My prereaders, BookishQua and Twilover76, are absolutely wonderful, as is my gorgeous beta Detochkina. Thanks so much to all of them for making this story better! If you haven't read their work, you're missing out.

And yep, the characters still belong to SM.

Edward

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Leaving the courthouse, I mulled over my interaction with Bella and what to do from here. For starters, I only had fourteen days left to enjoy my front yard art, so I decided to go home and brave the broken recliner while I pondered my next move. Wandering in the direction of my car, I stopped short when I almost tripped over a small child, his mother chasing after him. She smiled and apologized, and I watched her take his hand and continue down the street. I wondered wistfully - could that be me with a small sibling someday soon?

After stopping at a Mexican place for lunch on the way home, I pulled up to the house in my rusty truck. I went into the house to grab a beer before flopping on the stiff, cracked leather and prying up the footrest. Unwrapping my burrito, I took a giant bite and leaned back into the stained chair, enjoying that I didn't have to worry about dripping sour cream or salsa on anything. In fact, some sauce had dripped on my finger, and I wiped it on the arm of the chair just because I could.

My mind ran over the events at court today, from the caustic confrontation with Bella in the hall earlier, to the conversation we'd had before we left, to the inexplicable anger I'd felt when the large guy next to her kept leaning over and whispering in her ear. He was taking her out to lunch as I was sitting here alone, and that pissed me off. I knew he was just a co-worker or something, but still, it made me want to slide in and wrap my arms around her to claim her like I had in the bar.

I sat there eating and thinking until Jasper pulled up on his scooter. Without speaking, he moved the ancient sewing machine we had stashed on one end and settled onto the couch. He watched me take a few bites of burrito, and I threw him the extra one I'd bought in case he was home. If he hadn't been home, I figured it never hurt to have extra burritos around. He nodded his thanks and tore in, and we continued eating together in silence.

I finished my food and tucked the wrapper in the pocket in the side of the chair, growing uncomfortable at the continued lack of conversation. Fixing Jasper with a level stare, I decided to address the elephant in the room, or rather on the front lawn. "I know you're dying to ask about court today, so why don't you just fucking speak up?" My words came out harsher than I intended, reflecting some of my leftover frustration.

Jasper shrugged and looked at me impassively. "I don't know, dude, do you want to talk about it?"

"No," I lied.

"Fine," Jasper said, and went back to his burrito.

I drank the rest of my beer with an angry gulp and shoved the bottle in the chair, too. All the junk was going to be gone soon, so what was the difference if there was extra trash in the pockets?

Jasper finished his food while I sat in my chair, arms crossed and growing more frustrated. He followed my lead and shoved his wrapper in between the cushions of the musty couch, then he cleared his throat. "Bella was pretty nervous this morning," he said tentatively. "She made some awesome French toast with bacon, though, so that was good."

I was absurdly jealous to hear that Bella had cooked breakfast for Jasper, and it did nothing to improve my grouchiness. "So? She had nothing to be nervous about, she kicked my ass. I've got to have all this stuff moved in fourteen days." I closed my eyes against the onset of a sudden, pounding headache.

"For what it's worth, man, I'm sorry," Jasper said quietly.

"Thanks, I guess. I'm surprised by how little I care about the whole thing anymore, really." I rubbed my face and sighed, defeated. "Maybe I should just call a junk company tomorrow to come get all this shit."

"Well, if you do, we should at least throw these ladies a goodbye party," he said, patting a mannequin's leg affectionately. "It's the least they deserve."

In spite of my current foul mood, I laughed. "You know, that's actually a great idea. Let's have a goodbye party Friday night, and then Saturday I'll have someone come haul it all away."

We tossed ideas for the party back and forth, while in my mind I was trying to figure out how to get Bella to come. "Jazz, you're going to invite Alice, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course, if that's okay. Why?" He looked at me, eyebrow arched in question.

"I was hoping she might convince Bella to come," I forced myself to admit.

"I'll ask, bro, but don't get your hopes up. Bella's really professional, and this whole deal has…" Jasper trailed off, seeing my disappointed expression. "I'll ask, okay?"

I nodded, suddenly wanting to move on to other aspects of planning the party. "We definitely need to invite Emmett and Rose, Sam and Leah, and Quil and Claire…" I frowned, realizing how many couples I was listing off. "The rest of the poker guys too, and maybe Emmett can bring some of the guys from his construction site." That should make it a little less 'couple-y', for those of us who weren't half of a couple. Like me.

Jasper started texting people to spread the invitation around, and I started pondering the important details, like determining the perfect amount of liquor. We wanted everyone to have a good time, and yet not get so rowdy that the police would be called. In a flash of brilliance, I decided I should buy a decibel meter or two for the front yard, just to make sure we stayed within the city ordinances.

I was pulled from my thoughts by Jasper's phone chirping some text messages. "Em and Rose are coming, and Quil is going to check with Claire," he reported.

"Good, that's a start. We should go out looking tomorrow for a few more pieces, you know, for old time's sake."

Jasper laughed nervously and fidgeted a bit. "Old times, like a month ago?"

"Yeah, whatever. It would be fun, right?" I said.

"Sure, but… I actually have something going on tomorrow," Jasper said, suddenly concentrating hard on his finger, which was poking through a hole in the couch upholstery.

"Oh yeah? Don't you get enough of Alice, spending every night over there?" I teased, with a dash of resentment. Damn it, I missed Jasper more than I cared to admit, if only to know there was someone else in that gigantic house. Maybe I needed to get a dog.

"No, Alice is working, and I haven't told her this yet, but… I have a job interview," Jasper said, sounding apologetic.

I was silent for a few moments, surprised by the irrational flash of panic that shot through me. "Why would you do that? You know I don't mind that you're here, right? I mean, you're working on your music and stuff," I said, trying not to show the worry I felt.

Jasper brightened. "Yeah, that's actually how I got the interview. I was looking into getting some time at a studio to finish recording my demo, and the guy there mentioned that they might be looking for some help. It would be mostly administrative stuff, but I might get pulled in on background guitar sometimes and get to run the boards and stuff. I'm meeting with the owner tomorrow." He held up two crossed pairs of fingers for luck.

"Oh," I said simply, feeling a little despondent.

"It's just that… I know you don't mind, but I feel like such a loser slacking off while Alice is working all day. I… I want a future with her, Edward. And that means I've got to grow up and get a job." Jasper looked nervous, yet determined.

My worry turned to anger, realizing what was being left unsaid. "So, now I'm immature because I don't work, is that it? You've been dating this girl for what, two weeks? And now I'm too much of a 'loser' to hang around with anymore?"

Jasper looked pained at my harsh tone. "That's not what I meant, man, and you know it. I just want to do something with my life, you know?"

I snorted. "Well, I want to do absolutely nothing with mine. Let's each have fun with that, okay?" I got up and walked inside, slamming the door behind me.

Petulantly, I stomped up the stairs to my room and flopped down on my sleeping couch. I knew I was being an asshole – I should have been happy for my buddy that he was getting a job and a serious girlfriend, but all I felt was left behind and alone.

I stared at the ceiling for several minutes, listening to the faint sounds of Jasper entering the house and messing around in the kitchen. Part of me wanted to go apologize, but the other part reminded me how quiet it would be when Jasper inevitably left to move in with Alice for good. That made me resentful all over again, and I decided to make him sweat it out a little longer.

After daydreaming for a while until my anger dissipated, I went down to find Jasper playing Halo. Without a word, I grabbed another controller from our helpful dog butler's tray while Jazz started a new game so that I could play too. I flopped in the chair and cleared my throat to break the tense silence. "Um… I'm sorry," I said in a low voice.

Jazz gave me a long, appraising look before nodding. "S'ok, man." He looked like he had more he wanted to say, but he turned his attention back to the screen as the game started, and we blasted away at each other to get rid of the residual tension.

~~~~~~SiC~~~~~~~~

Friday night arrived at last, after a long remainder of the week. Jasper had gotten the job, of course, and had started the very next day refreshing his knowledge of the sound mixing boards and equipment. I had gone a little stir crazy after a few hours alone, and ended up at Emmett's construction site to take him out to lunch. When he saw how agitated I was, he gave me a hard hat and a vest and let me haul stuff to the dumpster for the rest of the afternoon.

I'd felt better for a bit, but when I got home to an empty house and a note that Jasper was at Alice and Bella's for the night, my irritation quickly returned. I had hardly seen Jazz on Friday either, since he spent most of it at the studio. I went to the grocery store and wandered aimlessly for an hour or two, throwing miscellaneous snack food into the cart for the party, but it wasn't the same without my trusty sidekick. Jasper and I had games we played in the grocery store, too – we each chose one snack food and one drink to try to make the grossest combination, and the other person had to eat them. I'd recently won by choosing macaroni and cheese flavored potato chips and root beer flavored milk. Jazz very nearly threw up before finishing his required serving.

I hadn't chosen any particularly disgusting foods this time, so hopefully the party would be vomit-free. I'd also stopped at an electronics store to buy a decibel meter – the city ordinance specified a limit of 55 decibels until 10 pm, and 45 after that, so I wanted to make sure that the noise level in the front yard wouldn't be enough to get me another citation. I actually hoped that one of my neighbors would call the police, so that I could send them away when my party wasn't loud enough to break any rules.

Rose and Emmett were the first to arrive, having picked up the pizzas I ordered, and we set up the food in the kitchen.

"Where's Jazz?" Emmett asked, looking around. "He should be helping us get this shit all set up."

I scoffed. "Where else? He's with Alice again."

My feelings of abandonment must have come through in my sarcastic tone, because Rose looked at me strangely. "Are you okay, Edward?" she asked finally.

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?"

Rose shrugged and grabbed a handful of chips. "I don't know. It seems like you might be losing your other slacker buddy, so I figured you'd be a little upset."

"No, I'm good. I'm happy for him, really, he got a job and everything," I said, my voice devoid of enthusiasm.

"Jasper got a job? Why don't you ever tell me these things?" she demanded, turning to Emmett, who began to look a little panicked.

"I just heard about it myself, and I didn't think you'd care… take it easy, baby!" he protested as his fiance gave him a teasing glare.

"You're lucky you're so handsome," she cooed, pulling him close and planting a kiss on his lips.

I managed to hold back my sigh of vexation at seeing yet another happy couple, and instead turned away to find some large bowls to dump the chips into.

The doorbell rang, and Emmett went to answer in case it was some of his work buddies. Rose went to greet them as well, but as she passed by she gave me a comforting pat on the arm. "I can't wait to meet your Bella," she said with a smile.

"She's not my Bella," I grumbled.

Yet, my brain added.

Rose laughed lightly. "Any woman who can hold your attention is definitely one worth meeting. Make sure to introduce me, okay?"

"I don't think she's even coming, but if I see her, I'll let you know," I answered.

A half hour later I was sitting my recliner in the front yard greeting the arriving guests, and my heart sank when an unfamiliar car parked down the street and Jasper and Alice got out. Instead of Bella, though, they were accompanied by a woman in a simple black dress with shoulder length honey-colored hair.

In an attempt to hide my disappointment, I got up from the chair and headed in to get another beer. I heard several voices in the front yard greet Jasper curiously, and he proudly introduced Alice and her friend Jane. They seemed to be heading for the kitchen to find food, so I quickly moved to the living room and flopped down in an inconspicuous corner chair.

Sipping the cold, bitter drink from the bottle, I pouted a bit more and thought about what to do. I still had one shot, I figured – once the junk company hauled everything away tomorrow, I could call Bella and flat-out ask her to go on a date with me. I wasn't sure what my odds were, but I had to at least give it a chance.

I was wondering how much information I could get out of Alice when I was jerked from my musings by a familiar laugh. My head turned automatically towards the sound, but I was confused when all I saw were Jasper, Alice and Jane talking to Emmett and Rosalie. All I could see was Jane's back, but I observed that she did have a very nice ass. In fact, it looked familiar… I crept up behind the group and tried to unobtrusively listen in on what they were saying.

"Oh, believe me, I know exactly what you mean!" Rosalie was saying. "When I first started at the shop, those guys were just cold – they refused to give me anything to do, and they were always making comments about me getting dirty or whatever. It took a long time for them to realize that I knew what I was doing."

Jane shook her head. "I know, it was incredibly frustrating at first, but I feel like I might be finally getting somewhere now. Although, I can't complain that the guys never gave me anything to do… I mean, they sent me here as a joke!" They all laughed, and my spirits lifted when I became more certain that 'Jane' was not who she said she was. Jasper noticed my hopeful expression and waved me into the group.

"Excuse me, guys, I just wanted to meet your friend," I said.

Jane turned around, and I was met with familiar deep brown eyes shining with mirth. "Nice to meet you, Edward, is it? I'm Jane," Bella said with a smile.

I lifted her hand and kissed it. "Jane? Charmed to meet you, I'm sure. Welcome to my home. Would it be too forward of me to offer you a tour? There is some beautiful historic architecture here." I returned her smile.

"I am a fan of historic architecture, but I was in the middle of a conversation here," she said teasingly as she reclaimed her hand from mine.

"Yeah, Edward, how rude!" Rosalie said. "So anyway, Jane, we should have lunch sometime."

Bella turned away from me back to Rose, and I didn't like it one bit. "I'd love to! Really, I'm out on inspections most days, so I'm pretty flexible."

Rose took out her phone. "Great! Here, give me your number, and maybe we'll do Tuesday? You can text me."

More than a little irritated that Rosalie was getting Bella's number before I was, I still waited patiently while she typed in the number and texted herself. After she handed back Rosalie's phone, I looked at her expectantly, my foot tapping out my impatience.

"Um… did you need something?" Bella asked, eyeing me strangely.

"Are you ready for that tour now?" I asked eagerly. I didn't quite get the wig or the fake name, but since she was here, I wasn't about to complain. Maybe she was into role-playing?

She laughed in response to my invitation, and the tone made me think that I wasn't going to like her answer. "I've been here for like, ten minutes! Let me get something to eat first, okay?" She flipped her blond hair and went towards the kitchen, followed by Alice and Jasper.

Emmett was staring at me in disbelief and Rose was smiling widely. "Good choice, Edward. I approve," she said.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. "Your endorsement was all I was waiting for."

"I'm not going to lie, Edward, if everything Emmett told me about what you've done is true, you've got some work to do there. But she seems like she'd be worth it," she finished as she snuggled into Emmett's side.

"What… what do I need to do?" I asked, willing to take whatever help I could get at this point, and Rose was definitely someone who would tell me straight.

"You need to show some respect, first of all. I can't believe you haven't cleaned up that shit in your front yard yet, but at least you're doing it tomorrow. She's not going to have anything to do with you until that's done, and maybe not even for a while after that to let the whole situation blow over at her office," Rose said logically.

I couldn't help but wonder how long 'a while' was, but I restrained myself from whining about it. "Okay, what else?"

Rose shrugged. "Groveling couldn't hurt," she snickered.

I rolled my eyes. "That's helpful."

She studied my face for a moment. "You're really serious, aren't you? Just ask her out, Edward, but don't make any moves until your junk is cleaned up. The worst she can do is say no, and then you move on. If she says yes, then call me and we'll plan." She flashed me a conspiratorial smile, making me think that she was already plotting where to make dinner reservations for Bella and my first date.

Emmett laughed. "Dude, you don't know what you're getting into here! I love this woman, but she's got some strong opinions." He moved to avoid Rose's hand swatting at him playfully.

"Hey, I've got you trained, don't I?" she teased. "Plus, I have ulterior motives. Apparently Jasper's well on his way to getting serious with Alice, so if I can help you through this and you and Bella connect, that's less time that Emmett's going to spend over here reliving his fraternity days."

"Are you saying you can't get enough of me, baby?" Emmett raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah, that, and we need the garage painted and the downstairs bathroom re-tiled. But mostly that I can't get enough of you," she agreed as they shared a brief kiss.

"All right, I get it. I'll ask her out," I said, backing away from them.

"Not until later!" Rose called after me, and I waved my acknowledgement as I headed into the kitchen, trying to train myself to look for honey-blond hair instead of the rich dark cherry I was used to spotting.

I found Bella standing by the array of chips with Jasper and Alice, in the midst of a heated debate with her friend about the merits of plain potato chips versus sour cream and onion. "I don't want to interrupt anything important, but are you ready for that tour now?" I gallantly offered my arm.

"Are you really that anxious? What, is the house going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight?" Bella teased, eyeing my proffered elbow with a little apprehension.

"No, but all the junk will be removed tomorrow morning, so it may look significantly different then. You need to see it as it is now, to properly appreciate how barren it will be." I waved my arm in the general direction of the front yard.

Bella gave me a small, indecipherable smile. "Really? Tomorrow's the big day?"

I nodded. "It's going to break my heart, but yes," I said with a wink, so she'd know I wasn't really that upset.

"Fine, you can give me a freaking tour if you really want to," she acquiesced, but breezed by me without taking my arm. "Where do we start?"

"Well, you've seen the kitchen, but check out our dining room." I ushered her through the open French doors in to the room with the giant flatscreen and recliners.

"Dining room, huh?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. "Do a lot of eating in here, do you?"

"Sure do," I said proudly. "It took us a few tries to get it right, but the coffee table is the perfect size for a pizza box."

Bella gave me a withering look. "No wonder Jasper's been so excited about my cooking."

I pushed down the flare of jealousy and showed her the bathrooms on the first floor, of which the best thing to be said was they were not toxic waste dumps thanks to our cleaning service. I ushered her into my office and gestured to my desk with a smile. "And this is where the magic happens."

Bella's eyebrows flew up so high they all but disappeared into her wig. "Oh, so this is where you planned your funny joke of a lawsuit attack on me, is it?"

I rubbed the back of my neck while I considered what to say. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm sorry. I really… you know that, right?"

"I know," she said softly and looked around the room a little more. "Kind of bare, huh? You must not like distractions."

I shrugged a shoulder, indifferent. "I just don't really care, I guess. I don't usually think about decorations and stuff, just what's functional, unless it's something that amuses me. Probably why I still sleep on a couch," I joked, then wondered if I had revealed too much.

Bella laughed. "You don't have a bed?"

"Nope. I bought a really comfortable couch in the first apartment Jasper and Emmett and I lived in, and I ended up sleeping on it a lot because Emmett snores like a hibernating bear. I got used to it, and… I guess I just never thought about buying a bed."

Bella looked at me curiously. "Must make it hard when you have… company," she said.

I really, really didn't want to have a conversation about other women with her right then. "Um… I don't have much… company. At least not here," I corrected, then thought that might make me look worse.

"Oh," was all she said, and as hard as I listened for a deeper meaning, I couldn't find one.

After a moment, I turned to leave the room. "Come on, I'll show you the upstairs." I gestured for her to follow me since it was clear she wasn't going to take my arm. We walked up the stairs, and Bella admired the intricately carved wood railing that was original to the house. I had barely noticed it, to be honest - it held me up when I stumbled sleepily downstairs in the morning, so it was fine by me.

We walked down the wide hallway and I pointed out the music room, the lamp room, and the taxidermy room, which earned me a raised eyebrow. The door to my bedroom was closed, and I debated about letting Bella see it. "This is my room, if you want to…"

I got my answer when she shied away and hurried past the doorway. "Um, I'd better not," she said quickly.

The hallway turned and lead to a small balcony that overlooked the backyard. I'm sure it would have looked nice with some antique wicker furniture or something, but all Jasper and I had managed were a couple of foldable camp chairs. At least they were comfortable. I opened the door and held it for Bella behind me. "After you , madame."

She smiled and stepped out onto the porch, walking up to the railing and looking wistfully at the backyard. "It's so beautiful," she said. "This is definitely something I miss about living in a house – I'd love to have a garden."

"You're welcome to use mine – I don't think anyone else will be doing any weeding," I joked, but she frowned.

"You need to hire a landscaping service or something, then. It would be such a shame for these lovely gardens to get overgrown," she said in her 'Inspector Swan' voice.

"Hold on there, I don't think you have jurisdiction over my backyard, Inspector," I said, trying to balance the frustration in my voice with a teasing tone as well. I was trying to move us away from this professional role, and this wasn't helping.

"No, I don't, and I didn't mean it that way," she clarified. "But… please look into a service to keep them up, okay?" Her eyes pleaded with me, and I couldn't deny her.

"Sure, no problem," I said, and meant it. We had a privacy fence all the way around the backyard, so it wasn't like I could annoy the neighbors by letting things get overgrown.

Bella smiled her thanks, and we sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the beautiful night and the music that was just loud enough to hear from inside.

"So… Jane, huh?" I reached out and playfully tugged a lock of the blond wig.

She blushed prettily. "Yeah, I wasn't going to come at all, but Jasper and Alice really wanted me to be here for some reason. I didn't want any of the neighbors to recognize me, though… I mean, I know it's not that great of a disguise, but at least I look different from a distance."

I smiled at her. "Well, you always look beautiful, but I have to say I'm partial to brunettes."

Bella flushed again and our eyes locked. I knew Rosalie had told me to wait, but it felt like the stars had aligned to create the perfect moment for a kiss. Closing my eyes, I leaned forward, but was met with only empty air. My eyelids snapped open to see Bella stepping backwards, giggling and shaking her head.

"Nice try, Edward, but I don't kiss just anyone. And certainly not you, while your yard is still in violation of code." Thankfully, her tone was light and she didn't seem angry.

"So, if you don't kiss just anyone, who do you kiss?" I asked, my words heavy with meaning. I wanted to be in that club. Actually, if I had anything to say about it I'd be the president and sole member.

"Hmmm…" She tapped her lips with her index finger, and my eyes followed the movement. "I generally kiss guys that I've been on at least one date with, and felt a connection to. I avoid guys in the construction industry, and I definitely don't go for smart ass lawyers with pending city violations," she added with a laugh.

"What about smart ass lawyers who are turning over a new, completely compliant leaf?" I asked, flashing her a hopeful grin.

"It's possible, I suppose… I'll have to think about it," she answered, but her flirtatious smile made my heart instantly lighter.

"I hope that you do," I said and we fell silent again.

After a few moments of watching the sun set over the trees, Bella spoke up again. "So, if you're serious, that all this stuff will be gone tomorrow, I'll come over Monday afternoon and do a re-inspection so I can close out your paperwork."

I nodded. "You're welcome to stop by anytime, the stuff will be gone."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. I… I should probably get back down to Jasper and Alice," she said reluctantly. "But thanks for the tour."

"My pleasure," I said, smiling.

"Are you coming?" she asked, pausing by the door.

I was torn - I wanted to be wherever Bella was, but I was also enjoying the quiet, which surprised me given how lonely I'd been all week. "Go ahead, I'll be there in a minute," I replied, turning back towards the lawn. I wanted to savor the moment we'd shared, even if I'd struck out on the kiss attempt. I guess I should have listened to Rosalie after all. Maybe I'd go talk to Rose again, and maybe then I could ask Emmett if he had any recommendations. Apparently, I had a landscaper to hire, preferably one who could come before Monday afternoon.

Awww, the junk is going to junk heaven pretty soon. Is Edward doing the right thing? I'd love to hear what you think! If you want to chat on Twitter, I'm mamabean30 over there.

One of my regular reviewers, dazzleglo, is contributing a story to the Christmas Wishes compilation to benefit Toys for Tots. It's a great cause, and her story Moose on the Loose sounds like it will be full of hilarious drunken mayhem! To donate and get her story plus others, visit christmaswishescompilation[.]blogspot[.]com (remove the brackets)

See you next Wednesday!