"Paul, get your ass out of bed right now or you're going to miss your own wedding!" I ripped the blankets off my friend and started smacking his feet. "Rachel sent me over here to make sure you were putting your tux on correctly. The shower is running. Get in there now before I call Rachel and tell her what a pathetic sight you are." Honestly, Sam should have known better than to plan Paul's bachelor party the night before the wedding. We were up half the night drinking and carrying on down at the lodge. I finally got Paul coherent enough to shower and dress. The other groomsmen arrived shortly after and we ate some of the food Emily had sent me over with. I was anxious to get to the church for many reasons. One, it was my job to make sure Paul was on time and I didn't want to cross my sister today. And two, I wanted to see Nessie. I'd missed our usual Friday night ritual this week because of Paul's party so it had been almost a week since I'd seen her. We talked on the phone every night but hearing her sweet voice only made me miss her more.

We arrived at the church with only a few minutes to spare. The other guys and I waited up front with Paul. I found it amusing that despite the imprinting Paul was still nervous about getting married. I wondered if I'd feel the same way when it was my turn. Jared, Sam, and I were groomsmen. We ushered the wedding guests to their seats as everyone started filtering into the church. I kept my eyes open for Nessie and the other Cullen's. I still hadn't seen them come in when the music started. I hurried back to the front of the church and lined up next to Jared. My father escorted Rachel down the aisle. Seeing her look so elegant in mom's wedding dress and veil I started getting choked up. For a moment I let myself think about how much I missed our mother and how she would have loved to have seen this. After the ceremony everyone headed to the only hotel on the reservation for the reception. It was then I finally felt relieved of my brother of the bride duties and went to find Nessie. Only Edward, Bella, Nessie, and Alice stayed for the dinner and dancing. Since they weren't eating I saw Edward had already pulled Bella out onto the dance floor. They actually looked very graceful together. Bella's change had done wonders for her left feet. Finally, I spotted Nessie over by the guestbook. She was writing a message for the happy couple when I came up behind her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She whirled around, surprised by my sudden appearance. She giggled and her right hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"Sorry I scared you" I said amused by her reaction. "You look breathtaking Ness, absolutely gorgeous." She really did. Alice had outdone herself. The deep blue dress showed off her curves elegantly and revealed just a hint of cleavage. She looked very grownup with her hair pulled up leaving only a few strands of curly bronze hair framing her face. She was wearing the necklace I gave her on her 4th birthday. Maybe she had grown more in the last week but she truly looked like a woman tonight.

"Thank you" she said blushing and looking down to the floor. "Rachel and Paul look so happy" she commented pointing towards the front of the room. They were just making their entrance and everyone applauded. We made our way to the Cullen's table and I sat with Nessie and Alice for a while. After the wedding party dances were over and dinner was served I asked Nessie if she wanted to dance with me. She agreed and we made our way to the dance floor. I took one of her hands in mine and placed my other on her hip. Her scent was exceptionally sweet tonight. I leaned in as if to whisper in her ear and breathed in deep. I looked back at the tables and saw Edward rolling his eyes at me. Bella had a big grin on her face. Great, now Edward turned his head to look at Bella and she tried to quickly wipe the smile off her face. The two of them were going to drive me crazy.

"Did you just smell me, Jake?" she asked curiously. "Ha, yes. Sorry. You smell really good today on top of being so beautiful it hurts" I admitted. She looked pleased. I pulled her a little closer and twirled her around. She laughed and buried her head in my chest, resting her cheek against me. She tilted her head back and whispered something in my ear so softly I barely heard it. Maybe she was hoping her parents wouldn't hear. It sounded like "you look really hot in this tux, Jacob." I felt a fluttering in my stomach. That was weird. I ate all my dinner... and Bella's dinner… and most of Edwards. What was that pounding noise? Was it Nessie's heart? No, I heard hers, it was fast but not like this. Boom! Boom! Boom! I heard again. Oh my God, that was my heart. I felt like it was beating out of my chest! Ness must have felt it too. She pulled back a little to look into my eyes. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to compliment you. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." She looked over my shoulder afraid to continue any eye contact with me. I was relieved she looked away. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't uncomfortable, I was speechless. Suddenly I could feel every inch of her that was touching me. Her fingers entwined with mine, her chest pressed up against me, the skirt of her dress brushing my thigh as we swayed to the music, her soft curls against my face, her shallow breathing in my ear. Oh crap. I was getting aroused! Double crap, Edward heard that and shot me a look like I'd never seen before. All the minds in this room and he still managed to pick up on that one thought. His brain must be tuned to me like radar. In three short strides he had crossed the room and was staring me down like he'd just caught me drowning a litter of puppies.

"Nessie, your Aunt Alice would like to take some pictures with you. Why don't you go find her? Now." Nessie looked confused but knew her father well enough not to ask questions. She hurried away to where Bella was standing who whisked her away from our sight. "Outside" he said. "Edward, calm down. I wasn't going to do anything." "Outside, dog." Okay, maybe it was best to just do as he asked. Edward followed me out the side door where we were sure to be alone. I took ten paces and turned to face my one man firing squad.

"You feel it now." It wasn't a question but I nodded. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. I couldn't believe it myself. "Okay. Here's what's going to happen. Bella, Alice, and I are going home. You will bring Renesmee home after the party. No stopping at your house, no walking on the beach. She WILL be home by midnight. Do you understand?" I couldn't speak. This is not exactly the reaction I anticipated. No shouting? No lecture? "This is what we agreed to, Jacob. She's almost an adult. She wants to be with you. I trust you're smart enough to respect my rules. You know I'll know if you break them." I nodded. "Yes, nothing more than kissing. No sex of any kind until we're married. I remember." I looked at the ground. Technically Edward was six years younger than I was now but he still made me feel like a child when we were discussing Nessie.

"Very well. I need to leave. I don't think I could bear to be within ear shot when you tell her about this new development. It will be bad enough trying to block out her thoughts when she returns to the house. I don't need to catch the live show too. I'll go get Bella so we can give our congratulations to Rachel and Paul."

He walked back inside and let the door close behind him. I leaned my head against the brick wall of the building and let the light drizzle of rain hit the back of my neck. I needed a moment to think. I don't know how long of a moment I took but I was startled when the hotel door opened again.

"Renesmee" I exclaimed when she stepped out into the alley. Her expression was a combination of confusion and fear. "What are you doing out here?" I didn't know what to say. Was this how I wanted to do this? In an alley? In the rain? At my sister's wedding? I needed to think of a better place where we could be alone. I promised Edward I wouldn't take her to my empty house or to the secluded beach. Didn't he realize where we were? The reception was in a hotel for goodness sakes! An entire building filled with beds! "I'm fine, Nessie. Better than fine. Come on, let's go back inside." I gave her a weak smile and took her hand in mine. We made our way through the crowd of people on the dance floor and out the main entrance to the lobby. Of course! The hotel had a small restaurant in the lobby. It was perfect.

"Will you come talk to me over here?" I gestured to the tables of the restaurant. All the lights were out for the night but I knew neither of us had trouble seeing in the dark. "Sure, but you're starting to scare me, Jake. What's going on?"

I sat her down in one of the wooden chairs and pulled up another so I was facing her. I took her hands in mine and rubbed circles into her soft skin with my thumbs. "Renesmee, when I saw you tonight dressed up so elegantly, I suddenly saw you in another- No, when we were dancing and you were so close to me I finally saw just how breathtakingly beautiful you are and I wanted very much to hold you like that forever. When you whispered in my ear I had to fight back the urge to kiss you, because you truly are amazing and I can't believe it took me so long to realize. Do you understand what I'm saying, Nessie?" My stomach was tied in knots. I didn't even understand what I had just said. I prayed for the ground beneath my feet to open up and swallow me whole.

"Are you saying you've changed your mind? About us not being ready?" Her heartbeat was accelerating and I saw a pinkish hue start to fill her face.

"Yes, hun." I smiled in relief at her words. "Can you forgive me for being so blind until now?" She smiled at me and nodded. A single tear fell from her eye. "Nessie, please tell me what you're thinking about all this. What do you want? I don't know what we're supposed to do now." She pulled her right hand from my grasp and placed it on my cheek. She used her unique gift to flood my mind with images from her life. She showed me the first time I held her on the day she was born, us hunting together when she was mere months old, watching me work on cars in my garage, falling asleep in my arms after watching countless movies, her lustful thoughts of me when she'd seen me without my shirt on, and most recently her nightly dreams of us being together. She took a deep breath and spoke to me through her vision. This is what I'm thinking of right now. I saw myself in her mind, slowly leaning closer to her and wrapping my arms around her tightly, kissing her passionately. She was showing me what she wanted.

"Oh, Nessie. Yes, sweetheart. Yes." I pulled her closer to me and inched my lips closer to hers. She parted them slightly in anticipation. I saw her eyes close and she sucked in a deep breath. When our lips met it was as if a piece of me that had long been missing was finally returned. She tasted sweeter than I could have ever dreamed and her lips were softer than silk. I pressed myself eagerly to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She kept her hand on my cheek and continued passing her thoughts to me. It was mind-blowing to see her feelings and desires for me escalate with each moment that passed. After what seemed like forever she took her gift away from me and moved her hands to the back of my head grasping at the roots of my hair. I allowed my hands to run up and down her back as I continued to massage her lips with mine. She broke the kiss to gasp for air and then softly whispered my name. I felt a new surge of electricity race through me and I attacked her neck with my mouth. I strung a line of kisses from her ear down to her shoulder and back up to her jaw line. She frantically searched for my lips and we connected again in a passionate kiss. Her warm breath against my face was exciting my senses. I moaned into her mouth when her hands wandered from the back of my head down to my chest."Your heart is beating so fast" she muttered against my lips. I kissed her again and then leaned my forehead against hers. "It's because you're so damn sexy, Ness" I replied under my breath. She grinned and brought her hands up to cradle my face. "I could say the same about you." I groaned and kissed her gently on the mouth. I pulled away slightly to gaze into her eyes, waiting patiently for my body to settle down.

It was exhilarating to finally kiss Nessie that way. Over the past few years I'd wondered how the transition from friend to lover would feel. I'd expected fear, awkwardness, and maybe some second thoughts. It was to my extreme delight that I felt none of those emotions when I was with her in those moments. I could see our future for the first time in her short life. I'd been so preoccupied with getting to this moment I never paid attention to how wonderful the prospects of forever would look. I was ready to start imagining our life together now that this moment had transpired so fluidly. My overconfident ego about our new relationship was quickly cut down to size.

As the realization of what had just happened sunk in Nessie broke my blissful trance. "I feel silly" she blurted out. She covered her face in her hands. "We just kissed! You've been my best friend, more like my sibling, since I was born." She must have seen the horror wash across my face because she blushed a deep red and quickly tried to clarify her words before I could speak. "I just mean you've watched me grow up… all the embarrassing things I've done and said when I was younger are just racing through my mind right now and I feel so exposed. I don't know how else to explain it." I didn't know what to say, but she wasn't ready for me to respond anyway. "Oh God, you were there when I walked in on Rose and Emmett to ask them to keep the noise down because I couldn't hear Sesame Street over all their moaning. You watched me playing dress up with Alice. You saw me hunt for the first time when I was covered in blood from head to toe. You watched Daddy try to explain to me where babies come from. I mean… just every stage of my life since I was a baby. Oh my God… you probably changed my diapers, didn't you! Don't you think that's twisted?"

Now I was blushing. Of course I'd changed her diapers. Blondie and I fought over who got to feed her, change her, and rock her to sleep. It felt perfectly natural at the time. I never once looked at her undiapered bottom thinking someday I wouldn't have to share it with Rosalie! I didn't know what to say to comfort her- to make her understand why all of those things she found embarrassing actually made us stronger. Somehow I knew it did. She went off on another tirade.

"I started having thoughts about you a while ago- romantic ones. I imagined what it would be like to be your girlfriend. I guess I just never realized that a relationship with you would naturally be built on the one we've had up to this point. There's no clean slate for us romantically. You know everything about me." I reveled in the honesty of her words. I understood what she meant about knowing every part of one another. I'd done some embarrassing things myself. Maybe that would give her the perspective she needed.

I took her hands in mine and gently squeezed them. "Renesmee." I said her name reassuringly. "All of those things you mentioned, that is what makes our bond so special. I love that I have known you since the day you were born. I have cherished you since the moment I laid eyes on you and I would have been devastated to have missed a single day of your life. The best relationships in this world are developed on a foundation of friendship. We are a stronger couple for having had the past six years together." I could see her face was starting to ease up and I could almost detect a smile emerging. Now I was going out on a limb. "You're not the only who's done some silly things. Will your feelings for me change after I remind you about the time I tried to cook my own meal in your house and set off all the smoke detectors? Or when Blondie served me food in a dog bowl and I ate it anyway? Or the countless times Edward's read my thoughts and decided to share it with everyone just to embarrass me?" How do those memories affect your new feelings for me?" I nervously waited for her response. She squeezed my hands and let out a soft sigh.

"Maybe you're right, Jake" she giggled. "All those things make me love you even more." I started to relax. Her big chocolate brown eyes were gazing at me so lovingly that I felt a need to kiss her beginning to stir inside of me. "Yeah?" I confirmed. "Do they make you want to kiss me again?"

"Hmm, maybe" she teased grinning from ear to ear. I leaned my forehead against hers.

"What about the time Paul stole all my clothes and I ran through the house naked while he and my sister laughed at me?"

"Oh, I remember that… don't forget I was laughing at you too, Jake." She took my face in her warm hands caressing my cheekbones with her thumbs. "But you're right, that memory of your backside definitely makes me want to kiss you." I chuckled as she crushed her lips to mine wiping the smile clean off my face. I encircled her small frame in my arms and pulled her tightly against me. I felt the fire igniting under my skin wherever she touched me. I kissed her passionately on her lips, her delicate neck, and the indent below her ear. Nessie ran her fingers through my hair and slid her fingertips down the back of my neck and under the collar of my dress shirt. A tingle of pleasure shot down my spine at her touch.

I heard someone approaching behind me and my body fought against the separation from Nessie as I turned to see who was there. "Way to go, little brother!" my sister cheered a few feet behind me. It took me a few seconds to catch my breath enough to respond. "What do you want, Rachel?" I asked softly not able to tear my eyes away from the beautiful girl in front on me.

"I just wanted to say goodbye! Paul and I are about to leave and I had to find you" she explained. "I didn't mean to interrupt your moment" she added with a whisper. I smiled at Ness, knowing the softness of Rachel's voice didn't impair her ability to hear. I turned and stood up, towering over my older sister. "Have a good time sis, I'm so happy for you" I said, wrapping her in a big hug. "I'm happy for you too, you deserve this" she replied. I hunched over so she could kiss my cheek and then she smiled warmly at Nessie. "Enjoy the rest of the party, you two. I'll call you when we get to Mexico!" Rachel ran off to Paul's waiting arms. He waved goodbye to us and I tried very hard not to think of Paul on a honeymoon with my sister.

I turned back to Nessie and my body was aching to pick up where we left off before the interruption. Instead, I listened to my brain. "Come on, I better take you home before I get us both in trouble with your dad." She looked a little nervous. "He knew this would happen when he went home didn't he?" "Yes" I replied. "It'll be okay, hun. I just promised to have you home by midnight."

I drove Nessie straight home, holding her hand in the car. I was determined to earn Edward's trust, no matter how long that took. "Can I see you tomorrow?" I asked her once we reached the Cullen's garage. "I can't wait" she replied. 
She kissed me innocently on the mouth and went inside.

Hey everyone! I hope you are enjoying the story! I also hope everything is ok with you guys due to this coronavirus going on, anyways, please like, comment and share!

~Love Nisha