what is up, everyone? happy sunday; yes it is update day. this is officially the last sunday before i head back to school. like i said, i will try to keep up the update schedule, but college is an ass kicker, so i say sorry in advance.

oh, by the way, my birthday is in three weeks. no big deal...anyways.

enjoy...

Chapter XXIII

(Bpov)

When Edward went to bed, the conversation about my belly ring finally stopped. I don't understand the fascination about it was. I guess it was something they wouldn't expect from me. Then we went on to talk about the plans for the following week. Well, it was mostly Alice and Rosa. They talked about skiing and ice skating. They said we were only a few miles from the closest town. Rosalie said the town had really big mall. I will be impressed it was an actually mall and not just a lot of single stores like the sorry excuse for a mall we have back at home. I said we would have to visit it while we're here. Maybe I could find something for my dad.

Alice even mentioned a spa that was in the town. She said all the girls were going, but will have to tell her mom when we do. I thought it was because of one her rules where we had to tell her or Mr. Cullen when we go in the town. But then Alice said it was because her mom would want to go to and would be upset with Alice for not telling her. I laughed, but understood it.

Then one by one, we went to bed. It was Rosalie then Emmett then Alice. When I started to get out, Jasper stopped me. "You and I are hanging out this week right?" he asked. I couldn't stop the smile. I thought I would be used to him talking to me by now, but I wasn't. To be honest, I was glad I wasn't. I like the feeling I get when I'm around him. It reminds me of what I want. I nodded. He smiled in return. "Good. Looking for to it." he said before getting out and walking into the cabin.

I was too.

I got out, grabbed my t-shirt and towel before walking into the cabin.

The next day, Rosalie and Alice took me to that mall they were talking about. It was big and it was an actual inside mall. It was official, I was impressed.

We walked into the third store. I was still looking for something for Charlie. I thought it would better if I got it now. That way I won't forget about it or run out of money before I had the chance of getting him something nice. "You think my dad would like this?" I asked Rosa as I showed her mini Statue of Liberty.

She looked at it before shaking her head. "I don't think so since we're in Albany and not that close to it. It might count as posing." She teased. I chuckled.

"You're right." I agreed before putting it down. I didn't know what to get him. He really didn't tell me anything he had in mind.

"You can get him a tie." Alice teased.

I chuckled. "He's not really the tie wearing type." I told her.

"Speaking of the tie wearing type, what happen between you and Jasper when we left?" Alice asked.

"How is that speaking of the tie wearing type?" I asked.

"You obviously never seen the guy in a suit; so hot." She gushed.

"I thought my brother wasn't your type." Rosalie said.

"He's not, but that doesn't make him not hot." She argued. I giggled. "Anyways, Ms. Bella still didn't answer my question." She said looking at me. I smiled as I looked away. "What the hell is that smile?" she said.

"Nothing. He just said he was looking forward to hanging out this week." I told them.

"With you, I bet." Alice said.

"Maybe." I mumbled.

"Would you believe now that he likes you?" Rosalie said. I believe he likes me as a friend and likes hanging out with me. He hasn't done or said anything that he like me more than that or the way I like him. I mean he flirts, yes, but it's very harmless. Nothing serious. I don't know how I would know if he was being serious or not, but I like to think when it comes, I would get some kind of hint. "What do you think, Alice?" she asked her when I didn't answer.

"Hell yes. Totally. I told you the right look and he would be all over you. Was I right or was I right?" she asked.

"Is there a third option?" I teased.

"No." Alice said.

I chuckle. "Okay. But I have been thinking about something." I started. Okay, I was thinking about it until Edward brought it up. What if Jasper didn't want to date right now and just have fun? Would I be okay with that?

"What?" they both said at the same time.

I turned to them. "Do you think he even wants a girlfriend?"

"What do you mean, Izzie?" Rosalie said.

I shrugged. "I mean Jasper. It is senior year. Do you think he doesn't want to be 'tied down' or anything?" I asked, using the words Edward used last night. Maybe they would have a better understanding. It was nice to have a guy's point of view, but I think it was time for some girl to girl advice.

"Where are you getting that from?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, I never heard him say anything like that." Rosalie agreed.

I sighed. I didn't want to tell them what Edward said. It had to be reason he said what he did to me only and not in front of everyone else. It was a conversation between him and me. I was going to keep it that way. I shook my head. "I was just guessing. Me overthinking things, I suppose." I told them.

"Well ask yourself this question; are you ready for a boyfriend?" Alice asked. I couldn't help but smile. I won't like, it would be nice to be call Jasper Hale's girlfriend.

Rosalie chuckled. "Wrong question, Alice." She told her, probably knew what I was thinking, She looked at me. "Ask this question, Izzie, are you okay with just hanging out with Jasper?" she said. I didn't have to think for long before nodding.

I decided a long time ago that if I wasn't going to date Jasper, I would be content with just being his friend and him talking to me as such. Truth be told, as long as he didn't just see me as "dorky Isabella Swan, friend of Rosalie" I would be happy and all of this would be worth it. I like the clothes and the new friendship in Alice, but if he didn't talk to me that day before the party, I would have thought that he would have never noticed me. If I don't get anything else, I wanted to be his prom date. Even it was as just a friend, I would be perfectly pleased.

"Well, then just have fun with him." Rosalie said with a shrug. "If things get bad and you can't handle it, tell him and then you will forget about it when you're moving into your dorm next fall."

"But if things go well, like shirtless making out, then make sure he'll never forget about." Alice said with a smile, implying something; I just didn't know what. I gave her a confused looked.

Rosalie hit Alice's arm. "Do you mind stop with those types of jokes about my brother? You think he's hot, I fucking get it." she playfully snapped. When she said that, I got on to what Alice was saying. It wasn't a bad idea. I wouldn't go as far as what Alice was thinking, but I would definitely have to leave an impression on him. Alice and I laughed. Rosalie turned and smiled at me. "Besides, I don't think the virgin gets them." she teased.

"Hey." I said defensively. I didn't care that I was one and I wasn't ashamed that I wasn't having the same high school experience as my mother. But I would like not to be made fun of because of it.

Rosalie laughed. "I'm just kidding Izzie." She said as she walked over to me and hugged me. "Love you." She said before kissing my cheek.

I gave a smile. "Love you too, Rosie."

"Aw, have I told you how much I love those nickenames you guys have for each other? I want one." she said.

"You can be Allie." I suggested.

Alice smiled. "I like that." she said.

I sighed because Rosa was still holding me. "Rosalie, please let me go so we can finish shopping." I requested. She chuckled before kissing me on the cheek again then she finally let me go and we continued looking for something for me to get for my father.

XXX

We didn't find anything the first day we went out. Plus, Ms. Esme wanted us to come back in time for lunch. So we had to go back to home; by that I mean the cabin, which was what we were calling home for the next week and few days.

I was kind of disappointed we had to leave, but the girls said we will be back plenty of times before we go back home to Forks. So I was okay.

We ended up going the next day. I went into the hardware store while they were looking at make-ups. I finally found him a pocket with the Status of Liberty reflected into it. I figured he could use it to gut a small fish or something. It was about twenty-five dollars, so the "not cheap" thing wasn't a problem. I hoped he liked it. I'm sure he will.

I didn't bother looking for anything for my mother. She didn't even want me to come or didn't even say good bye to me. She clearly didn't want me to enjoy myself; so I wasn't going to get her anything to give the idea that I did.

I grabbed the other two before we left.

That was yesterday. Now I was sitting in the middle of the living room floor across from Edward. I was helping him with his Spanish paper. I don't know why he wanted to work on it now when it was even due when we went back to school, but a week after. He said he wanted a head start on it. I had to say, I was proud of him for that. But I also had to say that we on break and this would be the one time was I would suggest he hold it off for later.

I didn't say anything because he was working. I couldn't be upset for that. Besides, it was the first time, not including the meals his mom makes for us, were I've seen and hung out with him. It's a little funny that the only time we are hanging out is to do something school related.

I was looking at the research he started working on, when something poked me in both of my sides. "Eep." I reacted with a slight jump.

I was going to turn to see who it was, but Jasper was already next to me. I couldn't stop the smile; something else that hasn't stopped and I was happy it didn't. "Hey cutie." He greeted me. I couldn't believe he called me that. I tried to stop the blush, but I don't know how successful I was.

I smiled back. "Hi." I greeted in returned. He asked what we were doing, looking at Edward. Edward joked and told him he was teaching me Spanish. He was half right. I still don't know why he thought it would be a good idea to ask someone who barely knew the basic of Spanish to help with his paper.

I corrected him and told Jasper I was helping Edward with his homework. He agreed with me when he reminded Edward that it wasn't due for a few weeks and that we should be having fun on our trip.

"Today, I went into town with Rosa to get our parents some late Christmas presents. Then I beat Emmett three games to two in darts. Now I'm about to hit the slopes a few times before dinner." Jasper replied to the question Edward asked about what he did.

The last thing caught my attention. "Hit the slopes?" I questioned.

Jasper turned to me. "Snowboarding." He clarified. I think I knew that's what he meant; either that or skiing. He doesn't seem like the skiing type. It would explain why he was in his snow pants on and had a coat on his arm.

"I didn't see you pack your board." Edward said.

Jasper looked at his friend and shrugged. "It broke last year, remember?" he snowboards enough to have his own board? And it actually broke? I was wondered how it even happen. "I haven't had the time or the money to get a new one. I figure I can just rent one." he answered. Right, because he and Rosa wasn't super rich like Edward. They had better money than I did, but they were still around the same class as me.

"You know how to snowboard?" I asked him. Of course he did. He had to have a snowboard for a reason.

Jasper turned to me and nodded. "Since I was nine. Would you like to join me?" he asked.

"I don't really know how. I've never been." I admitted.

"I can teach you." He offered.

"Really?" I asked.

Jasper nodded. "Join me." he invited.

I would have said yes right away. I mean, time with Jasper, and it seems like we would be alone today. But then something reminded me I couldn't. I looked at Edward and remembered I was helping him with his paper. Though I thought it was silly to work on it, I couldn't just leave him. What kind of person would I be to leave someone who came to me for help? It wouldn't be nice. "I can't." I told Jasper

"Go." Edward said.

"Really?" I asked. It surprised me Edward told me I could leave. I thought he would want me to stay with him so he could get his paper out the way.

He nodded. "It's fine. We can work on it later." He told me.

Jasper tapped my arm for my attention. "Are you coming?" he asked. He smiled when I turned to him and nodded "Great. I'll wait here while you go get ready." He said. I nodded again before getting off the floor and going upstairs.

When I walked into the room, Rosalie was on her bed reading while Alice was on her laptop at the small desk in the corner. I walked over my suitcase. "Are you finished helping Edward?" Rosalie asked when she saw me ruffling through my clothes.

"Uh, kind of." I replied.

"What does that mean?" Alice asked.

I looked at her. "Well, we're done for today. I'm going to hang out with Jasper." I told them.

"Now?" Rosalie asked. I looked at her and nodded. She placed her book next to her and moved to the corner of her bed to be closer. "Not that I'm not happy that you're hanging out with my brother, but did you forget something?" she asked. I gave her a puzzled looked. What was she talking about? "You and I were going ice skating after you were done with Edward." She reminded me.

Oh, right. I hit myself in the forehead. I totally forgot about that. "Rosa, I'm so sorry. That completely slipped my mind." I told her.

"I can tell." She replied.

"I'll tell Jasper I can't hang out with him because I'm hanging out with you." I told her.

She sighed. "It's okay. Like I said, I'm happy."

"We can go tomorrow." I promised.

"Bella, we're going in town with my mom to go to that spa I was telling you about."

Dang it, I forgot that too. What was wrong with me? Was he attention from Jasper going to make me forget about everything else? Man, I hope not. I didn't want to choose Jasper over my friends. We weren't even dating, so I shouldn't be not hanging out with them to hang out with him. "Right. I will tell Jasper we can hang out later. "

"No, you won't." Alice said.

"Yeah, Bella, we have five more days to hang out. Go with Jasper." Rosalie said.

"Are you guys sure?" I asked.

"Bella, its fine." Rosalie said.

"Yeah, go." Alice agreed.

I smiled at them. "You two are the best." I said before I grabbed my snow jumpsuit. I put on over my jeans and sweater before zipping it up. I grabbed my gloves and hat before waving to the girls again and leaving the room.

"Ready?" Jasper asked as I walked back to where he and Edward was. I nodded. When I did, he put on his gray coat over his black turtleneck sweater. He looked so great in that sweater, that I didn't want him to put his coat on over it. But we don't want him to get sick either. He zipped it up and handed his hand out to me. I saw he had his black gloves on. I wondered when he got those or has he had them on the whole time. "Let's go." He said to me.

I smiled as I took it. "Bye Edward." I said to him. And thanks for letting me go. I wouldn't be able to thank him, Alice and Rosa enough. This will be the very first time Jasper and I will be alone together.

"See you when you get back." Edward said before Jasper and I left.

When Jasper and I left the cabin, we had to walk a block or two before we got to the slopes. Jasper talked to me and walked with his hand still attached to mine. I didn't know why. I think he just forgot to let go. I didn't know and I didn't care. I was happy with it.

About ten minutes later, we made it to the mountains. Some were bigger than others, but they were beautifully covered with snow. I never seen so much white and clean snow; like a sand of crushed diamonds, pearls and crystals. It looked like a painting.

"Ready?" he asked me. I looked at him and nodded. "Great. We have to rent some boards first."

"I wouldn't know what kind to get." I told him.

He chuckled. "I can get them." he looked at me. "May I?' he asked. I didn't know what he meant, but I nodded. He twirled me in a circle. When he was done, he smiled at me. "I was checking your type." He explained. Oh, that's what he was doing and I totally knew what that meant. But he did and that's why he say "may I", so I would think he was odd for spinning me randomly. "I think I got it. I'll be right back." he said before going to the rental shack.

A moment later, he can back with two boards. "Yellow for you, green for me." he said. I grabbed the board from him. It was heavier than I thought. "Let's get to the ski lifts." He said holding his hand out again. I took it. I wondered it my heart will ever stop flittering when I touch his hand, even gloved.

We rode the ski lift to the top of one of the smaller mountains.

"Did you determine which is you lead foot?" he asked.

"My-my what?" I stuttered out.

He chuckled. "I meant the foot you want to lead with." Right, of course. Man, this might be harder and take longer than I thought if I didn't even know the terms.

"I don't really know." I told him.

"I use side with the hand I write with. It's easier to steer." He said. "But you don't have to. Let's try both and see which one is more comfortable." He offered.

"Okay." I agreed. It made sense. It was like when kids learn to write. They switch back and forward between the right and left hand to see which on they liked better. "Okay, what now?" I asked.

"We have to strap your feet so you don't come off the board." He said. I nodded. "Hold on to me." he told me as he bended down. I held on to his shoulders as he strapped my feet to the board. I could help but wonder how hard his shoulders will be without the coat. I mean, I've seen them in just a t-shirt. I ever seen him shirtless – at which I had to control myself to stop from staring – he had pretty board shoulder. Were they so hard that one might hand their hand if they dared to hit him them? He looked up at me. "Tight enough?" he asked. I let go of the thought to I nodded at him. He smiled. "Good. We need it nice and tight." He said before standing up.

"Now what?" I asked. This is the first time I needed someone to take me step by step to do something. It was okay with me. Jasper was a good teacher.

"Now just…" he gestured to the hillside. "Go." He said.

"That's it? Just go?" I said in disbelief. That couldn't be it. It had to be more than just strap in and go.

He chuckled. "Yeah. Snowboarding is actually one of the easiest sports. You're going downhill so gravity does most of the work. You should probably remember some things. When you get ready to go down press down on your front foot, or lead foot, like you squashing a bug. When you're riding bend your knees a little. It will help with the balance. Also, don't lean forward." He explained. "So when you're ready." He stopped and gestured to the hill again. I turned to it. "Wait, I almost forgot." He walked towards me when I looked at him again. He took the goggles he rented along with the board from around his neck. He put them on my face. "To protect your face." He told me. "So." He nodded to the hill.

I looked towards the hill again. I gave a deep breath. "Right." I said. I had to hop to the edge of the hill because he made the straps really tight. I couldn't move my feet if I wanted to. I got to the edge and stood there.

"Need help?" he asked behind me. I shook my head. I made one more hop before the front of the board was hanging off the hill. I couldn't believe I was going to snowboard. I guess I could check that off the bucket list I didn't know I had. "Light pressure." He said when he saw me stalling. I nodded before doing what he said before. I acted like I was "squashing a bug", as he put it, with my right foot.

Before I knew it, I was moving forward. The gravity was pulling me down the hill. I was glad he gave me the goggles because the wind was hitting my face so hard. I was worried I might get cuts.

I kept my knees slightly bend like Jasper told me to. I tried not to lean forward, like he told me. I was proud of myself. I had to admit, I was doing better than I thought I would.

I was doing well until the front of the board hit something. It was good thing I was near the bottom of the hill when I did. Simply because when I did, I tripped and stumbled over, fell on my side and rolled the rest of the way down. When I was done rolling, I ended up on my back.

"Bella." I heard Jasper give a muffled yell. In a few minutes, I felt someone next to me. "Are you okay?" Jasper asked.

When he did, I started laughing. He sounded so worried and I would be too. I mean I fell in front of Jasper. That should be so embarrassing. I should be horrified. But I wasn't. Maybe because I didn't care. I didn't care if I looked silly. I had fun sliding down the hill. I even had fun falling over. "Belle?" he said again.

I let out a few laughs before answering. "I'm fine." I told him.

He chuckled. "Maybe I should teach how to turn so you can avoid trees and rocks." He said.

"So that's what that was." I chuckled. I was wondering what I tripped over. It must have been a rock.

"And how to fall." He added.

"There's a proper way to fall?" I asked him, chuckling more.

"Yeah, you don't get hurt." he said. "Let me help you up." He said before going to unbuckle the straps on my boots. When they were off the board, he grabbed my hands and pulled me up. "Wanna go again?" he asked. I nodded exactly before grabbing the board from the ground.

"Let's go." I said. This time I grabbed his hand and led him to the ski lift.

After we got off, he told me to try my left foot as the lead foot. When he strapped my feet in again, I hopped to the edge again before applying light pressure like before. I went down the hill again. I tripped over something else and fell again because he didn't show me how to turn. He said he wanted to know which foot I was more comfort with before showing me. I think I like the right foot better.

I was laughing again when he got to me. I wonder if he thought I was laughing to keep from crying or because I actually thought pain was funny.

Again, he undid the board from my feet before helping me up. We got on the ski lift again to get to the top of the hill. When I told him which foot liked better, this was the ride where he showed me how to turn. He told me to move my front foot left to go left and the back foot left to go right. I asked him to repeat it because I didn't really understand. He did what I asked. I got it before going down again.

I was doing well for the next few times we went down. I didn't even fall. He even said we should race. Of course he won. I won one but I knew he left me. I didn't care. I was having fun I didn't even know existed.

It wasn't until the last run where I forgot which foot to move to turn left. I moved my back foot when I should have moved my front one. Therefore I turned right when I wanted to turn left. When I did, I tripped over a log and tumbled down the rest of the way.

I leaned back so I wouldn't roll like Jasper told me. When I got to the bottom, I was on my back. "Ow." I giggled.

"Falling can't still be that funny." Jasper joked.

I nodded. "It is." I told him.

He chuckled. "Ready to get up?" he asked.

"Can't just lay here for a minute?" I asked.

"Not until you want strangers to board over her face."

"I might. It might be an improvement." I joked.

He chuckled. "Not likely. Come on, Belle." He said, before holding his hand out to me.

"Shoes." I told him, kicking my feet.

He chuckled. "Right." he undid my board from my boots like the other times. He grabbed my hands and pulled me off the ground. "Are ready to go again?" he asked. I nodded. "Wanna try something harder?" he asked. I gave a confused look. He pointed to one of the more larger hills. It wasn't the biggest one, but it was bigger than the one we were going down the last few runs.

"Sure." I said excitedly. The old Bella would be hesitant. She wouldn't have thought she could do it. Then again, the old Bella wouldn't have even done this to begin with. But this Bella couldn't wait for something a little harder. Nothing like a challenge.

"Really, you're sure?' Jasper looked at me as if he was waiting for me to say just joking.

"Scared?" I challenged with a smile.

He laughed. "No, I just thought you might be." He teased.

"Well, I'm not." I told him.

When I did, he moved out of my way. "Well, then lead the way." He said.

I grabbed the board I was using from the ground. "Let's go." I said before grabbing his hand and going towards the ski lift.

We walked towards the ski lift and got on like the last times we got on and held our boards on our laps so they wouldn't fall as we were lifted higher and higher. "You're really good. You learn quickly." Jasper said when we were up in the air.

I smiled as I moved the goggles to my neck like the last times we weren't riding the boards. "You're a great teacher." I told him. "Where did you learn how to do it so well?" I asked.

"Easy, SSX." He said. I gave him disbelieving look. "It's a game." He said.

"I know what it is." I told him. I knew someone who used to played it all the time, so I knew what he was talking about the snowboard, racing game. But that's not why I didn't believe him. I didn't believe him because no way someone can learn something from a game.

He chuckled. "Okay, maybe I didn't learn from it, but it was the reason why I learn. I taught myself when Rosalie and I use to visit our cousin in Canada every year." he explained.

"Well, you did a good job. You're good at it." I told him.

"Not to brag, but I did win first place in a small snowboarding competition for two years and second for year." he said.

I chuckled. "Impressive for someone not bragging." I teased. I giggled when he shrugged. Through, he was bragging, I was still impressed. I never won a competition, especially something like that. I turned away to look at the mountains and hills from point of view we were at. We were going to a higher mountain so we were higher up than before. It was so beautiful. It looked like a painting done from a bird-eye's view. I will never look at the slush we had in Forks the same way again. "So pretty." I expressed out loud.

"Yeah. It is a nice sight." Jasper said. "I would say it's not as pretty as you," I turned to him when he said that. He smiled. "But I don't want to be cliché." He said.

I smiled as I tucked some loose hair behind my ear. "It's still nice to hear." I told him.

He shook his head. "I want to be original." He said. I let him think for a minute. "I got it." he said. I nodded for him to continue. "How about it only complements you?" he said. I couldn't help but to giggle. Jasper Hale called me pretty. That was my second compliment from him. It had the same effect on me as the first time. I know I won't ever get use to that. I tried to stop the blushing, but again, I don't know how successful I was. At least this time, I can blame it on the cold. "May I do something?" he asked for the second time we got out here.

"What?" I decided to ask this time.

He chuckled. "I don't want to chance you saying no, so I kinda want for an answer before I tell you." He said.

What could it be? It couldn't be that bad, right? He wouldn't do anything to hurt me. That's when I realized it was all about trust. I trusted him. So I nodded. "Sure. I guess." I told him.

I was ready for him to say something or ask me anything. I didn't have a clue about what he might say. But what he did was something I never in a million years thought he would do.

He held his board with one hand before placing his other lightly on my cheek. Then, before I could even guess what he was doing, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.

Kiss me? He wanted to kiss me? I could play confident and new Bella all I wanted, but nothing would have prepared me for what was happening. When I woke up this morning, when I left Edward and Rosalie, I had no idea something like this was going to happen.

His lips were icy cold from the wind and coldness of the air, but so soft and sweet at the same time. For lack of a better comparison, it was like ice cream. I was tasting Jasper favored ice cream.

The kiss was better than I fantasized. Better than I could have even imagine. I just wish I knew how to response to it. I wished I knew what to do.

I decided that closing my eyes would be a get start. The whole thing took me by surprise, so they widened instead of closing. I didn't want to think about it and just lose myself in it, just like the music and the dance lesson. When I did that, I found myself leaning into him.

All things were going pretty well for something that was out of the blue like that. But then he did something with his tongue and I lost it.

I felt my breathe catch like it did on a plane or when Edward is driving. I thought all I had to do was wait for it to fix itself like it did anytime other time, but Jasper's lips were still against mine and my breathing never went back to normal. I don't know why, but it wasn't getting back to normal.

I pushed Jasper away for I was now losing more air in my lungs. "Belle?" he said to me in concern. "Are you okay?' he asked. I shook my head as I went on with the uncontrollable heavy breathing.

"I nee... I need… Jasper, I nee" I breathed, not being able to get the whole thing out.

"You need to get down?" he concluded. I nodded. "Okay, I think we're almost at the bottom can you hold out for a second?" he asked worried. I nodded. I wished I could stop it because I didn't want him to worry. But I couldn't. If I could I would, but I couldn't.

We finally got off the ski left and he led me to the snack area. He sat me down at one of the tables and told me to put my arms over my head. I did what he told me to. I was there for a minute or two before my breathing slowly went back to normal. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Jasper holding a bottle of water. "Here drink this." He said. I took the bottle from his hand and did what he said. "I also got this." He showed me a paper bag. "But it doesn't seem like to need it." he noted.

I shook my head before taking another gulp from my water bottle. "I'm okay." I breathed.

"Good, you scared me for a sec." he said. He said next to me. "What was that?" he asked me.

I shrugged. His guess was just as good as mine. Usually stuff like that happens when someone is running or doing something else that has their heart pumping. I wasn't doing anything for me to lose breathe like that. And I wasn't panicking until my breathing became irregular, so something like that was out. "I guess thin cold air plus no air equal incorrect breathing. Sorry." I told him.

"It's fine. Belle, may I ask you something?" he said.

I turned to him. "Sure." I said.

"Uh, if this is too personal, feel free to not answer. That wasn't your first kiss, was it?" he asked. When he did, I feel so much heat rush to my face, I felt like I could roast marshmallows on it, even in this cold air. I looked away from him and paid attention to the paper on the bottle like it was so intriguing; this water has no salt in it, wow. "Was it?' he asked again.

I gave a nervous chuckle. "Just say anything after it won't be added to anything before it." I said.

"So it was." He concluded. Still not making eye contact, I nodded. My cheeks got redder, if that was even possible. He gave a sigh. "Then I'm so sorry." He said. When he didn't, I couldn't stop myself from looking at him.

"What? Why?" I asked in confusion. What would he be sorry for? For kissing me? For wanting to kiss me? That was nothing to be sorry for. If I was brave enough, I probably would have done it way before now. I was the one who should be sorry because I freaked out like that.

"Your first kiss should be something romantic, not random like that." he explained.

When he said that, I couldn't help but laugh. I thought I might have been talking too highly of him when I use to say how nice he was. It was good to know I wasn't. "Jasper, trust me, I didn't mind. It was fine." I told him.

"Just fine?" he asked.

I looked at him looked at him when I understood the question. I smiled as I shrugged. "I don't really have anything to compare it to." I reminded him. Even if I did, I knew nothing would compare to kissing Jasper. It was the kiss of my dreams. Better than my dreams. It was just…great. Too great of any words my brain could come up. I had a lot of words for the word "great" but nothing seemed worthy enough. "But better than fine." I told him smiling.

He chuckled. "Maybe we should try again." he said. My smile widened and I nodded.

I saw him leaning in again. Since we were on the ground now, I would have let him lean into me, but then I remember what Edward said. Jasper didn't want a girlfriend right now. I know I said I was okay with that and I told myself I was going follow the advice the girls gave me. But if he kissed me again, I might confuse myself on what I wanted or what he wanted.

Bottom line, I wasn't ready for another kiss from him.

Before he could press our lips together, I leaned away. "But not now." I told him. He looked at me. I gave a smile. "I'm supposes to be beating you in a race down a bigger hill, remember?' I teased.

He smiled. "Not likely." He teased.

"Is that a challenge?" I said as if I was insulted.

"Only if you're ready. Are you?" he asked. I drank the rest of my water before tossing it in the nearest trash.

"Ready." I replied. "Let's go."

welcome to the bottom of the page.

oh, if anyone snowboards, i got that wrong. sorry. i never been. i learned from the internet.

okay, so this time, i got a lot of ExB comments. you guys know what it is. time to tell me what you think. keep the thoughts , a lot of people said they wouldn't mind seeing ExB if edward gets punished. i have to say, i think i agree with the fact he needs to be for his lies. so you guys got any suggestion of how he should be. may have Bella slap him one good time or something like that. i dont know. let me know what you all think.

okay, nothing else. i won;t go into this long thing about how much i love you all because you all know i do. so, thx for all the favs, alerts, and reviews. love you all.

Luv & Rockets