A/N Here we go, as announced in my FB group - a new multichapter story for you to enjoy (hopefully). Romance, humor, and some angst coming your way!

Thanks to Loopy Lou, Lotty de Bonte, and Sally Hopkinson aka Alice's White Rabbit. Love you so much, ladies! You make my words sound beautiful!
Stephenie Meyer owns the original characters. I own this peculiar AH plot. LOL

Now, then.

Chapter 1

It was one of those days when the birds were singing and the sun was shining bright. Summer in Seattle rarely offered such beautiful weather; the rays of sunlight, which joyfully squeezed through the blinds were nearly miraculous.

Jasper got out of bed with a warm feeling inside his chest. Something really nice was going to happen that day, he was sure of it.

Still drowsy with sleep, he found his way out of his bedroom, down the corridor, all the way to the bathroom, using door handles and other solid objects as landmarks. What made his eyes suddenly and widely open was the unknown figure sitting on the toilet.

It was a male figure sporting white shorts pooled at the ankles, and nothing else—except for a newspaper, which happened to act as armor for his manly bits from a stranger's eyes.

The figure shifted nervously on the toilet seat and coughed.

"I could have used the lock, right?" The stranger made a funny face and ran delicate fingers through disheveled, longish hair.

"Um, yes," Jasper retorted wisely and shut the bathroom door all too quickly.

"What the fuck," Jasper murmured. "Bella!" No answer came, and Jasper assumed she was still asleep, so he banged on her bedroom door. "Bella!" That came out like more of a shout than a gentle wake-up call, but, to hell with it, he needed answers, and he needed them now.

It took Bella less than fifteen seconds to join him in the hall, barefoot and pajama-clad, looking furious.

"What's the matter with you?" she snapped. "Yelling at such ungodly hours is considered rude, you know."

Bella stomped a tiny foot to the floor then grabbed his arm and tried to drag Jasper toward the kitchen. "Is the coffee ready?" She yawned deliberately close to his ear to emphasize how very rude he had been. The trick didn't work; Jasper still needed answers.

"Bells." He composed himself and made an effort to speak quietly. "You don't call ten in the morning an ungodly hour. Now, please do tell, who's the guy in the bathroom?" He firmly stood in place, not falling for her attempt to lead him in the wrong direction.

Bella released his arm all of a sudden, and they both heard her palm slapping her thigh. She wrinkled her nose, pursed her lips, then shook her head. The shock in her eyes seemed to be perfectly genuine.

"What guy?"

It was Jasper's turn to wrinkle his nose in perfectly genuine shock. If she didn't know the guy then…

"Wait, I have to see." Bella urged him down the hallway, now in the right direction, and hurried ahead until she reached the bathroom door.

Next, she opened said door unceremoniously and stuck her head inside.

"Uh, hi, Bella," a voice came from the inside. "Would you mind … oh, God. Shit. I'll be out in a minute."

Jasper felt pity for the stranger. Not one, but two people had interrupted his morning routine—a distress which no one, not even the most unpleasant intruder, deserved.

Bella slammed the door closed in haste and clung to Jasper.

"I promise I won't drink any more," she hissed. "I can't even recall his name. I think I remember him from last night in that bar, you know, where they serve my favorite Margaritas. Or was he at the club? Fuck. I'm not sure."

They stood in silence for a while. Bella tortured her brain for the name of the guy. Jasper kept quiet because he simply didn't know what to say.

It wasn't the first time his flat mate brought company back, some dude she'd just met and decided to take home for a quickie before she collapsed in a drunken stupor. She had her problems with alcohol, Jasper knew; who would blame her after what she'd been through. Poor girl. So young, kind-hearted, and beautiful according to everyone. Jasper liked her, and after living for almost a year with her, he had grown attached. He hoped she would find a decent man and get to live her happily ever after. Until that moment, he would stay and help with the rent and make her coffee in the mornings of hangovers.

The click of the bathroom door interfered with Jasper's train of thought. The guy who had graced the toilet seat a moment ago now graced their well-lit hallway with his amazingly noticeable presence.

Jasper stared at the stranger for a few long moments. The white shorts were now in place, hiding what Jasper pretty much wanted to see, but everything else that was on display was breathtaking. The guy was tall, with long limbs and all that came with it; the delicate fingers and even the toes, and, mostly, Jasper noticed, a very kissable, willowy neck. His face was somehow mesmerizing; was it because of the thick eyelashes or the luscious lips, Jasper couldn't tell. He only knew he felt a sudden pull, a strong one.

The guy was looking at Bella, and while he, seemingly, recollected the previous night, his cheeks turned crimson, and his chin fell to his bare chest.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said, and the delicate fingers troubled the tousled hair once again.

Bella snorted. "You know what?" She took the guy's hand in hers. "I have no idea what you're sorry for." She giggled. "You might choose not to tell me at all, and we will be fine."

"But last night I—"

"Oh, shush." Bella stopped him mid-sentence. "Jasper, do we have coffee or don't we?"

It dawned on Jasper he was supposed to answer. "Yes. Yes we do."

Bella was suddenly focused on him. She looked in his eyes, furrowed her brow, then poked him in the stomach.

"Were you drinking last night too?"

She had noticed Jasper had a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Nope," Jasper managed. He had just realized he wasn't capable of uttering more than one syllable.

"What's the matter with you?" Bella asked for a second time that morning, and she suspected it wouldn't be the last.

She knew Jasper all too well. Jasper would turn into this one-syllable man when he was aroused.

"Were you not going to use the bathroom, Jas?" she asked gently, doing her best to help him out of the situation. "Me and, uh…" She realized she still hadn't come up with the guy's name.

"Edward." The stranger laughed nervously. "Nice to meet you again."

"Okay, good," Bella announced, not really politely because, for some reason now, she felt embarrassed. "That's Jasper, I'm Isabella. Only friends call me Bella."

"Are we friends?" the stranger asked. "Since you don't remember me well?"

"I'm starting to remember," Bella admitted. She tilted her head to the side. "Yeah, I do remember some things now, Edward." A huge smile graced her lips.

"You're not mad at me for the, uhm, lack of, well, performance, then?" The guy shifted in place awaiting her answer.

"Not at all," Bella said. "Now let's get to that coffee already."

She led Edward down the hall, leaving Jasper alone with his arousing problem.

A/N Leave me your thoughts, pretty please! *Mwah*