Jax slowly opened his eyes, closed them, and then quickly snapped them open again as he realized it was morning. Jax glanced over at his clock. Exactly two minutes before his alarm was set to go off. He turned it off, mystified at how he could usually wake up so early. Usually, that is. He hardly ever overslept like he did on Sunday.

Jax turned to his side and propped himself up on his elbow, watching Chloe sleep. For the past three mornings, he had done exactly this. He would wake up, and then spend about fifteen minutes watching Chloe sleep before he eventually dragged himself out of bed. Some mornings, he just couldn't believe what was before his eyes. He couldn't believe that Chloe was with him, in his bed. If someone had told him last week that he and Chloe would be this close, as in how lovers are close, he would have told them they were crazy.

But here she was, sleeping peacefully beside him, dressed in her cute little white tank top, looking like an angel.

Jax hated to leave her. He thought about putting work off, but that would only mean more work later, and less time to spend with Chloe.

But she was so beautiful. What he really wanted to do was forget work and kiss those rosy lips of hers. But Jax knew if he woke her up, Chloe wouldn't let him leave the bed, and then he would eventually give in and no work would get done at all.

So after watching Chloe for a while, he reluctantly got himself out of bed. He walked over to Chloe's side, placing a feather-light kiss on her forehead, then headed over to his dresser to change into his running clothes.

Chloe smiled in her sleep, lost in some childhood memory that took form as a dream.

"First one to the pool gets dibs on the diving board!!"
"Hey! No fair, Jax! You got a head start! You can't do that!"
"Haha! Slowpoke!"
"Jax, you cheater! You better come back here or I'm going home!"

Chloe rolled over. "You cheater," she mumbled as she stretched out on the bed. When she realized she was alone, she woke up from her dream. She frowned to see that Jax had already left, but smiled when she saw the surprise he had left behind: a single red rose and a note, just like yesterday morning. Chloe picked the note up and read it.

Dear Chloe,

I really had to fight the urge to stay in bed with you, but alas, duty calls. I'll be thinking about you and missing you all day. I'm going to take you out to Abbott's tonight, how does that sound? I love you so much, Chloe. I can't believe how lucky I am to have you in my life. I'll see you later today.

Love,

Jax

P. S. You look incredibly sexy in that tank top.J

Chloe smiled at his note and laid back down on the bed, holding the note close to her heart.

Valerie had thought it was odd when she didn't hear from Chloe for a couple of days. Usually when this occurred, Chloe was busy with work, and Valerie understood her daughter had a very demanding job. But Chloe had told her mother recently that she was finally caught up on her latest designs, so what in the world was keeping her so occupied?

When she picked up the phone and called her, she got the machine. Following Chloe's outgoing message were a long series of beeps, indicating that it had been a while since she had checked her messages.

Valerie's natural instinct was to worry, because she was a mother and that is what mothers did: worry about their children.

But she also knew that if something bad had happened or if she was missing, Jax or Alexis or the Quartermaines or somebody would have called. Chloe was obviously just very busy.

And when Chloe finally reappeared, walking into her mother's house Wednesday morning, Valerie knew exactly what it was. She could see it written all over her face. Whatever it was, it had something to do with Jax.

Valerie was all too familiar with that look on Chloe's face. She remembered the first time she saw it. Chloe was twelve and sitting on her bed, not knowing that she was being watched. Chloe had been holding Jax's school picture, kissing it and telling the picture, as if it were Jax himself, that she loved him.

Valerie noticed that same expression the summer she and Jax went to Australia together. She remembered picking them up from the airport, and Chloe was so obviously in love with that boy.

And it was definitely the same expression she wore all week after their high school prom.

And she had that look now. Only Jax could make her smile that like.

"Hi, sweetie," Valerie said as her daughter joined her in the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom. Ooo, you made cinnamon rolls!" Chloe sat down at the table and reached for one of the rolls. She ate it quickly, licking every bit of icing off her fingers after she was done.

"So what brings you by, sweetie?"

"I need an excuse to visit my mother?"

Valerie laughed. "I'm glad to see you. I've been worried about you. I haven't heard from you in a couple of days."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Just got wrapped up in things. I did get your message though." Chloe looked over at her mother and noticed that she was grinning at her. "What? Do I have icing on my face?"

"Is it a man?"

"What?"

"Is it a man that has been keeping you so occupied lately?"

Chloe grinned. "Yes."

"Oh, well then I guess that explains why Jane has not heard from Jax in the last few days either."

Chloe's jaw dropped. "Mom! How did you know I was talking about Jax?!"

Valerie just smiled. "Chloe, I'm your mother. I know how you feel about Jax. And you didn't even need to tell me that. I could just tell from the way you two looked at each other."

"Mom, I am so incredibly in love with him! I mean, I've always been, but I never thought he felt the same way about me. But he does. Uncle Herbert was right all along."

"Have you told him yet?"

"No. Jax and I want to wait until he gets back from Europe. I just can't believe how happy I am." Chloe rested her chin in her hand and looked off in the distance, a smile on her face.

Valerie felt happy too. The one thing she wanted for her daughter was to see her happy, and she had always known in her heart that she and Jax would end up together.

"Game, set and match! I win!" Chloe cheered triumphantly as she jumped up and down on the Quartermaine's tennis court.

"That was clearly out!" Ned complained on the other side of the net.

"It was so not out!"

"It was out, Chloe!"

"Oh, you're just jealous because I won! Okay fine, tell you what. We'll play again, all right? And maybe this time, you can beat me!"

"No, that's okay. I think I'm going to call it quits anyway. I'm tired." Ned walked over to the bench and sat down. He picked up his water bottle.

"You do seem awfully sluggish today, Ned. Did Alexis wear you out or something last night?" Chloe teased.

"And you're awfully peppy today. It must be a relief to finally release all of the sexual tension with Jax, huh? And just the mentioning of Jax's name and sex makes her face turn bright red!" Ned teased.

Chloe looked at Ned shyly. "So you know?"

"Jax told me. I have to say, Chloe, I really don't know what took you guys so long."

"Believe me, Ned, no one has asked that question more than myself. All I know is that I am so happy and I am so in love."

"You were meant for each other."

"Ned, the three of us grew up together. Did you ever think back then that we would be together? Because looking back, I wouldn't have believed it! But everyone keeps saying that they always knew it would happen between us."

"Well, I was away at boarding school for most of that time, but you know, I can remember those summers when we were kids. You and Jax were inseparable. I always knew that there was *something* with you two."

"Really?" Chloe smiled.

"Yeah."

~Summer 1980~

"Don't put too much water in it! It'll pop!" Chloe cautioned as Ned filled a balloon up with water at the kitchen sink.

"It's not going to pop; I know what I'm doing."

Ned gently plucked the balloon off the spout and handed it to Chloe for her to tie. Chloe then carefully put the balloon in a garbage bag with the others.

"Hello, pumpkin," Chloe's father walked into the kitchen and patted her on the head.

"Hey, Daddy."

"What on earth are you kids doing?" he asked when he saw they were filling up balloons with water.

"We're making water balloons," Ned said.

"We're gonna get Jax, Daddy!" Chloe said excitedly. "He's waiting in his back yard with his mom's garden hose, ready to soak us. But Ned and I are on to him, and we're going to ambush him! And he thinks he's going to surprise us! Ha!"

"Yeah, it's going to be fun!" Ned added.

"No, no, kids, you don't put water in balloons."

"But, Daddy," Chloe started to protest.

"You put shaving cream in them!" her father finished.

Ned and Chloe looked at each other. "Ooo!" They said in unison.

"Can we use your shaving cream, Daddy?" Chloe asked hopefully.

"Of course."

"You will do no such thing," Chloe's mother said, standing in the doorway. "You kids are not going to put shaving cream in balloons. It's a waste of money. Sam, why did you even suggest that?"

"Oh, Valerie, can't you just let the kids have some fun?"

"Please, Mom!" Chloe begged.

Valerie sighed. Then she opened the cabinet and took out a can of whip cream. "Here, you can put whip cream in them. Shaving cream is liable cause someone's eyes to burn." Valerie then walked out of the room silently, not even looking at her husband.

"Have fun, kids," Chloe's father said rather quickly, then stormed out the back door and hopped into his truck.

"We're really going to *cream* Jax now!" Chloe squealed.

"Yeah!" Ned said excitedly. "He won't know what hit him!"

Jax double-checked the nozzle on the hose, making sure it was set to "hard spray". He laughed mischievously under his breath. "This is going to be good." He wondered what was taking Ned and Chloe so long. He hoped they would hurry up, or otherwise, he would have to give up his game.

Jax peered around the house and looked towards Chloe's driveway. No sign of them still. Where were they?

And suddenly, he felt something cold hit his head. Then it hit his back. In a matter of seconds, his shirt was soaked. He turned around, seeing Ned and Chloe, laughing as they pelted him with water balloons.

"Oh it's on now!" Jax screamed as he squeezed the handle on the hose and started spraying them. But then, the water stopped.

"Haha!" Chloe laughed, and Jax looked at her, running away after she had turned the water off.

"You are so dead, Chloe!" Jax shouted, turning the water back on. Jax had the advantage of being a fast runner. He quickly caught up with her, drenching her to the bone. Her dress clung tightly to her body.

"Stop, Jax!" Chloe ran away, laughing and yelling at the same time.

But Jax was relentless. He chased her all over the back yard, soaking her more and more. Chloe's hair was totally wet, and she looked like she had just fallen in a pool of water.

"Stop, stop, stop, Jax!" Chloe fell to the ground, covering her face as Jax sprayed her. "STOP! YOU GOT WATER IN MY EYE, DUMMY!"

Jax immediately stopped spraying her and put the hose down. "I'm sorry, Chloe! I didn't mean to, it was an accident!"

"It's really hurts. You sprayed it right in my eye!" Chloe whined. She rubbed her eye, and then blinked it several times.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe! I didn't mean to spray you in the face! I won't do that again!"

Chloe looked at him and smiled. She grabbed the hose. "SUCKER!" Chloe laughed as she sprayed Jax, getting him just as wet as she was. Chloe chased him all of the yard, and eventually, Jax ran to front yard near the street, where the hose wouldn't reach.

"Haha! Looks like the hose won't reach that far!" Jax teased.

Chloe just smiled, because Jax didn't know that Ned was behind him.

Jax turned around, wondering what Chloe was grinning at, and as he did, Ned threw a cream-filled balloon right in his face. And then, he hit him again. Whip cream ran all down his face and onto his shirt. Ned threw a few more water balloons at him until he ran out of them.

Jax sat down on the ground, completely soaked and creamed. He looked up to see Ned and Chloe looking down at him and laughing.

Chloe walked over to Ned and rested her elbow on his shoulder. "Nice work, cuz."

Ned grinned smugly. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

"I'M GOING TO GET YOU TWO!" Jax got up from the ground and Ned and Chloe frantically ran away. Ned was able to outrun Jax, but Chloe wasn't. Jax finally caught up to her, throwing his arms around her and pushing her to the ground. Then, he tickled her, mercilessly.

The harder she laughed, the more Jax would tickle her. "Ned! Save me, Ned!"

Ned just watched from a distance, laughing as hard as Jax was as he continued tickling her.

Chloe laughed, remembering that summer day. "Ned, we were like, ten years old! You couldn't have possibly seen something between us then!"

"No, but, now that I think about it, there were signs. He was always, always doing *something* to torture you!"

"Yes, this is true! Chasing me, getting me soaked, tickling me. Yeah, you're right, he must have really liked me a lot!"

"There you are."

Chloe and Ned looked up to see Jax.

"Hey," Chloe said with a huge smile.

Jax walked over to her and kissed her on the lips. Jax and Chloe kissed for a while. Ned eventually cleared his throat on purpose, trying to get back their attention. They stopped kissing and grinned at Ned sheepishly.

"What are we talking about?"

"We're talking about that summer you got us drenched with your mother's garden hose!" Chloe said.

Jax laughed. "Oh yeah, I remember that summer. And then my parents got mad at me because the water bill went up four dollars. Well, are you getting hungry?"

"Yeah. I just need to take a shower, get changed, and then we can go."

"Where you two going?" Ned asked.

"We've got a date," Chloe said proudly. "Jax is taking me out to Abbott's tonight."

"Wow, have fun."

"Well, you ready?" Jax asked Chloe.

"Yeah." Chloe got up from the bench and grabbed her racquet and bag. "See you later, Ned. Oh, and, Ned, *I* won."

Ned just laughed. "Bye you two."

"See you later," Jax said.

Ned watched as the two walked over to Jax's car. "You look cute in that tennis outfit," he heard Jax tell her, and Chloe laughed.

Ned smiled. They were perfect for each other.

The elevator door opened, and Jax and Chloe stumbled out, kissing each other as Jax slowly moved Chloe against her suite door.

After a few moments, Jax slowly pulled away and looked into Chloe's eyes. "Do you remember the last time I walked you to your door after dinner?"

"Mmm-hmm. Valentine's day. And we had just got back from Abbott's. I thought you were going to kiss me on the lips, but you kissed me on the cheek instead."

"I wanted to kiss you on the lips," Jax said, leaning forward and kissing her softly.

"Wanna come in?" Chloe whispered.

"Only if I get to sleep in your bed," Jax whispered back.

"You better," Chloe said with a smile. Chloe opened the door, and the two walked in and headed for the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing behind them.

Chloe's sheets felt soft to Jax's skin. He felt like he was lying in a bed of roses because everything was so flowery. Chloe crawled under the covers after lighting a few candles, and Jax held her in his arms, kissing her tenderly as he made love to her.

They laid in silence, watching the candlelight flicker on the walls after they had made love. Chloe suddenly propped herself up on her elbow and leaned against Jax. His hand instantly found hers.

"Does this feel weird?" Chloe softly asked him.

"A little. It's almost like silk." Jax pulled the sheets up and smelled it. "And how do you get them to smell so good?"

Chloe laughed softly. "Not the sheets, silly. I mean this. You. Me. A week ago, you and I had never even seen each other naked!" Chloe laughed. "We're friends one minute, and the next minute, we're lovers. It seems like that should feel weird, but surprisingly, it's doesn't. Does it feel weird to you?"

Jax shook his head. "No, it doesn't feel weird to me either. I know, it feels like it should be awkward, but no, I feel like this is completely normal. You and me, you know?"

Chloe smiled at Jax, then she leaned down and met her lips with Jax's.

To be continued…