A/N: I do not own anything Twilight related.

Bella POV

Jacob Black was the very reason I was lying in bed with a hangover when I should've been in class. My head immediately started pounding like a jackhammer as I opened my eyes. Jake and I had been dating for almost a year when he suddenly decided he wanted to date other people. If he would have bothered to share that information, things might not have been so bad when I found out about him and Leah Clearwater. They had been sneaking around behind my back for a month. Leah came off a little bitchy in my opinion, not at all Jake's type.

Jake's type? Ha, obviously you don't know what his type is. I thought I was his type, but he ripped my heart out and stomped all over it.

And therein lies the whole reason the girls took me out last night and I'm here…

"Mmmm."

Oh god! Oh god!

Evidently, I brought someone home last night. That was so not me. I had never done anything remotely close to this in all my years. I just didn't do one-night stands. I rolled over slowly, careful not wake my guest. My breath caught as I took in the features of the beautiful man lying beside me. His blonde curls falling in his face as he slept peacefully. A smile slowly graced his lips and he opened his eyes and stretched.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning," I replied with a tight smile.

As he moved closer, I instinctively pulled my covers around me tighter.

"Come on Bells, I've already seen you naked," he chuckled and I caught a hint of a southern drawl.

"Yes, well I have no memory of our encounter last night. I'm sorry," I admitted.

I was so ashamed of myself. I couldn't believe I had gotten myself into this situation. What was I thinking, drinking so much?

"Well, that's one way to wound a man's ego. I'm forgettable, am I?" he said lightheartedly.

He was joking. He wasn't angry with me or at least he didn't seem that way. For the first time since he had opened them my eyes locked with a pair of emerald ones. He watched me with such intensity that it sent my heart into a tizzy. Beating wildly out of control. What was wrong with me?

"Um…I…um, excuse me," I said, wrapping myself in the sheet from my bed and running to the bathroom.

I shut the door behind me, leaned against then door, and slid to the floor. What had I done? What had I been thinking? How was I going to get rid of this beautiful stranger? How could I could I do something like this? And what would Alice and Rose think? Had I left without telling them I was leaving, and with a guy no less? That was just rude, and again, so not me. My head was filling with questions I didn't have the answers to. Worst of all though, I didn't even know the name of the man in my bed.

Whit…Whitman…no…Whitlock; that was it. It was something with a J... J. Whitlock. Jared…Jack…Jason… no…ugh.

A soft knock on the door brought me out of my reverie.

"Bella, are you okay," he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, just great. I wake up and find myself in bed with a man I don't even know, that always makes for a great morning, not to mention the massive headache I have."

That came out way harsher than intended and if I hadn't upset him before, I surely had now. He was concerned about me and I was being harsh.

"Well, Bella, if you come out of the bathroom I'll see what I can do to make it a better morning for you. I'll tell you whatever you want to know," he replied coolly.

I pulled a tank top and pair of pajama bottoms out of the hamper because I wasn't about to walk back out there naked. It was such a guy thing to do, and I realize that he's already seen everything anyways, but I was really hoping that he wouldn't remember it. I pulled my hair into a messy bun then opened door.

Standing before me in nothing but his jeans was Mr. Whitlock. Perfectly sculpted rock hard abs while his tousled golden curls obstructed his eyes. He tucked the hair behind his ears and smiled at me.

I squeezed past him and headed to my bed. I sat down on the corner, pulled my feet up on the bed, and wrapped my arms around my knees.

"Jasper Whitlock," he said, extending his hand to me.

That was it…Jasper. I shook his hand, letting mine linger for a moment as a tingle rippled through my hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm not normally like this," I apologized.

"Bella, there's no need to apologize to me. You were hurting and found a way to numb the pain. I understand that and there is no need to explain anything that you don't want to."

"Thanks, Jasper, but I think I should. I don't want you to think I'm this huge slut because this was a one time thing," I explained.

He laughed, "Darlin'," his twang was more evident now, "I could never think that of you," he said, taking a step closer. I had rested my chin on my knees and was watching the ground quite intently. Honestly, I was in fear of meeting those beautiful green eyes. I thought if I did, I would most likely melt.

Jasper's index finger slid under my chin and tilted my head so our eyes met. "Bella…"

I bit my lower lip in anticipation. I did this whenever I was nervous and boy was I ever. I was waiting for this gorgeous man to tell me last night was the biggest mistake of his life. So, when he said, "How 'bout we get some breakfast?" I was surprised to say the least.

"Um, yeah. Okay. Let me change," I replied shyly.

I got off the bed, walked over to my dresser, and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I slipped on my shoes as Jasper pulled on his cowboy boots and his shirt from the night before.

"Ready darlin'?" he asked, offering his hand.

"Yup." I grabbed my jacket and took his hand.

Jasper took me to the IHOP down the block from my apartment. We sat across from each other discussing our likes and dislikes as we waited for the waitress. It was easy for me to talk to Jasper. He set me at ease. He just had this way of making me comfortable. Granted, this morning when I woke up, I was a little freaked, but, given the situation, who wouldn't be? I'm not used to waking up with a complete stranger and things could've been a lot worse. Jasper could've gotten mad when I told him I didn't remember last night, but it just seem to roll off his back like I had said nothing. All that awkwardness had disappeared. He made me laugh and that's exactly what I needed right now. I needed to laugh again, especially after all the heartache Jacob had caused me. Jasper could be the one to do that. All I could hope for was that he would agree and want to stick around for a while. Seeing as he and I were having breakfast the outcome of that looked very likely.

"What can I get you, hon?" our waitress asked. She had long blond hair and big blue eyes.

"Blueberry pancakes and glass of orange juice please," I replied as I handed her the menu.

"And for you handsome," she asked, placing her hand on his forearm.

She wasn't even being subtle about hitting on Jasper. It was actually kind of rude of her. I mean, she didn't know that Jasper and I were…what exactly are we? Friends, or a one nightstand, or would we just end up being friends with benefits?

I really didn't get the feeling that either one of us wanted this, whatever it was, to be a one nightstand. I was hoping more than anything that I wasn't wrong about that.

I couldn't help but notice that Jasper had pulled away as soon as her hand touched his arm, especially when his hand slid across the table and rested on top of mine.

Subtle Jasper, I thought.

He smiled at me then turned to our waitress smirking, "I'll have the big breakfast," he replied.

"How would you like your eggs?"

"Over medium," he replied, never breaking our eye contact.

"And to drink?"

"I'll have an orange juice too," Jasper smiled again.

"I'll be right back with your drinks," she replied.

"Thank you," Jasper and I said in concurrence.

"So what do you have planned for the day?" Jasper asked, learning forward slightly.

"I don't know yet. I need to call Alice and Rose. They're probably worried about me. I don't know if I even told them that I was leaving last night."

Just then my phone rang; without hesitation, I answered thinking it might be one of my girls. I didn't want them to possibly worry more than they might have already.

"Hello," I answered, immediately wishing I hadn't as soon as I heard his thick husky voice on the other end.

"Bella, don't hang up, please just listen," Jacob pleaded.

I frowned, "What do you want?" I asked, "I'm kind of in the middle of something right now," I retorted.

"I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you," he apologized.

I listened only momentarily as he spoke. He had some nerve calling me like this, especially after what he put me through. "Whatever. I don't want to hear it," I said snapping my phone shut. If it weren't for the fact that I was sitting in IHOP with Jasper I would have started crying but I was determined not to let a man reduce me to tears. I tried to mask what I was feeling the best I could but my mother had once told me I was like an open book. I was easy to read.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry about that. I thought it might be Rose or Alice." I tried to smile.

"What's wrong? Who was that?" Jasper asked and I felt the mask slipping.

"I'm fine. Um…I…excuse me for a minute," I said, getting up from the table. I quickly walked to the restroom. Once in the restroom, I let go. A few tears fell and I angrily wiped them away. I was mad that I had allowed myself to shed tears over that jackass. I used the restroom, washed and dried my hands, then tried to make myself a little more presentable. I ran my fingers through my long mahogany hair and looked in the mirror to assess myself. Thankfully, I only shed a few tears so my eyes weren't extremely puffy.

One of the waitresses walked into the restroom and looked at me curiously. "Are you Bella?" she asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well there's a man waiting outside the door for you. He wanted me to make sure you were all right. He said you looked upset."

Jasper was truly concerned, at least enough to send a waitress in the restroom after me.

"Tell him I'll be out in a second, please," I replied in almost a whisper.

"Of course," she smiled.

"Thank you," I told her on her way out.

I took a deep breath as I opened the door then headed back to the table where Jasper was waiting. I slid into my seat across from him and smiled.

"Bella," he said taking my hand. "Are you sure there's not anything wrong because…"

"I'm fine, really, Jasper," I tried to assure him.

"…you look like something's wrong," he finished. "I'm here for you Bella and it looks as though you could really use a friend right now."

With the flash of that dimpled smile, I was putty in his hands. I would gladly and willingly oblige any request.

"It was Jacob," I began. I then went into detail about how he and I had been dating for a year, how he cheated on me, and now he wanted me to forgive him.

With a raised eyebrow, he thought about what I had just told him; then let out what I could only interpret as a frustrated sigh.

"You deserve much better Bella, you are a beautiful, intelligent woman and if he can't see that, then he doesn't deserve you," he said matter-of-factly. "You deserve someone you can trust, someone you can talk to about anything, someone to listen to you, someone to treat you like a goddess, and above all, someone to love you no matter what."

"That's sweet, Jasper, but…"

Before I could say another word he said, "Let me take you out and show you how a woman such as yourself is supposed to be treated."

"I don't know, Jasper…"

"As friends," he amended quickly.

How could I tell him no when he used those dimples against me?

"Alright," I replied as the waitress placed our food in front of us.