This story was an original novel of mine, but I hit some terrible writer's block with it, so I decided to turn it into a fan-fic. The cullens are vampires, so is Jasper Whitlock, but Alice is not with him. She and Edward are mates instead. There'll be no end to the jokes about Jasper having the same name as Bella's dog. Complete AU, Bella never lived in Forks, never met the Cullens before.
Chapter 1: New Beginnings
"New York, New York," Bella sang to herself as she stepped out of the cab and onto the bustling streets of the Big Apple. She'd visited before, but never by herself. And now it wasn't just a visit, she bit the bullet and decided to move. "Come on Jazz," she said to her dog, Jasper. He hopped down out of the car and sat next to her on the curb, like the very well-trained Golden Retriever he was.
The cabby helped get her bags out of the trunk and set them on the curb next to her. Jasper was a very good guard-dog and would growl if anyone got within ten feet of the luggage. Bella thanked the driver, gave him a hefty tip and turned to haul her things inside the building that now housed her spacious warehouse-turned apartment. Jasper suddenly started growling viciously. Bella looked up and saw a man in a track suit jogging in their direction. "It's okay, buddy," she cooed to her dog. He immediately stopped growling and looked up at her, waiting for the next command. She knew those words were the key to get him to calm down.
The man did slow down as he approached, having noticed the dog. "Wow, what a beautiful and well-trained Golden!" he complimented. He had a genuine and friendly smile on his face that lit up his dark eyes. Bella staggered a moment as she took him in. He was drop-dead gorgeous. He looked like a young Paul Newman, with the golden locks and everything, though his eyes were a strange hue of burgundy rather than blue.
"Th-thank you," Bella replied, stammering through the two simple words. "Jasper is the best bodyguard one could ever ask for. Come on boy, let's go inside." She turned away from the man and headed towards the building.
"You… your dog's name is Jasper?" the man asked, incredulously. Bella turned and nodded at him. "Well, that's my name, too. Jasper Whitlock, ma'am. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Even his voice was sexy, with a hint of a southern twang. Evidence that he was not a native New Yorker.
"Bella," she replied. He nodded and smiled as he continued his jog down the street, whistling to some unknown tune. Bella tried her damnedest not to watch his delectable ass as he moved away from her. Jasper, the dog, arfed, bringing her back to reality. She opened the sliding metal door with her keys and set all her luggage off to the side. The dog followed behind, wagging his tail profusely as he sniffed every single inch of the apartment.
It was basically one huge room with huge windows on one wall. They were old and yellowed, with some covered with chipping black paint but she loved them. She loved everything about the place. It was the kind of place that she could transform into her own space, make it one hundred percent hers. The ceilings were high, enabling her to build a lofted bedroom area if she so chose, thus maximizing the space even more. The kitchen was off to the right, an open setting with an island that housed the stove and some cabinets, while the double ovens, fridge, counters and sink were along the wall.
The bathroom was past the kitchen, a claw-foot tub and shower combination with a sink and vanity. It was small but functional. She envisioned many a bubble bath with a good book under candlelight in that tub.
After putting away the few toiletries and items she brought with her, she knew it was time to go shopping for actual things like dishes, cookware, and perhaps a bed. Yes, a bed was probably important. She grabbed Jasper's leash which immediately had him jumping up and down, excited to be going for a walk. She had to tell him to sit down three times before he finally calmed himself enough to let her attach the leash to his collar. She noticed the tag hanging from his collar had her old address on it. "We'll have to get you a new dog-tag, too Jazz. You're a New-Yorker now." He licked her hand and waited impatiently while she grabbed her purse and keys.
Out on the streets, she passed by store after store that had many things she wanted. A top of the line cook set from William Sonoma, bedding from Soho, and she wanted her entire wardrobe from Vera Wang. Alas, while she had a large budget to work with, it didn't quite allow for such luxury, so she traipsed down the road to the slightly cheaper shops. Standing at the window display in front of a store called the Kitchen Window, she knew she'd found the perfect place to stock her kitchen.
As she stared through the window, one of the sales clerks stepped outside. "What a beautiful dog!" she said. "Can I pet him?" She was holding a dog bowl full of water. Bella knew she'd like this place, and this confirmed it.
"Sure, his name is Jasper, hold your hand out to him before you pet him, though," Bella warned. The clerk set the bowl down on the ground right in front of Jasper before approaching him.
"I'm Esme," the clerk greeted, speaking more to the dog than to his owner. She held her hand out, Jasper sniffed it before licking it and then let her pet his head. He lifted one paw and placed it on her forearm. Such a flirt. "Oh, what a sweetie!" she said. Jasper then bent down to take a noisy drink from the bowl. "I'm the owner of Kitchen Window, and technically there's a no dogs allowed policy, but I think in his case I'll have to make an exception. We'll say he's a service dog, so pretend to be blind," she joked. "Are you looking to buy some things?" Oh, so she wasn't just a sales clerk. Apparently the owner wore the brown apron, too.
"Yes, actually. I just moved here and didn't bring much in the way of kitchen things, so I need to stock up on…" she looked at her list, "well everything. And I just love what you have in the display here, so I'm sure there are even more awesome things inside." Esme took the proffered list and looked it over for a moment.
"Oh, I'm sure we can help you out with pretty much all of this. Your name, sweetie?"
"Bella," she replied. "Bella Swan."
"Beautiful name. Short for Isabella?" Bella nodded, thanking her."
"Well, Bella and Jasper Swan, come on in!" She let them into the store and gave her a bit of a tour before letting Bella off on her own. "Feel free to browse around all you like. You can put these sticky notes on the items you want and one of my guys will pack it all up and deliver it to your place for you. Free of charge. I'll go scrounge up some treats for Jasper, if that's alright." Bella nodded and thanked her, knowing that she'd just made her first friend in the big city. Jasper followed her around obediently as she perused the aisles of the store. It had everything: cookware, dishes, bakeware, knives, mixing bowls, glasses, silverware, decorations, knick knacks, wall art, even tables and chairs. In the back of the store, they held weekly cooking classes for various cuisines and techniques. That month they were specializing in gluten-free cooking, seeing as it was all the rage.
She stopped at a painting, admiring the abstract lines and colors that stood out on the canvas. "The last thing we need is more artwork, though, right, Jasper?" He merely yipped at her, wagging his tail happily.
As she strolled through the aisles, she placed a sticky note on each thing she wanted or liked. Esme had given her two colors, green for, "Yes! I want this right the eff now," and yellow for, "I like the hell outta this, but I'll save it for later." The stickers actually had those quotes on each one.
After an hour, she'd picked out a set of pots and pans, cutlery, cooking utensils, a set of matching dishes, silverware, mugs and glasses, a few knick knacks to spruce up the area and a dining set. Jasper had been spoiled rotten by Esme and the other employees at Kitchen Window, given at least a dozen treats and more pats on the head, belly rubs and ear scratches than he could count. He was in seventh heaven.
Esme had two of her guys scan the UPC codes on all the items Bella picked. They had iPods that scanned the barcodes and then tallied everything up on the iPad Esme used as a register. What a great way to avoid carrying all that stuff up to the check out area, have one person scan each thing in and have the people behind you waiting impatiently. Bella complimented Esme on her system, who said that her brother had designed the app himself, and she was the first beta user of it. Genius, her brother would make millions.
"I especially love the sticky notes," Bella said as she placed the unused ones on the counter. "That's a genius idea, too."
"That was all me," Esme said, beaming. "There's a website where you can have custom ones made, so I did that and the customers seem to love it! They even ask if I sell the sticky notes. I just give them the information for the site where I bought them, and tell them they can copy my design and wording. That doesn't bother me."
"That's awesome! So what's the damage, Esme? Tell me nicely," Bella said, cringing slightly as she waited for all the items to get scanned in by the goon squad. Their aprons actually said "goon squad" on them. Priceless, Bella thought. This had quickly become her favorite store. She'd definitely be returning for more things and perhaps a cooking class or two.
"Three thousand, two hundred ninety six dollars and seventy-three cents," Esme replied, singing the numbers as if it softened the blow. "But that's before the new New-Yorker discount, which brings it down to two thousand, six hundred thirty seven dollars and thirty eight cents. And the further Golden Retriever owner discount which brings it down to one thousand, eight hundred forty-six dollars and seventeen cents."
"Discount?" Bella asked, surprised. She was floored. This was practically half-off. "Why, thank you so much! That's very kind of you!"
"I'm the owner, I do what I like," Esme said, shrugging her shoulders. Bella handed over her new black Amex card which caused Esme's eyes to go wide. "Um, do you mind if I ask what you do for a living?"
"I'm an artist, mostly paintings," Bella replied. "I recently sold a series to a very generous collector. It funded my move, the purchase of my apartment, and the budget to furnish said apartment. And the collector wants another series and is willing to pay double what he paid for the first one."
"Damn, you must be a hell of a painter," Esme said, grinning.
"Or he's a hell of a sucker. One of the two," Bella joked. Esme laughed throatily.
"Well, if you're ever looking for a place to sell more art, we sell local art here, too. I'd be happy to put some of your pieces up on the walls… for a small percentage of course," Esme suggested.
Bella laughed. "Yes, of course. That's actually not a bad idea. When your 'goon squad' delivers the things to my place, I'll let them take some pictures of some of my pieces. Then you can decide if it's worthy to adorn your walls."
"That's an excellent plan. Speaking of which, what's your address? And when should they deliver them? I can have them go right now, if you're on your way home."
"Well, I have to stop off at another place to buy some materials to build my furniture. I can't very well make the mattress or couch cushions, but I can make the frames. Do you know of a place where I can score some free or super cheap wood pallets?"
"Oh, you're one of those…" Esme trailed off, squinting her golden eyes at Bella. What was it with this town and people with oddly coloured eyes?
"One of those? Those what?"
"Those DIY people that build everything instead of buying from stores. Hardworking store owners like myself suffer greatly because of the likes of you…" Bella could tell she was mostly joking, but felt the need to quell some of her ire.
"Well, if I can build it myself, I do, but if my projects turn out to be disastrous, I'll buy what I need. That's why I'm here for one thing. I haven't mastered my blacksmith skills just yet, so I can't exactly make my own pots and pans." Esme laughed and was immediately back to her bubbly self.
"Fair enough. Well, I've a few pallets out back. I'll have one of the guys throw them in the truck with your other things. Otherwise, if you traipse up and down the alleys here, you can usually find some. They can be reused of course, but hardly any businesses go through the hassle of recycling them. Hell, we should sell them."
"I'll gladly buy them from you," Bella replied. "I'd be much happier giving you my pallet business than some other shop."
"Don't be silly, Bella. You're not paying me for those stupid things. I was just joking. But you mentioned you needed a mattress and couch cushions, right? My daughter owns a furniture shop just down the block. I'll bet she has just what you need. Shall we go?"
"You can just leave your store?" Bella asked.
"Of course I can. I own the place," she replied, sardonically. Bella gestured for her to lead the way and together they headed down the street, arm in arm, Jasper following along, panting happily.
Once they reached the store, aptly named: Everything but the Kitchen Sink, Esme pulled them both in, not bothering to have Bella tie Jasper up outside. Apparently her daughter was fine with dogs in the store, too. "Alice!" she called out. "Come meet my new friends Bella and Jasper." A woman who couldn't possibly have been Esme's biological daughter popped up from behind a counter. She smiled brightly at Bella and then frowned slightly when she saw Jasper.
"Well, I can't say I've ever met a woman named Jasper, so I assume he's Jasper and you're Bella."
"You got that right," Bella affirmed. "Esme here says you're the place to go for mattresses, couch cushions, et cetera." Alice agreed and showed her around while Esme took Jasper for a walk outside. She said there was a park not far from the shops and she'd take him there. Bella decided she trusted the woman enough to hand over the leash and advised her that there was a roll of baggies built into the leash should he need to do his business.
"Ew, but thank you," Esme said as she walked towards the door. Bella heard her mumble that she hoped she didn't have to use them.
"And if you get any hot guys' numbers because of my awesome dog, I fully expect you to share the wealth," Bella told her. She heard Esme's trilling laughter as the door closed.
Alice was more than helpful with picking out the perfect mattress and box-spring set, bedding, some curtains, and a few other things that Bella didn't feel like building herself, such as a lazy-boy recliner. All the pallets and fabric in the world couldn't replicate the comfort one felt in a Lazy-boy. She told Alice about her plans, and was admonished similarly to how Esme did it.
Once Esme returned with a very happy Jasper, Bella paid for her new purchases and was told that the same truck that would house all her Kitchen Window items would also house her new Everything but the Kitchen Sink purchases. Alice gave her an equally awesome discount on the items, but she still spent close to five-grand between the two shops.
The two sisters escorted Bella to the door, gave Jasper one last treat and invited her out to girls' night later that week. The invitation seemed genuine, so Bella made a mental note to be available that night. They mentioned something about dressing sexy, so that also meant a trip to a clothing store. It seemed as though the shopping would never end.
By the time she got home, the truck was waiting for her outside the apartment. The same two goons from Esme's place were leaning against the side of it, waiting patiently for her. "I should probably learn your names, instead of referring to you as the goon squad," she said to them.
One walked up and introduced himself as "Mister Esme." Apparently he was Esme's husband. He knelt down and patted Jasper on the head, letting the dog cover his face with kisses. "And this is 'Mister Alice,' Alice's husband." The other man nodded and smiled at Bella. Well if they weren't a pair. Clearly Esme and Alice wore the pants in those relationships. It made Bella like them even more.
"Well Misters Esme and Alice, shall we get all these things in my house?"
"Lead the way, ma'am," they chorused in unison. "I hope there's an elevator or that you're on the ground floor."
"Yes there is!" Bella exclaimed. "One of those awesome old-school freight ones that you have to slide up the grate for and everything."
They both beamed with excitement as they took arm loads of boxes and followed her inside. She offered to help carry things in, but they wouldn't hear of it. "You just open the doors and handle the elevator and we'll be good," Mister Esme said.
Bella did just that, and once they were all inside her apartment, she had Jasper lay on his bed in the corner and told him to "stay." As well-trained as he was, she didn't have to worry about him getting up from that spot until she said he could. Usually he obeyed, anyway. The men would carry in the boxes, put them where Bella directed them to and head back out for more. She followed along dutifully holding doors for them and taking care of working the elevator. Before long, all her purchases and the pallets made their way into the room.
"I feel like I should be making lemonade or something," she said to them after Mister Alice wiped his brow, though there didn't appear to be any sweat on his face.
"I think you watch too many pornos," he replied, chuckling.
"Ha, ha" she said, rolling her eyes. "I haven't any anyway. My next endeavor is grocery shopping."
"Call Emmett," Mister Esme said to Mister Alice. "He'll drive you wherever you need. No charge."
"No charge? How does that work?"
"You're one of us now," he said. "You made friends with our wives; you get to reap the benefits of that."
"I feel like you're inducting me into some Italian crime family or something," Bella joked. When neither of them laughed, and one of them cleared his throat, she continued. "But I'm sure I just watch far too much T.V. Sure, that'd be great. I'd love to not have to pay for a cab ride."
"Sure thing," Mister Alice replied. He stepped away to make the call while Bella poured the meager remains of her dog food supply into a brand new dog dish for Jasper. She made a mental note to add more food to the list, too.
Once they were all finished, Bella escorted them back downstairs, leaving Jasper behind. He whined unhappily, but quieted down quickly. "Here's Emmett now," Mister Alice said as a black SUV pulled up. Bella noticed the windows were tinted awfully dark. It seemed like either the CIA owned that car or the Mafia. Given the vibe she was getting, she wasn't entirely sure that her crime family joke from earlier was all that far from the truth. Oh I hope everything I bought today wasn't hot; I hope that's not why they gave me such amazing discounts, Bella thought.
Before she stepped towards the SUV, she saw the two Misters stiffen noticeably. She turned to see what made them on alert and saw the same man from earlier jogging towards them. Jeez, that was hours ago, how long did this guy run every day? Bella wondered.
"Gentlemen," he greeted, a sly smile on his face.
"Whitlock," they replied, nodding slightly at him.
"How is it that you know dear Bella?" he asked. Dear Bella?
"Um, I bought stuff from their wives' stores today," Bella answered when neither of them spoke.
"And how do you know Bella?" Mister Esme asked, not bothering to hide the malice in his voice. He looked at Bella then, betrayal in his eyes.
"Just this morning," Bella said when now, this man didn't say anything. Jasper was his name, she remembered. "He was jogging by when I arrived. He said Jasper was beautiful and well-trained, and that was pretty much the extent of our conversation. I'd hardly say we know each other. The fact that he has the same name as my dog is mere coincidence." She felt the need to defend herself to men she hardly knew.
"You also said that he was the best bodyguard," Jasper added, now glaring icily at Bella. "I'm curious as to why you need a bodyguard…"
"It was more of a joke than anything," Bella replied, confused by his change in demeanor. "And I am a single young woman living alone in New York City. I think having some kind of protection is a good idea. Lest I be carted off by some unsavory criminals and done away with. Now if you three don't mind, I'd like to get on with my errands for the day. Should I call a cab or is the offer of Emmett's car still on the table?" she asked the goon squad. Immediately rescinding back to their original title based on the way they were treating her. She folded her arms across her chest and quirked an eyebrow at them, daring them to continue their sour moods with her.
"Um, yes ma'am, you may still use Emmett. I'm sorry if we were rude, or insinuated that you weren't completely welcome." They both immediately relaxed, resuming their prior carefree attitudes. Jasper Whitlock, however, continued to steam.
"And you," she added, turning her chocolate eyes to Jasper. "I assume because I've seen you twice today that you must live in the neighborhood and therefore I'll be seeing you often. I don't know what this dick measuring contest is all about, but I won't have any of it. First of all, these two men are happily married to my two newest friends. Secondly, you don't know me; you don't get to have a claim on me. I'm not 'dear Bella' to you. As far as I'm concerned, you may address me as Ms. Swan. Is that clear?" Bella knew that she had to show the people of New York that she wasn't some naïve, mousy, inexperienced mid-western girl. She was smart, both book-wise and street-wise, and she wasn't about to get trampled on by anyone, least of all these three.
The sly smile reappeared on his face but he nodded in agreement. "My apologies, Ms. Swan. I'll let you continue your day." He nodded to her and to the goon squad before continuing his jog down the street.
"Well, that was interesting," Bella muttered to herself. "You'll tell your wives that I'll see them at girls' night?" she asked the Misters.
"Yes, of course, Ms. Swan," Mister Alice replied.
"You guys can call me Bella," she said. "I don't know what's up that guy's arse, but I don't' like it."
They chuckled, thanked her for her business and motioned to Emmett to get out of the SUV and open the door. Bella couldn't be certain, but she thought she heard the distinct sound of a gun being un-cocked, the magazine dropped out of it. Was Emmett packing? And did he cock his gun when the almost-altercation went down? Bella worried that she might have actually landed in the middle of something she had no business in.
Well, what did you think? How deep does the dischord between the Cullens and the Whitlocks go? Who else will we meet in this story?