A/N: Ok so I found my creative juices somewhere on the last 100 Monkeys tour, hence this new chapter! Yay! Thanks to the bed Beta ever, I threw he through a total loop and she still managed to get it read in a day! She's awesome! Thanks Kymz!

Ok this chapters song? Asimov's Beach Romance By Spencer Bell. I couldn't find this one online…if you want to hear it, my suggestion is visit the Spencer Bell Legacy project and get the Brain album. You won't regret it! www. spencerbellmemorial .ning. com/ (just remove the spaces!).

As always, hope you enjoy this chapter and please do let me know what you think!

JASPER POV

I carefully retraced my steps from the night before, only this time in my car. I found the bar easily enough, but the right and lefts and street names which were barely visible from the night before did little to help my hazy memory. No thanks to all the rounds customers had bought for me, either.

I went slowly, watching and smirking as even the elderly would honk and shake their fists. I'm sure plenty of unkind words were muttered, although the citizens of this fine small town were too polite to yell them out their windows.

As I drove I idly wondered what today might have in store for us. Bella had said before and she wasn't kidding, there wasn't much to see in this town. I'd already been exploring and finished seeing what it had to offer within a matter of hours.

I stopped suddenly as I came to the street her house was on, having almost missed it because of my preoccupation with the girl I was about to see.

Today would be the day, the day that everything would change. More than likely she would be like every other girl. We would have fun and then I'd be able to get her out of my head. I would finally realize that she was just like every other small town girl I came across, that she wasn't special after all.

That was the last time I thought about her not being special or want to forget about her or anything other than how beautiful she was.

As I pulled up to her house I saw she was sitting on a step reading. She still didn't notice me even after I got out of the car, or when I leaned up against the hood. Not even when I started to whistle a tune.

"Good book, I take it?" I called as I twirled my key ring around my finger.

She looked up with a start and looked at me then back to her book, then back to me, before glancing back longingly at her book. It was almost like she was trying to choose which she wanted more in that moment.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Hold on a sec," She said as she clumsily rose to her feet and went back inside. She emerged with a bag and two bottles of water.

I watched her as she came closer and closer to me. The closer she got, the closer I wanted her to be. Her long chocolate brown hair blew in the slight breeze. I watched as she smiled through the veil her hair made on her face, as she tried to push it out of the way. She wore very little makeup and she really didn't even need what she had on. Beautiful. I noticed short denim shorts (not short enough for my liking) and a long sleeved while v neck shirt. She looked like...perfection. There's no other word to describe it.

"Hi," she said handing one of the bottles to me. "It's water, something tells me you aren't used to drinking water." She smiled and stood there looking a little awkward

"Thanks," I said as I played with the bottle, switching it back and forth between my right and left hands. I had nothing to say. This wasn't exactly starting out as I'd planned, she was not supposed to be holding my attention like this. I was supposed to be proving she wasn't special to me.

"Soo," she said, drawing out the word. "Are we going to go exploring, or did you just want to stand here all day?"

I pushed myself off the hood of my car and walked to the passenger side. "Right, exploring and adventures it is," Bella followed me around and seemed a little surprised when I held the door open for her.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, there aren't very many adventures to be had here in Forks."

"That's ok, we'll make our own." I smile at her and raised an eyebrow suggestively. I didn't miss the look she gave me before I closed the door, she swallowed heavily and closed her eyes. Looks like I was having the same effect on her as she was having on me. Today certainly was going to be interesting.

We drove for a bit. Every once in a while she would say "There's the diner," or "There's the school'. There really wasn't much to see but it was nice to talk and joke with her. Soon our conversations became more relaxed and less awkward, they even started to flow pretty smoothly.

Just when I thought I really had seen all there was to see I spotted a clearing in the brush ahead.

"If I took that path, where would it take us?" I asked

She shrugged. "The water most likely, like everywhere else really."

Impulsively and without warning I turned down the bumpy dirt road, knowing I would regret it later when I looked at my dirty and bruised car. Bella glanced at me with pursed lips but didn't say anything.

The trees finally parted and we came out onto a sandy drive with a perfectly secluded beach. I parked and got out. Bella followed watching me as I walked to the water. As I walked I started to remove my t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Bella called after me.

I turned to face her and threw my shirt, which she barely caught.

"Going for a swim," I replied, beginning to take one shoe off and dropping it in the sand.

"You're insane. That water is freezing!" She was following me, arms crossed tightly around her chest.

"We said we were going to have an adventure didn't we?" I removed the other shoe before moving closer to the water.

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind!"

"Oh?" I said as my fingers undid my belt buckle and then made quick work of the button and then sliding the zipper on my jeans all the way down. "What is an adventure for you? Reading at the park instead of the front stoop or at work?" I asked before sliding my jeans down and stepping out of them. I stood before her in nothing but my tight boxers for just a moment before throwing my jeans at her too and then giving her my sideways smile and running for the water,

I do realize how big of a risk I was taking. I just insulted her, however playful, while she had access to all of my clothes. She could have laughed at me. She could have taken my clothes and my car and made me walk back to town in nothing but my underwear. But she didn't.

I took a dunk under the water and when I came up, it was just in time to see Bella look all around her before looking skyward, muttering something to herself and then peeling off her long sleeved shirt and then her shorts, leaving her only in a white bra and boy short panties. I smiled to myself but pretended not to notice.

I heard her swim up behind me and I turned around to look at her.

"Oh my god! This is INSANE! It's freezing in here!" She complained.

I reached for her and caught her by the wrist drawing her closer to me. "Come're. I'll keep you warm." I crooned as I wrapped my arms tightly around her. She flinched and I loosened my hold. "Sorry."

"No, no it's ok," she said cozying up again. "I just hurt my back is all." That's when I noticed the purple splotch of her upper right arm.

"How'd you do that?" I asked tracing it's outline with my fingertips.

"Just clumsy," She said smiling at me. That was when an older, yellowing bruise on her shoulder caught my eye.

I frowned and traced its outline too. "And this one?"

"Really clumsy," She cleared her throat and tried to pull away.

"Where'da think you're going?"

"You aren't holding up to your promise very well, I'm still freezing."

"Aww darlin', I'm sorry. Give me another chance?"

When she didn't pull away again I decided that was as much affirmation as I was going to get. I pulled her closer and wrapped my arms around her more carefully this time. She was pressed right up against me. I felt every inch of her body and the small noise she made in the back of her throat told me she could feel every inch of me as well.

I leaned in to kiss her shoulder letting my tongue dart out just a little bit to lick at the bruise that coloured it. When she let out a little moan and wrapped her legs around my waist I took it as an invitation and trailed my tongue slowly up her shoulder to the nape of her neck where I licked and kissed and very lightly nibbled. It was my turn to moan as she got impossibly closer, brushing against all the right places. I'm not a moaner usually, not this soon into the game anyway, and I regretted it instantly when she suddenly stiffened in my arms and started to pull away.

"It's getting late. We have to work. We should get going." She was sputtering so fast, she barely had a second to breathe.

"Bella, what happened? Did I hurt you again?" I asked, confused at the sudden change. I tried to maintain my grip while she continued to pull away.

"What? No, No. It's just getting late. We really should get going. The drive and you don't have your guitar and I'm all wet, I mean, I have to get ready for work."

"Bella, seriously, we have plenty of time." I tried once more, unsuccessfully to pull her back to me.

She turned back to face me, "Please Jasper, please just let me go." That's when I saw that look in her green eyes. It was that empty look, the one from the first night. I was so startled I let go over her and could only watch as she swam away from me to the shore.

I swam around a bit trying to calm myself down before swimming to the shore. The first thing I saw was my clothes folded neatly and placed near the shore. At first I thought she had left. As I dressed I saw her sitting on a dried up piece of driftwood further down the beach. After I managed, with some difficulty, to get my pants on I started to walk toward her.

She didn't look at me as I approached or as I took a seat next to her, she just looked out toward the water, looking at something, or nothing, in the distance.

"Could you do me a favor?" She asked.

"Sure," I said, trying to figure out what she was looking at.

"Could you, maybe, put your shirt on?"

I laughed and looked over at her. She was still looking out at the water.

"Do I intimidate you?" I asked as I shrugged into my shirt.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

"Soo," I started to say, but she cut me off.

"I'm ready. Are you ready? To go, I mean?" She stood up and started to walk to the car. We were not going to discuss it.

We drove back to her house, talking only for directions and polite courtesies. It was a very different drive from early that morning. She played with her water bottle, drinking every once in a while, looking everywhere but at me. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head.

I pulled up beside her house and she got out right away. I rolled the window down and called after her.

"Bella?" She stopped and bent to look in the window.

"Yeah?"

"Want me to come get you and we can walk together?"

"It's cool, I think I can find my way." She started to walk away again.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?" She bent down once more.

"We're ok, right?"

She smiled an uneasy smile and nodded. "Course, see you later."

I watched her walk up her walkway toying with the water bottle she still carried. She looked back and gave me a sad smile before going slowly and timidly into her house.

I was fucked. My plan for the day had totally and completely failed and I was more interested and intrigued by her than ever.