Hi, all! I'm sorry again for the slowness of these updates. I'm also sorry to say this slowness will probably be the norm for the next while. I finally found a full-time job and am starting Monday, so I don't have time to write during the day. I also have to be up at the butt crack of dawn to get ready to be at work by 8, so I can't stay up late (except for weekends) to write. Rest assured, I am still writing in my spare time, so you'll get your resolution if you're patient. A huge thank you to my reviewers: bloomsky, '-'IncubusHelen'-', and KajiMori. If you reviewd and I didn't mention your penname, it doesn't mean I'm not grateful for your input...it means I'm forgetful:( So...enough of my babbling-on with the show!!
Chapter 6
Jasper POV
As we dressed to go back to the house, our elation knew no bounds. I was sure I was grinning like a fool and I knew Samantha was. Each time our eyes met, she'd giggle and quickly look away, her smile growing almost imperceptibly with each glance. She'd have been blushing had she been human, but feeling the pleasure rolling off her in waves was the best replacement for it that I could hope for.
I finished dressing before her, and I took the opportunity to simply stare at the gorgeous creature in front of me. Her tiny hands swept her hair back with an elastic I'd found in my pocket. I'd taken to carrying one with me, as she often wanted her hair back and always forgot the hair tie.
The candlelight glinted off her ring as she moved and I smiled. The night I'd given it to her flooded my mind then; my nervousness, her excitement, the love we shared…she's made me the happiest man alive that night.
This lovely memory was followed by the nagging thought that I needed to find the monster that took the memory from me in the first place. I could feel the anger and sadness well up in me suddenly and fought to tamper it; my fists clenched with the effort. I ground my teeth and snapped my eyes shut, trying to take a calming breath. Before I could, I felt Samantha's cool, tiny hands on my face. My breath whooshed out of me then, my eyes slowly opening and glancing down at her.
Her face was full of concern and confusion. Damn…she must have felt my anger. I never meant for her to—
"Jasper, are you all right? Why are you so angry?"
I sighed, laying my hands over hers.
"I was remembering the night I gave you that ring and…it made me angry that someone would take that away. I made you so miserable, darlin', and I—"
Her fingers on my lips silenced me. I stared down at her in anguish.
"Jazz, I love you. None of what's happened is your fault. You didn't willingly forget me; someone stole our memories. Don't you ever blame yourself for any of this ever again, do you understand me?"
I gently kissed her fingers and took her hands in mine, squeezing lightly.
"I love you, too, and I'll try to stop blaming myself. All right?"
She nodded, grinned, and threw herself into my arms, wrapping hers around my neck and animatedly crashing her lips to mine. After a moment, I pulled back, disengaging her vice-like grip on me and setting her on her feet. Her pout made me laugh.
"You are voracious tonight, little soldier."
"I would say I'm sorry…"
I laughed out loud, the sound echoing off the trees around us.
"But you aren't. You shameless hussy! What were you thinking, seducing your husband?"
"I was thinking I wanted in your pants, lover boy. You seemed to enjoy it."
"That I did. So…are we ready to face the music?"
She groaned and rolled her eyes, reminding me of a petulant three-year-old. I smirked as she glared at me.
"Shut up. Your memories, your job, bucko. Now who's laughing," she grinned as panic shot through me.
"You are en evil woman, Samantha Jo Whitlock."
"Already established, Jazz. Keep up!"
With that, she took off into the surrounding forest. I could hear her laughter and felt her amusement. Her light-heartedness was catching and I found myself grinning and following her.
To say our family was ecstatic was a gigantic understatement. Alice was still bouncing around the house three hours later with her husband in tow trying in vain to calm his wife; the whole house had taken on an air of happy contentment. Samantha and I had escaped to our bedroom to avoid the merry chaos after an hour of celebration with our siblings and parents. We were lying on our bed, her head on my chest as I leaned against the headboard, when Emmett's mood hit me in waves followed by the man himself bursting through our door. I groaned and felt Samantha sigh as we both sat up, glaring at our brother.
"Emmett, you giant oaf, what could possibly be so important that you have to barge into someone's bedroom unannounced?"
He glared at her back in annoyance at the dressing down she'd just given him. I had to stifle a chuckle, lest I start a fight I had absolutely no desire to create.
"Come on, Mighty Mouse! Let's go do something…Alice says she saw a thunderstorm in a few hours."
I chuckled at the confused expression on my beautiful wife's face. She turned to glare at me and I put my hands up in defense and spoke quickly.
"Sorry, lovely. You look cute when you're confused."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Whatever, brown-noser. What the hell does a thunderstorm have to do with the price of rice in China? And why should I care if it does have anything to do with it?"
"We pretty much sound like thunder when we run into each other, and you do that a lot in baseball., so…we play when it storms. That way we don't scare the townsfolk."
Emmett smirked at my explanation, raising an eyebrow at Samantha expectantly.
"Well, pip squeak, whaddaya say?"
"Um…I say stop calling me pip squeak and I suck at any type of sport-like activity. No way, Em."
"That's bull shit, Sam! You're a vampire, remember?"
"Oh, yeah…I guess I could try it. Will you shut up and get out of our room now?"
He huffed and disappeared in an instant, hollering down the stairs to whoever was in the living room that we were on. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at my brother's childish antics. He got so excited about trivial little things like this…it was endearing and annoying at the same time.
"You know, he kind of reminds me of a five-year-old on a caffeine high."
I pulled us back to the position Emmett had found us in, glancing down at Samantha.
"And you would know what that's like because…" I trailed off, hoping for an explanation.
"I watched my little brother a lot. He got into the Mountain Dew one time when I was in the bathroom. He'd swallowed the whole bottle in about twenty seconds flat and was already starting to bounce off the walls. I had to call my mom to come and help calm him down. I was grounded for a week because I 'let him drink something that was so bad for him.' Bull shit! I was in the bathroom for crying out loud! He was a—sorry…I'm still bitter about that."
I chuckled, grinning down at her.
"I can tell. So…we have hours to ourselves with no obligations. Do you have any suggestions as to what we can do to fill our copious amount of free time?"
She grinned wickedly at me and I felt the wave of desire hit me a millisecond before she pounced on me, pinning me to the bed. As her lips moved onto my neck, I clutched her tightly, chuckling.
"I like the way you're thinkin', darlin'."
She lifted her head, staring at me for a second.
"Shut up, Jasper."
I tried to respond, but her lips covered mine before a word could escape. In that second, my need to speak disappeared and was replaced by the need for my wife. It's good to be back.
Three hours later, our entire family was in the clearing. Alice had made us all wear matching "uniforms." I felt ridiculous and knew I looked just as absurd. Samantha, however, looked amazing. The cropped pants hugged her legs, highlighting the muscular curves of her calves…thighs…tight little butt…I was brought back to reality by hissing. Samantha and Edward had both picked up on my reaction and were glaring. Edward looked positively disgusted, while my little soldier was a mix of embarrassment and the same lust I was feeling.
"Would you two mind not scaring me for life? I expected this from Emmett and Rosalie, but not you. You're practically undressing each other with your eyes!"
Samantha stuck her tongue out at him and apparently gave him a mental speech. Chuckling as I saw him flinch, I approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She glanced over it at me and smiled slightly before turning back to my brother, preferring to berate him out loud.
"Get over it, Eddie!"
He rolled his eyes and walked away as she turned to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. My cheek rested on the top of her head and I felt her breath tickle my neck. Smiling, I leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"You really do look delicious in your uniform, darlin'. Would you like to know how I'm going to take it off of you later?"
Esme calling the game to order pulled us out of our world. I had to stifle a laugh at Emmett's expression when she warned him for the five hundred and seventy-fifth time to play fairly and keep his trash talking to a minimum. I did laugh when he groaned and Rosalie smacked him in the back of the head while calling him an idiot.
After that, we quickly split up into our teams. We had decided Esme would referee, as always, and that Carlisle would serve as catcher. The rest of us made two teams: Edward, Emmett and I versus Alice, Samantha, and Rosalie. Each team huddled together, whispering about strategy and other details about their team's game play.
At Esme's call, the men moved toward home plate, as we were up to bat. Emmett was up first and we took turns serving as catcher. The women took their positions: Alice at the pitcher's mound, Samantha and Rosalie covering the outfield and bases. I caught my wife's eye and grinned at her, my smile growing when she grinned and winked back. The resounding crack of Emmett making contact with the ball Alice had slyly thrown at him snapped us both back to the game at hand.
I watched as both Rosalie and Samantha rushed to catch the ball before Emmett could gain any bases. To my love's immense disappointment, he made it safely to second base before his wife caught the ball in her agile hands. I could hear all three of them cursing as my brothers and I celebrated the small advantage. Alice finally took a cleansing breath and prepared to pitch to her husband. If he hit any runs off her, she would be unbearable for weeks, but Edward would be just as cranky if he struck out.
Trying to ignore the lose-lose situation that was happening before my eyes, I scanned the outfield and sidelines. Esme was looking on nervously, knowing this next pitch would be disastrous no matter the outcome. Rosalie was pacing near Emmett, hoping Edward would hit the ball in her direction and allow her to get her husband out before he scored a run. My Samantha was staring at Edward as if her life depended on seeing him. I chuckled at the growl that rumbled from his chest as he listened to her thoughts. Well done, lovely. Trash talk to him in his head. He can't ignore you forever.
"Jasper! We are on the same team, remember? Please stop trying to sabotage this game!"
"Lighten up, Edward. You know we're going to win, so stop being melodramatic!"
Samantha and the other girls were in my face in less than a second. Shit. They heard us!
"You really think so, Jasper? I hadn't noticed."
"Come on, ladies! Can't we just play the game," Emmett shouted.
My wife shook her head and flipped Emmett the bird, effectively silencing him. Both of them ignored Esme's scolding at their language. I sighed, knowing I'd just gotten myself in trouble. I stared down into Samantha's angry eyes.
"Jasper, why would you think that you're going to win? We've only had one fricking batter!"
Her last three words had been punctuated with her index finger poking my chest. Edward stupidly dragged himself into the fight and responded before I had the chance.
"Because every time we split into teams based on gender, the men win. It's happened consistently, Sam. Facts don't lie."
She whirled on him and I backed away smirking. You asked for it, brother. She is going to rip you a new—
"Shut up, Jasper. I'm sure Sam will let me explain what I meant—"
"I know what you meant, you sexist jerk."
Carlisle and Esme chose that moment to intervene in an attempt to keep their children from killing each other. I sent out a wave of calm, hoping to stop the subtle hostility I was feeling…especially from my wife. Esme clapped her hands, inserting herself in between Edward and Samantha, a calming hand on his chest and her shoulder.
"Now children, you must stop this. I want both of you to apologize for your remarks."
Samantha stared at her in shock while Edward looked away, resigned to his fate. Told you so, Eddie. Esme smacked his arm when he growled softly at me. I grinned at him behind her back and noticed a slight smile cross my wife's lips. Catching her eye, I indicated that she should apologize to our brother. She rolled her eyes at me and silently sighed. The mutinous look on her face disappeared as she turned to Edward.
"I'm sorry I called you a jerk, Edward."
She must have said something to him telepathically because he glared at her before he spoke.
"And I'm sorry the facts of life upset you. I'll remember to lie to you in the future to avoid making you uncomfortable."
He turned away and stalked across the field as she grinned at his back. His sudden howl of frustration had me biting my tongue to stop the laughter. We watched him throw up his hands and disappear into the forest. I turned back to my wife and noticed the devilish look in her eye and the mischievousness emanating from her whole being.
"Darlin', what on Earth are you doing to our brother to make him so frustrated?"
She grinned and balanced on her toes to kiss my cheek. Shivers raced down my spine as she gripped my shoulders and started whispering in my ear.
"I told him that I was sorry for calling him a jerk, but he was still sexist. That pissed him off, didn't it," she asked, clearly ecstatic with his reaction. I nodded and wrapped my arms around her, my lips caressing her neck. She sighed, relaxing into me. Suddenly, she went still and immobile and pushed me away. After backing up a step, she glared up at me. I was baffled by the fast change in her demeanor.
"Not gonna work, slick. You agreed with him, Jasper, so you're just as sexist as he is."
"What?! I never said I—"
"You certainly did! I think it's time you chauvinist pigs get your behinds kicked by a bunch of girls. Go get Pouty McSulkerson back here so I can kick his ass."
She called for Alice and Rosalie as she dashed away, leaving an irate Esme berating her language and awe-struck men staring after her. Carlisle's light chucking snapped me out of my stupor. I turned to him and quirked an eyebrow.
"Sorry, children, but you've gotten yourselves into it this time, haven't you."
Emmett heaved a disgusted sigh from behind me.
"Don't remind me. Rose was already pissed at me. Now she'll be twice as mad."
I sighed, knowing what we'd have to do. Slinging an arm around my brother's shoulders, I steered us toward the forest so we could find our MIA brother. Keeping my voice low, I spoke quickly.
"Em, you know what we're going to have to do now. We have to let them beat us."
He roughly shoved me away and stopped walking, staring at me with incredulity.
"WHAT?!"
I grabbed his arm, dragging him into the trees. I stopped and called for Edward to join us. In an instant, he appeared, still aggravated.
"You summoned," he said sardonically. I rolled my eyes and motioned him closer. Forming a circle, I stared down my brothers knowing it was going to be a hard sell.
"Look, the girls are completely furious with us right now. The only thing I can see that will get us out of the metaphorical doghouse is throwing this game. I know, Emmett," I said, stalling his protests, "this isn't going to be easy…or pleasant…but it's the only option."
Edward nodded his head in acquiescence. We both turned our stares on Emmett. After about ten seconds, he sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Fine. This is going to be the worst game of baseball ever played."
He stalked off, nearly taking out multiple trees. Edward and I glanced at each other quickly before heading back to the clearing.
Songs for the chapter: She's Everything-Brad Paisley & Ballroom Blitz-Sweet
Okay...you know what to do. Review and you get a snippet of chapter 7 (which I now have finished). Sorry again for the wait:(