Jacob smiled as he glanced over at Renesmee. She was concentrating on her driving, her first time in the dark. They had spent the last few hours working on repairs in his garage, well he had done the repairs and she had kept him company. After a little bit of instruction, she already able to identify most of the tools he needed and she could locate them when he asked her for them.

He didn't know why he was so surprised by her. She could accomplish anything she set her mind to. She was great at driving, helping him in the garage, and tomorrow she would excel in her new drawing class. She was nothing short of amazing.

As he looked at her now, he wondered if she was still stressing about what had happened with Embry earlier. They had discussed it extensively, but he knew she tended to overthink everything and no matter how much he tried to convince her otherwise, she continued to blame herself for Embry's bad behavior.

Jacob reached over to touch her now, running his fingers through her hair. She didn't object to him breaking their "no distractions" rule. In fact, she didn't seem to notice his touch at all. "Nessie..."

She sighed deeply and reached up to pull his hand from her hair. She pressed a kiss to the back of his hand and squeezed it gently before letting him go and returning her hand to the steering wheel.

Jacob watched her as she pulled up to her parents' cottage and turned off the engine. She squeezed the steering wheel tightly and stared out into the darkness. He could see her jaw clenching and unclenching as stared up at the night sky. When he heard the hitch in her breathing, he knew the tears were about to fall.

He reached over to unbuckle her and gathered her into his arms. He pulled her across his lap and let her cry on his shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong," he begged. She normally wanted to discuss everything to death, so her silence was disturbing.

Renesmee shook her head against him, refusing to speak or look at him. So he did the only thing he could, he held her tightly, kissed her tears away, and waited for her to confide in him.

He slipped his hands into her hair, smoothing away her pain and as he quietly shushed her cries. "I wish you would talk to me."

She finally began to settle down, her crying lessened as she buried her face in his neck and breathed in his scent. Her breathing returned to normal, so he pulled away from her, trying to see her face.

Renesmee gazed down, nervously wiping her her eyes. "I must look awful," she whispered.

Jacob rubbed her back softly and smiled sweetly. "You never look awful to me."

She gave him a doubtful smirk and shook her head. "It's late...I should get inside," she sighed as she reached for the door.

Jacob reached for her hand and pulled her close. "Not until you tell me what's got you so upset."

Renesmee sucked in a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I just feel like...I keep making mistakes with you. And I'm just not what you want. I just don't think I'll ever be able to make you happy," she finally blurted.

Jacob smiled widely as he tilted his head to look at her. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm serious..." she whimpered, her voice full of sadness.

He lifted his hands to cup her face, his eyes searching hers. "In case you hadn't noticed...I am happy. This is my deliriously happy face," he punctuated his statement with a big goofy grin and kiss to the tip of her nose.

"But..." she protested.

"Uh uhh, Renesmee," he pulled his hands from her face and wrapped them around her, trying to make her feel as secure as possible. "You're not perfect, but you know what? Neither am I. And anyone that can deal with me and my temper...you got some major skills when it comes to handling me."

"I do?"

"When you knew I was falling behind on my work, you made me work, even though you knew I'd be mad at you. You know how to keep me from losing my cool and you know what do when I'm acting stupid...like trying to fight my friends."

"Yeah..." she agreed, a small smile started to form on her lips.

"And regardless of what you may think...you're doing great at putting up with my crazy friends. This has been a lot of changes for us in a short amount of time. There's bound to be some issues, but Nessie..." he clenched his jaw and held her chin gently in his hand.

"I truly believe that you and I can get through anything...together. Lean on me, don't push me away. And I promise to do the same for you."

A lump formed in her throat and she didn't want to cry again, so she just nodded quickly. She threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly, finally feeling more at ease. "You have my heart, baby. And you always will," he whispered against her neck.

They pulled apart slowly, Jacob wanting to be sure she was really okay. Her smile told him she was feeling better, but he wanted to hear her say it. "You have my heart, too...all of it, Jake," Renesmee sighed, pressing his hand to rest over her heart as evidence.

Jacob leaned forward and kissed her gently, absently letting his hand over her heart lower to her breast and she gasped in response. He snatched his hand back like it was on fire. "I'm so sorry," he breathed, his face etched with regret.

Renesmee smiled shyly. "I'm not mad, Jake. It just surprised me a little..." she replied honestly.

"I shouldn't have done that," he reassured her. "It won't happen again...I promise," he stammered, holding his hands away from her body as proof.

She looked deeply into his eyes and placed his hands back on her body. "This..." she paused to guide his hands over her, "this is all yours. You don't have anything to apologize for."

His eyes went dark with desire, not from touching her, but from the words she spoke. It was a complete turn on to hear her say these things to him. Every nerve ending in his body seemed to be super charged with a passion he had never felt before.

Jacob pulled her as close as he possibly could, burying his face in her neck, needing a moment to get his head together. It was terrifying to feel this way for her. He couldn't lose control with her or touch her the way he wanted to without going too far. But he also couldn't bear to let her feel like this was rejection either.

"Don't you want me?" she murmured into his ear.

"Oh yes," he breathed. "But not here."

Renesmee glanced toward her house and frowned. "I guess you're right," she sighed.

Jacob growled in frustration as he tore himself away from her neck and took one last look at her before opening the car door, gathering her in his arms and lifting her out. She looked peaceful again and he was thankful she didn't get upset that he had to cut their makeout session short.

"You know I can walk, right?" she teased as he cradled her against his chest.

"Oh you just hush now," he teased right back. "Just let me enjoy this."

She squeezed him tightly around his neck and sighed into his ear, "I love you, Jacob."

He nearly dropped her, but recovered by setting her on her feet in front of her door. She looked up at him expectantly as an enormous smile spread across his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but they were both startled when Bella yanked the front door open and found them there.

"Did you two get lost?" she huffed, glancing at her watch.

"No...just lost track of time," Renesmee explained wistfully, never taking her eyes off of Jacob. She grabbed a hold of his t-shirt and tried to pull him inside with her, but Bella was having none of it.

"What do you think you're trying to do, young lady?"

"Mother!" Renesmee grumbled. "Jacob's gonna come in for a little while..."

Bella removed her daughter's grip on his shirt and held him at bay with an outstretched hand. "I really don't think so," she asserted, much to Renesmee's dismay.

"Bella, can I just say goodnight?" Jacob asked earnestly, hating that he didn't get to respond to her declaration of love.

Bella gave Jacob a not-so-gentle nudge out the door and closed it in his face. "Goodnight!" Bella called from the other side of the door.

Jacob gripped the doorframe intensely, determined not to leave Renesmee just yet. He knocked on the door loudly, Bella looking even more perturbed than ever when she pulled it open. "Jacob..."

"I'm sorry, Bells. I just have to do one more thing," he told her as he pushed past her.

"Jake! What are you doing?" Bella fumed as he reached for Renesmee and pulled her into his arms.

Jacob ran his hands through her hair, tipped her head back, and whispered, "I love you too, Nessie...so much." Then he pressed a searing kiss to her lips as she held him tightly.

Bella stood at the door, tapping her foot loudly, her patience running thin. "Jake..."

He breathlessly broke off the kiss, gave her a quick squeeze, and backed away slowly before Bella could drag him out. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"She has a class tomorrow," Bella reminded him, still holding the door open.

"Mom...not until 1," Renesmee argued.

Bella tugged on Jacob's shirt, "Out you go!"

"Sorry, Bella," he smirked as he backed out the door and she closed it once again.

"Mom! I can't believe you were so rude to him!" Renesmee exclaimed as she stomped off to her room.

Bella stood there shaking her head, before opening the door once again and finding Jacob still standing there. "Go home, Jake."

He nodded happily. "She loves me, Bella," he gushed. "She said she loves me."

Bella couldn't help but smile. "Want a ride home?"

"Nah," he replied, still beaming. "I'm gonna run off some energy. Good night!" he called as he disappeared into the night.
..........
Bella sighed as she closed the door. She found it nearly impossible to be angry with him, but this seemed to be getting really serious, really fast. And she wanted some answers.

"Renesmee," Bella called as she knocked on her bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

"Go away, mom."

Bella opened her daughter's door and placed her hands on her hips. "Excuse me?"

Renesmee was sprawled out across her bed, head buried in her phone. "I'm sending Jacob a text to tell him how sorry I am for how you were behaving..."

"If you don't put that phone down and talk to me right now, then you can send him another text explaining why you're grounded...for two weeks."

Renesmee sat up immediately, setting her phone to the side and glaring at her intensely. "Please don't do that," she begged through clenched teeth.

Bella approached her daughter, reaching for her face. "Have you been crying?"

Renesmee glanced away, trying in vain to wipe dried tears from her cheeks. "It's not Jacob's fault."

Bella sat on the bed next to her and waited for a better explanation. "I didn't assume it was."

Renesmee pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself. "Have you ever felt like you just couldn't do anything right?"

Bella wrapped a protective arm around her daughter and sighed. "Of course I have. But I don't know why you would. Is that how Jacob feels about you?"

"Of course not!"

"So why are you so down on yourself?" Bella asked softly.

"I guess I'm not now. Jacob talked to me and I feel better. But that's what I was crying about. Well that...and what happened with Embry."

"What did he do?" Bella quizzed, knowing full well how ornery the wolf pack can be.

"Did any of the guys in the pack ever have a crush on you?"

Bella furrowed her brow and laughed lightly. "That's a strange question."

"I was just wondering..."

Bella nodded, noticing how preoccupied Renesmee was. "Well Jared was always a huge flirt. And Jacob told me that he thought Quil liked me a little too much. Most of those guys are harmless though. Did something bad happen?"

"Just a misunderstanding," Renesmee explained, still feeling some regret. "I think Embry was just messing around, but Jacob said he was trying to look down my shirt. Don't tell dad," she quickly added.

"I won't," she assured Renesmee. "What did you do?"

"I busted his lip open...on accident!"

Bella laughed, "Good! Little pervert should know better. I bet Jacob wanted to kill him."

"Yeah, but I feel guilty because it was my fault," Renesmee explained.

"I really doubt that, honey. Those boys are all girl crazy, but if they're smart, they'll leave you alone. Unless they want to incur Jacob's wrath."

"I love that Jacob is so protective, but I don't like it when he fights with his friends. Those guys are like his family and that's important."

"Well...from the way Jacob was acting when he left, I would bet he thinks you're more important. He's really crazy about you."

Renesmee smiled widely and wrapped her mom in a hug. "Thanks, mom."

Bella beamed as she hugged her back. "Feel better now?" she asked when they ended their hug.

"Am I really grounded?" Renesmee asked, hoping she wasn't.

Bella stood to leave the room and told her, "No...but if you miss your curfew again, you will be."

Renesmee gave a sigh of relief as she found her phone and saw a sweet text from Jacob.

Miss you already, baby ♡♡♡