A/N: Thanks for waiting!
"Stop pouting. You're a gay man. Aren't you supposed to like shopping?"
Edward tilted his head down to fix Bella with a gimlet eye. "Oh, are we going to stereotype now? How about we go to Home Depot instead and get you a tool belt?"
She tapped her lips, thinking. "Depends. Can I get one like Batman?"
"That's a utility belt, nerd. They're for superheroes, not gays."
"Gays can be superheroes."
"Well, yes, but unless you've stumbled into some secret government testing facility, or been bitten by a radioactive spider lately, I'm pretty sure you're not a superhero."
Bella stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "Hey, man. You're supposed to be supportive. That's part of what we're all doing here, right? You tell me I can do anything?"
"Honey, you know I think you're going to take on the world single-handedly one day. You just lack the super powers part of being a superhero. Which, if you think about it, is lucky. I mean, have you actually considered the life of a superhero? It sucks."
"First of all, I present Black Widow, Hawkeye, Batman. Hello? Secondly, given the evidence presented, if I wanted to be a superhero, it's kind of your job to make me believe I can." She wound her arm through his, dragging him closer to the mall. "Luckily for you, Hot Topic caters to the uber nerds and the Goth girls. And the uber-nerd, Goth girls. I'm sure I can find something to fuel my superhero aspirations."
"Lucky me," Edward said, his tone dry.
They spotted Jasper and Alice as soon as they stepped in the mall. Edward's mouth went dry.
The tattoos were becoming a problem, and Edward was beginning to understand why. Jasper's arms were just the right side of well defined. He was more slim and gangly than the guys Edward typically met at the gym, but his muscles were there. Edward was an arms kind of guy.
Of course, there were all kinds of reasons why he shouldn't be checking out anything on this particular guy. Maybe Bella had been right. This was a bad idea. Or maybe the bad idea had been when the runners of the program decided to let the Big Brothers and Little Sisters socialize together first. Wasn't he supposed to be concentrating on Bella?
But it was all fine. That was what self-control was for. Anyway, the younger man was all kinds of immature. That overrode his nice arms. And his handsome face. And that smile that, if applied correctly, might or might not have the ability to make Edward's knees go weak, but then again, Edward was a sucker for sexy grins.
And maturity. He was a sucker for a mature man. His two serious relationships had been with men in their late thirties. He was barely in his late twenties now.
That was that, Edward thought, nodding to himself as he followed Bella to where Alice and Jasper were sitting on a bench. They stood when they saw Edward and Bella coming. Jasper reached out, took Bella's hand, and drew her to him. He kissed her forehead, half-teasing and half-tender like a perfect big brother. Bella grinned and threw her arms around his waist for a quick hug.
He was good with the girls; Edward had noticed that. He was charismatic. The week before, when the program runners had come over to see if everyone was getting along, he had all three of them smiling and blushing-the straight man included.
Jasper looked from Bella to Edward, and that slow, dangerous smile crept up one side of his face. He reached out and clasped Edward by the arm. If he'd let go within a second or two it would have been a natural, friendly greeting. But Jasper didn't. He held Edward fast, tilting his head as he locked eyes with him. The grin turned mischievous and wicked. Jasper drew his thumb along the bend in Edward's elbow, erasing any doubt Edward had about whether he knew what he was doing.
"Hey, Edward. How's it hanging?"
Edward narrowed his eyes. Jasper put enough emphasis on the words to leave no question that he'd intended the double entendre. Much to Edward's embarrassment, he flushed. His throat went dry.
Here was the thing. The kid was playing with fire. Edward understood how Jasper must see him. He made it obvious enough, rolling his eyes when Edward made a dad-like comment. It wasn't as though Edward didn't remember his own childhood. Once upon a time, he'd been the disdainful teen who didn't understand why his parents had to be such… parents. Jasper wasn't flirting with him because he wanted him; he was doing it because he wanted to get under his skin.
Edward took a step back, making it so Jasper either had to step with him or let go. Jasper let go. "I'm in a shopping mall with teenage girls," he said, turning to give the girls a mock-exasperated look. "I'm as ready as anyone can be for a day of torture."
"Well, don't you worry too much about that, sugar," Jasper said with a lilt. "I'm always a good time."
He winked. Edward gave him a stern look, but there wasn't much heat behind it. The tingles his words sent down Edward's back were delightful, plain and simple. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with feeling a few tingles. Acting on what the tingles wanted him to do-that might have been wrong. Probably.
As Edward walked, he found himself pondering the ethics of the situation. Not that he was planning on doing anything potentially unethical, of course.
Twenty minutes later, Edward was bored out of his mind. Alice, Bella, and Jasper were having a ball, teasing each other, because none of them should have wanted to get anywhere near Forever 21. They weren't the usual clientele, but Alice claimed they sometimes had an off the shoulder top or two. Worth looking into, she said.
Looking into, in Edward's estimation, should have been in and out. Either they had something worth buying or they didn't. But the others found it hilarious to try on things that would make their parents happy.
When the girls headed off to the changing room, Jasper ambled over to Edward. "Of the four of us, you should be having the most fun here."
"Oh, sure. There's a dress over there that caught my eye, but wouldn't you know it, they don't have it in my size."
"Smart ass." He looked Edward up and down, darting his tongue out to lick his lips. Edward had to work hard not to react to the shiver that went down his spine. "Let's play a game, shall we?"
Edward quirked a wary eyebrow, trying not to think about how those words could be the start of something… well, unethical. "What kind of game?"
Jasper took his arm and led him further into the men's section. "Here, put this on," he said, throwing Edward a gray cardigan.
"What? Why?"
"You were bored five seconds ago, ace," Jasper said. "Indulge me."
Rolling his eyes, both at the younger man and himself, Edward started to pull the cardigan on. By the time Jasper had returned, he was looking at himself in the mirror, tugging at the thing, wondering who the fuck would buy such an ugly piece of clothing.
"Awesome," Jasper said.
Edward turned toward him to refute that statement, but was quickly cut off by surprise as Jasper put a snazzy black hat on his head. "What are you-"
"We're playing gay stereotype. I got leather daddy down."
"You're not even wearing leather."
"Not now. Don't interrupt." Jasper had begun to wind a soft gray scarf around Edward's neck. "So today, you're going to be playing the part of hipster gay."
"Lucky me."
"Stop your bitching. You were standing over here brooding anyway. Now you have a reason." Jasper waggled his eyes at Edward as he arranged the scarf artfully on his shoulders.
When Jasper pulled back a step to admire his work, his hand splayed naturally over Edward's chest. The smile that played at the corners of his lips froze, and Edward heard his soft, sharp breath. Whatever Edward had been about to say-something about not being a Ken doll-died on his lips when Jasper looked up at him.
For an instant, something sparked, something that wasn't desire. At least, not the kind of desire that came of plain and simple attraction. This was different. This was connection. He could feel the heat of Jasper's palm on his chest, and his heartbeat quickened in response to his touch. He shifted on his feet, closing some of the distance between them without thinking.
Bella's voice, far off though it was, broke the bubble of the moment. Edward took a step back and looked around the shop for her. Sure enough, she and Alice had emerged from the dressing room. They'd found Bella a new beanie-with purple streaks to match her hair-but the clothes they'd gone in with were missing.
"We're going to pay," Alice said, checking in with them. Her eyebrows furrowed and then raised. "That hat works for you, but I'd lose the scarf and the sweater."
Bella looked to Alice. "I like the scarf."
Alice wrinkled her nose. "It's all… hoity-toity or something," she said, waving her hand.
Jasper snorted. "Well, if the shoe fits."
The girls went to get in the checkout line, and Edward tried not to feel stung by Jasper's comment. He took the scarf and hat off, shoving them both at the younger man. "Why don't you put this back where you found them?" he said, his tone clipped.
Jasper looked like he was about to say something, but instead, he flashed his signature grin. "You got it, boss."
Irritated with himself and the other man, Edward took the cardigan off with movements more forceful than was necessary. This was exactly why Edward hadn't even thought of looking for a younger man. They were immature, that was all. That was the only reason Jasper thought he was uptight. Hoity-toity. Whatever.
Not that it bothered Edward.
The girls came back and they headed off for the next round of torture. Jasper didn't try to play dress-up again, but he kept up a steady stream of subtle teasing which Edward did his best to ignore. Not that the man made it easy.
At the shoe store, Edward sat to wait on one of the tiny seats-the store was mostly empty or else he wouldn't have taken up a seat usually reserved for people trying on shoes. Despite the lack of space, Jasper plopped down next to him. His ass must have been resting on a scant two inches of space, but it didn't seem to bother him. In fact, he leaned so his back was up against Edward's and even tilted his head back in exasperation.
"Shoes are the one thing I don't give a damn about," he said in a disgruntled tone.
Alice must have been in earshot, because she popped out from behind a rack of shoes. "You know, if you guys are bored, you don't have to stick around for this part."
Bella appeared behind her, peering over her shoulder. "Yeah, we're not babies. We don't need adult supervision."
Edward frowned. "You want us to leave you alone?"
"Not alone," Bella said, her eyes wide and innocent. A little too innocent. "You can just go ahead of us to the food court, that's all. We'll be like, maybe twenty minutes behind you."
"Half an hour," Alice corrected quickly.
Edward narrowed his eyes at the two of them. Their cheeks were flushed pink, their eyes bright with barely contained excitement. He knew better than to think it was shoe related. "I don't-"
Jasper stood, dragging Edward to his feet with him. "Half an hour, kiddos," he said, wagging a finger at them. "If it's more than half an hour, we're coming after you, and next time we go out, you'll be on those little leashes like for toddlers. Don't think I won't do it." He yanked Edward's arm. "We'll be at the food court."
"Be good," Edward called over his shoulder.
When they were out of the shop, Edward shrugged his shoulders to get Jasper's hand off him. "That wasn't a good idea."
"Chill out, man." They needed some space."
"To do what?"
He snorted. "Hey, if you have to ask, you'll never know."
"Oh, that's great. We could have been bored within sight of them as easily as we can be bored in the food court."
Jasper snorted. "They aren't going to stay in the shoe shop."
Edward skidded to a stop. "What?"
"Come on." Jasper quirked an eyebrow, giving Edward a mocking stare. "You didn't notice Victoria's Secret was right across the way? No teenage girl wants to go in there with a guy. Not even a gay guy."
Edward balked. "What the hell do they need to go in there for?" He took a step in that direction, but Jasper caught his arm.
"Every girl needs a pair of cute panties, Edward. Leave them alone."
"But-"
"They'll be fine. Christ, they already have mothers. Come on."
Edward grunted and reluctantly let Jasper pull him in the direction of the food court. "This isn't a good idea. If her father finds out she was buying anything from Victoria's Secret while I was supposed to be watching her, he's going to yank her out of that program." He grimaced. "And make sure I won't be able to get another Little Sister."
"I'm sure the world would come crumbling down if that happened." Jasper shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Bella's a smart girl. She knows how to sneak around."
"That's not comforting."
Jasper stared at him. "Hey, would it kill you to check the stick you got up your ass? I know it's been a while, but you do remember being that age, don't you?"
Edward looked away, falling silent as they neared the food court. Finally, he sighed. "Old habit," he muttered.
"What?"
"Old habits die hard. You're right. Bella and Alice are good kids." His heart panged. "My sister-my biological little sister-wasn't."
He didn't know what had made him say it. He rarely talked about his sister, and it wasn't a good idea to give a pain-in-the-ass, immature brat like Jasper that kind of ammunition. He braced himself, but for once, Jasper was quiet.
It didn't last long. They'd just settled down at a table when Jasper asked the inevitable question. "So you have a sister."
Edward's cheek twitched. "Had."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
He sounded sincere. In fact, when Edward looked to him, his eyes were full of genuine compassion. Edward ducked his head, unsure of why the expression struck him.
"What happened?" Jasper asked.
Edward covered his mouth to hide a small smile. He could have guessed the man would ask. Young men didn't know much about tact. "It's a long story, but she committed suicide."
"Oh," Jasper said again.
Edward felt a sort of vindictive satisfaction. He could tell Jasper felt awkward about the whole thing, and it served him right. Let that be a lesson in assuming Edward was an uptight asshole. He folded his arms on the table and told the whole story. "We lost our mom when she was thirteen. I was eighteen. Our dad worked all the time, and he didn't really handle Mom's death well."
He shifted in his seat, his throat going tight. No matter how many times he told himself it wasn't his fault, the guilt of what had happened always choked him. "I guess Rosalie didn't handle Mom's death well either. It kind of fell to me to look out for her. I tried, but she got in a lot of trouble." He shrugged. "Really long story short. When she was sixteen, she got pregnant. Sweet kid. I thought they would make it, but you know, he was still a seventeen-year-old boy. He didn't react to the news very well. And Rose…" He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "I guess she overreacted too."
"Damn, man. That's harsh." Jasper drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "How'd your dad do with that?"
Edward huffed. "Not well." That was the understatement of the century. "But he survived. He's doing really well now. He met a woman at a support group he found for parents who've lost children. Esme. She's very sweet." He laughed. "They're going to have a baby any day now. How weird is that?"
Jasper's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa. Being a big brother again at…" He looked Edward up and down curiously. "How old are you, anyway?"
This time, it was Edward with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He tilted his head and fixed Jasper with a teasing look. "Probably younger than whatever you pegged me as."
Jasper smirked. "The girls think you're old. You don't look that old to me."
"Oh, well, that's a relief." Edward chuckled. "I'm twenty-nine."
Jasper hummed, looking curious again. "How old does that make your dad, to be having another kid now?"
"He was a young dad. He and Mom had me when they were seventeen. But I guess he's robbing the cradle. Esme is thirty-five."
Jasper wrinkled his nose. "You know your stepmother is closer in age to you than she is to your dad, right?"
"Stranger things have happened."
Jasper considered that for another few seconds and then shrugged. "Well, it's not as strange, because I'm not as ancient as you, but I have two baby sisters." He tilted his seat back, his expression carefree as he stretched. "Parents divorced. Mom married an asshat. They had kids. Lucy is three and Nettie is six months."
"Oh. That sounds like a full house."
"Eh." Jasper lifted his head and grinned. "That was when my stepfather started acting like a real dick-when Lucy was born. I don't think dear old daddy wanted me near his precious little girls."
"I don't know you that well, but you do seem like the kind of guy who maybe gave him a reason to think you're a bad influence."
Edward, who had begun to scan the area to see if Alice and Bella were around yet, spoke without thinking. He didn't realize how hurtful his words might have been until it sunk in that they'd been sitting in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes.
It wasn't untrue, after all. It wasn't a stretch to imagine Jasper was probably a pain-in-the-ass kid not that many years ago-he couldn't be that old.
Before he could figure out a tactful way to talk his foot out of his mouth, he felt something on his leg. More specifically, on his inner thigh. He sucked in a breath as that something-a foot-sent chills up his spine. He looked across at Jasper. The other man snorted, obviously amused, and dropped his foot back down to the ground.
Edward shifted in his seat, trying to alleviate the pressure in his jeans. Jasper's touch had aroused him as the other man had no doubt intended. "Why the hell do you have to do things like that?" Edward snapped, shifting again.
Jasper batted his eyelashes. "Because you're so hot, I can't help myself, stud." He snorted. "Or maybe it's because you're a pain in the ass."
"I'm a pain in the ass?"
"Yeah, you. We were having a fine conversation until you realized you'd forgotten to look down on me for a full fifteen minutes."
"I'm not-"
But before Edward could defend himself, the girls reappeared, and the subject was dropped.
A/N: Dorchester made a banner for her own gift! It's beautiful. Unfortunately, I'm at work, and I can't get to it right now. Boo. I'll upload it asap so you can all ogle.
