A/N: Thanks again so much for all the great feedback that you have given me :) You got me to over 75 reviews and that makes my heart super happy! This chapter is written from Bella's POV and is just a fun and lighthearted relief from the heart wrenching drama I've been putting our beloved Jasper through! I hope you all like it... The girls from work are written based off my wonderful twitter friends whom I love very much! They make my day so much better whenever I talk to them and am having a bad day! I love you ladies so much!
Thank you's will be quick this week! My super amazing and wonderful beta Coachlady1 who rocks my world every day! She's definitely one of my very best friends and the best person you could hope to know!
My fan-fuckin-tastic pre-readers Tiffaninichole and Handsandfingers deserve at least half the credit for making this chapter as amazing as it is :) (PS- I'm still really sorry Tiff :) I hope you won't hate me forever hehe you know what I mean) I love you girls with my whole heart!
The Slash Backslash Awards are going on so go check out Tiff's entry called Operation: Breakup :) There are also a ton of other really great entries so get to voting :) ALSO, the Single Shot Awards are open for voting so go vote for the collaboration between Tiffaninichole and KittyCullen for Best Lemon for their entry Three's Company and for my girl Savannah_Vee for her entry That Night. Both stories rock and deserve to win :)
This is a shorter than normal A/N so enjoy :) I hope you enjoy the chapter and love my girls as much as I do :) Please don't forget to review :) 3
Chapter 9: Girl's Night Out
BPOV
The morning after my disastrous first date with Jasper, I woke up to an empty bed. Instantly, I began to panic. I mean, I knew that Jasper couldn't have gone far, this being his place and all, but it still made me uneasy not knowing where he was or how long he'd been gone.
The night before was just plain full of fuckery. The whole ordeal with the confrontation at the restaurant would have been enough to scare off any regular date, but add to that the fact that those two were the source of the pain and suffering he'd gone through for the past four years and you have one emotionally draining night. I hoped he wasn't having second thoughts about us.
I thought back to my favorite part of the night, well, there were two parts that actually rocked, but the part I was initially referring to was when Jasper punched Edward in the face and threatened his two-timing ass.
The thought of his defending my honor in such a manly, sexy-as-fuck way made me smile so hard. The other part that kicked ass was how Jasper was now freely kissing me, not holding back anymore. I could get used to that so fast; I love kissing that man.
I figured it was time to get up and go find him. I rolled out of bed and ran my fingers through the mess that was my hair, trying to manage it a little.
I made it out into the hallway before I heard the clanking metal of the weights in the spare room. I'd come to realize that whenever Jasper felt he needed to release some tension, he hit the weights. I mean, I wasn't complaining or anything because the weights definitely did his body good, so I decided to shower instead.
When I finished my shower, Jasper was back in the bedroom.
"Hey, baby," he greeted me, pulling me into his arms.
I hugged him back, taking in the scent of pure Jasper. They should bottle that shit and sell it, because there's nothing better.
"Heya, handsome," I replied, as I held myself to his chest. I quickly realized that there was nothing between us but a thin towel and a pair of gym shorts.
He lifted my chin up with his finger and placed a small, sweet kiss on my lips. My stomach did a flip and I giggled.
His lips curled into that smirk that makes him so completely irresistible to me. "So my kisses make you giggle now, huh?"
"No, they just make me feel special, Jasper. I can't help it," I answered him, before pulling his face back down to mine for another kiss.
We stood there like that for a few minutes before Jasper broke our connection, "Bella, I really need to get into the shower and you should put some clothes on or I can't be held responsible for my actions." He smirked at me knowingly and kissed my forehead lightly before turning for the shower.
I dressed for work in a hurry and decided to make breakfast before I had to leave for work.
After I ate and left a note for Jasper, telling him the rest of the food was his and I'd be home later, I headed to work.
I loved my job and the girls I worked with were extremely fuckawesome. It was nice to have friends again. The only real girlfriend I'd ever had was back in Forks. I missed Alice terribly.
Once I got to work and got clocked in, I went to my department to find Tiff and see what I was going to be doing that day. I spotted her hanging up some tank tops on the back wall of the Junior's section.
"Tiff!" I greeted her happily, "What's on the agenda for me today?"
"Heya, Bella! Uhm... I need you to help me with the new stuff for the upcoming school year. Can you believe people start shopping in June for clothes for August?" she replied with an eye roll.
"Yeah, I guess some people just want a head start on things."
As we were hanging up the new stuff, Tiff asked me about my date the night before. I told her the story of what had happened and she was beyond shocked at the new revelations of the Jasper situation.
"You know what this calls for, right?" she asked me seriously, as if it were the most common answer ever.
"Uhm... no. What ya talking bout, girl?"
She clapped her hands together excitedly and exclaimed, "Girl's Night!"
I really had no idea what a girl's night entailed but it sounded like fun. Soon, Tiff had worked it out with Meg, Tracy, and Dee to meet at her house later that night for drinks, pizza, movies, and girl talk.
I called Jasper on my lunch break to let him know that I wouldn't be home that night as I had previously planned. He was okay with that, saying that he'd just hangout with Jake and play basketball or something else equally physical. Then he told me to have fun. I love how being with him is so easy and natural.
The rest of the work day finished quickly and we all walked to the parking lot together. It still scared me that someone was going to be waiting for me so I always walked out with someone. Dee, Tracy, and Meg all got in their cars and left to go get ready for the night.
Tiff and I were the last ones to our cars. I had been sitting there for a moment, checking Twitter on my phone, when there was a knock on my window. I jumped a foot out of my seat and screamed one of those screams you'd hear in a murder mystery on television. I looked up to see Tiff standing there, trying not to laugh at me.
As I rolled the window down, I mockingly scolded her. "What the hell, woman? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
She started full-on laughing at me then, and I couldn't help but laugh either. "Sorry, my car won't start so I thought maybe you could give me a ride. I didn't mean to scare ya, I wasn't gonna murder your ass or anything."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say," I joked with her. "Get in, girl. I have to stop by the apartment and change before we head to your house. Do you mind?"
"No way, I wanna meet this man that you gush about all the time," she replied, smiling at me.
I couldn't help but smile the whole way back to the apartment. As much as Tiff wanted to meet Jasper, I wanted to be able to show him off to someone.
It wasn't very long before we were standing in the living room of the apartment. I was just about to head into the bedroom to change when Jasper walked around the corner from the hallway into the living room. He'd just gotten out of the shower and had on a pair of jeans, hanging low off his hips. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his bare chest was still gleaming with drops of water. He was in the process of rubbing his hair dry with a towel, when he looked up and startled a bit.
His face lit up when he saw me standing there. "Bella, I thought you weren't coming home tonight."
"I just have to change before we head to Tiff's," I answered as he pulled me closer for a hug and kiss.
Tiff cleared her throat and brought me back to reality. I couldn't help it that Jasper's lips made me forget about everything else
I turned to face my friend. "Tiff, this is Jasper. Jasper, this is Tiffani." I motioned toward each of them as I made the introductions.
"Hey!" she said coolly while grabbing and squeezing the hell out of my arm.
Jasper's shy smile crept across his face. "Hey, it's nice to meet you, Tiffani. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"No, I'm good. We're leaving in a minute," Tiff replied.
"I'm gonna go change real quick, be right back," I told them as I exited the room.
I hurriedly changed out of my work clothes and put on a pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt. I let my hair down and dragged a brush through it quickly. I gave myself a once over in the mirror and thought I looked okay, so I returned to the living room.
Jasper and Tiff were talking about a movie that had just come out when I got back into the living room.
"You ready?" I asked her and she nodded.
"Bye, Jasper." I hugged him tightly and then pulled his lips to mine.
On the way to her house, Tiff told me, "You did good, girl. That man is sex on two legs."
I just laughed, because I totally agreed.
We got to her apartment and the rest of the girls were outside waiting for us. We went inside and that's when the fun started.
Everyone grabbed a spot to sit—Tracy and Meg on the couch, while Tiff sprawled out on the love seat. Dee sat in the recliner chair, and I plopped down on a bean bag chair on the floor.
"Tiff, your place is so nice!" I exclaimed, looking around the room.
"Thanks, I try to keep my place nice so it'll be clean in case motherfuckers try to drop by without calling first," she replied, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"So, ladies, what exactly should I expect from tonight?" I asked curiously.
Meg looked at me and laughed. "You've seriously never done this before?"
"Well, yes and no. I only really had one friend back in Washington so we did girl things together but never in a bigger group."
Tracy spoke up. "Awww, man, girl's nights are so much fun. Pizza, alcohol, and girl talk, the Holy Trinity."
"Yeah, we usually call one when one of us is having a crisis or needs to let off some steam, and Tiff called it for you, so c'mon girl, spill your guts," Dee encouraged me.
Tiff took that moment to break in. "First, let's order the pizza. I'm fucking starving. What does everyone want and from where?"
"I'm good with anything," I replied.
Tracy laughed and said, "I just like a little pizza with my cheese, that's good enough for me."
Dee and Meg replied, "Pizza Hut Supreme!" at the same time, and the whole room erupted into giggles.
Tiff called in the order and while we waited for the pizza, the girls made me start talking.
I told them everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks from the first night in the bar to finding Edward with Maria, then ending up back at Jasper's. I told them about my stalker and our first date the night before.
"Wow, that is a load of fuckery, isn't it?" Meg asked, shocked that Edward was such a true douche bag.
"I told you she needed a girl's night, didn't I?" Tiff simply stated.
"Yeah, well, I never could have imagined that all that crap had gone on in the past few weeks," Tracy answered. "But, yeah, I'd say that's a good reason for a girl's night."
The doorbell rang and Tiff jumped up to answer the door.
"Pizza's here!" she exclaimed, as she set the boxes down on the living room table.
We all dug in, scarfing down the pizza like it was going to disappear if we didn't eat it quickly.
"Okay, girls, I really need some advice here. The only thing I haven't told you yet is that last night, right before we fell asleep, I told Jasper that I think he should talk to Maria and get the answers he needs to move on," I told them nervously. "The thing is, I'm not sure about how to get through this without panicking. I mean, I know he needs to do this, but I don't trust that girl."
Dee, being the most experienced in this department, spoke up. "Girl, you have no reason to trust her, but if you want things to move forward with Jasper, then you need to trust him to do the right thing. He trusted you when you went to get your answers from Edward. I'm sure that wasn't easy for him."
"No, it wasn't. He told me that he nearly went crazy from anxiety."
"Well, there ya have it. It might not be easy, but it'll be worth it in the end if it's meant to be this way," she told me.
"You are a wise one, oh, Yoda!" I playfully teased her. "Thank you!"
"So, Bella, tell us about this man of yours. What makes Jasper worth all this?" Tracy asked me.
That's when Tiff broke in. "Oh, my Lord, if you saw this man, you'd understand. He's UNF with a little bit of guh, blue eyes, and a sexy smile. He may give Meg's man a run for his money."
I blushed a bit at Tiff's description, but she was so right. "He is pretty fucking gorgeous. He always puts me first and everything he does just melts my heart. Plus, he hasn't dated anyone in four years and he chose me, that's pretty epic."
"He does sound like a catch. I'm just so glad I have my Jax. I don't know what I'd do if I had to deal with this type of stuff anymore. We dealt with jealousy and trust issues at the beginning, with him being a musician and all, but we are so comfortable with each other now. Also, let me tell you what, the sex is still great after all this time," Meg gushed.
Tracy agreed right away. "Yeah, I'd probably go nuts if I had to deal with a new relationship now. Jared and I are happy, that's all that matters. So, Bella, how's the sex with your man? I mean, dish, chica."
I looked down at the floor trying to hide my face, as I knew it would give me away.
"Wait just a damn minute," Tiff cried out. "You mean you haven't tapped that ass yet?"
I sighed. "Nope. I mean, with everything that's been going on, we just haven't progressed that far. It's almost happened twice but he stopped us both times. He says he wants it to be different with me; he wants it to be special."
Dee smiled and replied, "That's good, it means he doesn't want to rush things. By the way, I still think it's so sweet that he punched Edward in the face at the restaurant for you. Don't let this boy go."
"I'm trying not to, I swear. Last night, after he told me his story, he said to me that he was glad this happened because he wants to 'be free to move forward with me,'" I revealed to them.
"Oh em gee... that's like total swoonage right there, Bella." Tiff gave me her best imitation of goo-goo eyes at that point.
"I know, right?"
Meg stood up and said, "Who's ready for alcohol?"
There was a unanimous cry of "I am!" around the room.
"Good, we brought stuff for Long Island Teas and Malibu Rum and Cokes."
Everyone got up and went into the kitchen to make their drinks. Tiff shyly announced she wasn't drinking though, and everyone looked at her suspiciously.
Meg was the first one to ask, "Tiff, are you trying to tell us something?"
She gave Meg a wicked, evil side eye and said, "Cam doesn't really want me to say anything to anyone yet, but..."
A chorus of "Congratulations!" and whooping broke out around all of us and we were all on her hugging her and cheering.
She settled for a Diet Coke and we went back into the living room. We talked about a lot of different things and refilled our drinks several times. We also ended up watching The Notebook, which had us all bawling like little babies.
At the part in the movie where Allie and Noah were just getting out of the boat in the rain, Dee repeated Noah's line with the movie, "It wasn't over... it's still not over!"
"Shhhhh!" Tracy hissed at her, tossing a throw pillow in her face. "I haven't seen this before!"
"Oh, my God... I love that kiss. It's like true love incarnate!" I told them. "It totally makes me swoon."
After the first movie was over, we decided to watch Moulin Rouge, because Tracy has an unhealthy attraction to Ewan McGregor and his package. "I'm telling ya guys, I heard that he's HUGE!" Tracy insisted when we all laughed at her for knowing this.
The movie was actually really good and I'm glad she suggested it.
The night was exactly what I needed. I just relaxed and hung out with my friends. There was no stress and lots of alcohol and junk food. It was the perfect gift from the girls.
Eventually, we all passed out on the floor and couches. When we woke up Sunday morning, we helped Tiff clean up and then headed back to the real world.
When I arrived home from Tiff's around noon, Jasper wasn't there. I tried calling his cell phone but he didn't answer. I wondered where he could be, but didn't think anything of it. Instead, I went into the kitchen and got out everything I'd need to bake him a cake. I just wanted to do something special for him since he was always thinking of me.
Two hours later he walked in the door looking as dejected as I'd ever seen him.
"Jasper, what's wrong? Where have you been?" I asked him, extremely concerned about him.
His reply shocked me. "I... I was talking to Maria."
