first, you'll have to change. You don't want to be riding a horse in those shorts. I've got something for you inside," I pointed her towards the bathroom. She pouted, but went inside.

"Jasper, I look absolutely ridiculous. The horse will laugh at me." She said, grimacing. I couldn't help but laugh at her wording, but she looked anything but ridiculous.

"Trust me, Bella, horses can't laugh. And if they could, it wouldn't be laughing at you. You look amazing." I picked her out a pair of jeans with some riding boots, a pink flannel shirt and a women's cowboy hat. She looked like she walked straight out of my dreams, if I had any, and into my house. It was luscious.

"Whatever. You're just saying that. But when the horse won't let me on because I look ridiculous, I'm blaming you. Hey-speaking of, how are you going to ride a horse? Aren't animals supposed to be naturally afraid of you and all? What with the whole 'predator' thing?" she asked, crossing her arms suspiciously.

"You make an excellent point. But horses are different-smarter. And my little gift will help too-it works on animals. I used to make Emmett so mad when I'd calm a grizzly down before he pounced…" she chuckled, and took my hand. The horse I had picked out for us was just the right demeanor. And I didn't have any intentions of taking her too fast-nothing more than a trot. Today, at least.

I climbed in the saddle and reached for her. She just looked at me, shaking her head. "Don't you chicken out on me now, little lady. Come on up here-it will be fun. I promise." I grinned. I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't believe a word of it, but she took my hand regardless. I moved her up effortlessly to sit in front of me. "Now just hold on to this here," I pointed to the horn, "and I'll do the rest. I'll have one arm around your waist at all times, so I promise you won't fall off." She nodded, clutching the horn-her knuckles were already white, and we hadn't moved yet! I snaked my arm around her waist, and felt her relax a little.

"Not fast, Jasper," she choked.

"Not fast. I promise we'll take it slow." I pressed my heels lightly into the horses side, and we began to move. Slow was the exception of the day-I think the horse was getting bored. But I wanted Bella to enjoy herself, and after a few laps around the ring I could feel it. She had visibly relaxed her grip, and I could see the corner of her mouth turned up in a grin.

"Ready to go a bit faster? And what do you say we get out of this ring? We can ride the property line."

"Not too much faster, please, but I'd like to see more." Excellent. I moved the horse to the gate of the ring and pushed it open with my foot. Once free, I pushed the horse into a faster trot. Bella clenched up at first, but it didn't take her long to relax.

We had been riding free for about ten minutes when Bella leaned back. She put her head under my chin and pressed her body against my chest. She let out a little sigh of contentment. I wasn't prepared for the onslaught of emotions I felt. I still had my arm wrapped around her waist, but she was more or less flush with me now. The rhythmic moving of the horse, combined with the sent of her and her closeness to me very nearly sent me over the edge. And it had nothing to do with her blood. The only thing I could do was pull her tighter. With each step we took, I moved against her. She closed her eyes and pressed herself even closer. I don't think she quite understood what was happening, but it was the most sensual thing I've ever seen in my life. And I had never been more turned on.