A/N – ***Warning – slightly longer than usual author's note ahead***

First off, Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. And Monty Python belongs to Monty Python.

Special holla to Manutd10 for my second review!

Welcome to Savanna06, twilightkps1, SecretEmpath, missingcolton and Twilightchick16. Thank you so much for your interest in my story! I love getting alert emails.

An apology to with . love .ng, whose name got cut off in my last author's note. It wasn't intentional!

If my lovely readers haven't noticed, I like movie quotes and they're rampant throughout this story. This chapter is pretty movie-quote intensive, but the first part is kinda heavy so I needed to lighten it up a bit. And nothing lightens a mood like some Monty Python.

Oh, and there's a lemon in this chapter. I really wanted my first lemon to be Edward and Bella, but 10 chapters with no lovin just seems cruel. I've noticed authors generally warn readers of lemons, so consider yourselves warned!

Chapter 10 –

Alice

"I had lunch with Edward again today," Bella told me out of the blue.

I looked up at her in surprise and took the pins out of my mouth.

"Say what?" I asked her, getting up from my knees.

She shifted slightly on her spot and looked down at the dress I was currently fitting her with. "Yeah uh, his interview and photo shoot were today, and I went to check things out to make sure everything was going smoothly. You know how I am sometimes. Well, he was finishing up right around lunch time, so it just kind of happened."

"Did Emmett come along?" I asked, going back to fiddling with the hem I was working on.

"We didn't even think to invite him, actually. He acted a little offended when I got back, but he let it drop pretty quickly. I was pretty surprised about that, actually. He would normally tease me endlessly about forgetting him,"

"Maybe he was preoccupied? Does he have a piece due soon or something?"

"He is working on the interview for Judge Aro tomorrow. He was so excited when he got that one. Robert is one of the more prestigious of our selections, so it's a big deal to be interviewing him. That's probably what his deal was, come to think of it," she conceded.

I went back to pinning the fabric for Bella's gown for the reception. She was going to look fab-u-lous. I'd settled on a rich, dark blue satin and lace gown with a cutout back. Right now I was working on the skirt of the dress making sure it wasn't too long so she wouldn't trip.

"So, how was the lunch?" I asked. This would be the second one-on-one lunch that Bella and Edward had in the past week. Bella had come home Friday night with her head in the clouds.

"It was good. It's odd; there are times when we're talking that if I didn't know better I could swear he was flirting with me. And when we passed Tanya Landau on our way out, he hardly acknowledged her, even though she was fawning all over him. He politely greeted her and then turned to me and asked if we were ready for lunch."

"And why exactly is it surprising that he would ignore Tanya?"

"I don't know, she's gorgeous, obviously. And she's talented, of course, since she's one of our nominees. Have you seen the work she did with the Constantine development? Some of those buildings are unreal." Bella put in, like it was the most obvious thing in the world that he would prefer Tanya to Bella.

I stood up again so I could face Bella when I set her straight.

"I need you to look at me, Bella," When she looked at me and when her gaze was steady, albeit confused, I continued. "Yes, she's a good architect. Yes, she's pretty. But, here's the thing. YOU are gorgeous. YOU are successful," Bella scoffed. She had the audacity to scoff at me!

I let out an exasperated sigh and turned her around to face the three-way mirror in my office.

"LOOK at yourself, Bella. For Christ's Sake! How can you not see this? How can you not believe how beautiful you are?"

"Alice, I-" Bella made to argue.

"NO. We are stopping this here and now. You have wallowed for far too long. Do you not see how James is still affecting you? By continuing to see yourself like this, you let him have power over you! You need to get past this. When he told you those things it was the darkest form of blasphemy. You are beautiful. You are sexy. You're wicked smart and have an amazing sense of humor. You're a successful magazine publisher. You. Need. To. Stop. This. NOW!" I stomped my foot for emphasis.

Bella looked at me in stunned silence. Then she inexplicably broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Did you… did you just… Alice! Just stomp your… stomp your foot... AT ME?" She managed to squeak out between giggles.

"I'm glad you're taking my heartfelt intervention so seriously," I huffed at her and crossed my arms across my chest.

Bella took a few calming breaths and stepped off the pedestal on which she was standing and put her hands on my shoulders.

"Look, Alice. Thank you. Thank you so much. It wasn't my intention to demean what you said like that. It's just that the moment was so heavy and then you had to go stomp your foot. I know what you're saying and I do see it. I do. I've felt different lately. When I look in the mirror I see me, not what James convinced me I was. I don't know what's changing, but it is.

"Thank you so much for putting up with me lately. I know it wasn't easy. I've been such a Debbie Downer since I broke up with James. It feels like whatever it was that he broke inside of me is finally healing. And that has so much to do with you and Em. You two have been so great to me, I don't know if I'll ever be able to convey how much you guys mean to me. Honestly," She finished and wiped at a tear that had formed during her speech.

"Oh, sweetie. I love you. I just want to see you happy," I sniffed and threw my arms around her. "Now, get your ass back up on the pedestal. I'm not done with your hem."

"Yes, mistress Alice. This dress is going to be amazing. One of your best, I think," She said while she resumed her place on the stool.

"Why thank you. Now, back to our original topic. I want to know more about your lunch with Edward. You said that it feels like he flirts with you sometimes?"

"It does. And he always seems so genuinely happy to see me. But he's always so polite and nice to everybody, sometimes I wonder if it's all in my head, or if it's maybe wishful thinking," Bella turned a deep shade of red at that.

"Wishful thinking?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, well, you know. He's gorgeous, and smart, and funny and incredibly generous and so humble. He doesn't want people to know all the good things he does, because he doesn't do them for the recognition, but for the simple act of doing something to help people. It's almost like he's some sort of do-gooding super-hero that stalks the streets at night and then goes back to his mild-mannered alter ego during the day"

"What are you talking about?" I asked her curiously. I hadn't heard about him doing charity work.

"I can't really talk about it, it's his to tell if he decides to. Like I said, he doesn't do it for the recognition, though it got him some since he was nominated for our issue.

"Shit, Al, I don't know, it feels like I don't have my head on straight when it comes to him. He just comes in and scrambles everything all up. Before he came along, I was content, happy even, to run my magazine and be with you, Em and Rose. But now, hell, I don't know. Every time I see him I want to lick him. He befuddles me by just being near and then he goes and unleashes those eyes on me and I have a hard time remembering my name."

Thank god she finally realized her feelings for the kid. This would make things much easier. My next hurdle was to encourage her to act on her feelings. This, of course, is easier said than done.

I had finished with her hem so she stepped off the podium again and made her way behind the screen to change.

"You mess up that dress I'll have your ass on a platter. What do you plan on doing about Eddie boy?" I asked

"I'm taking the utmost care of your marvelous creation, Miss Brandon. I have no idea what to do about Edward. Like I said, there are times when I could swear he's flirting with me, but he does it in such a reserved way that I don't know if it's because he's interested in me or just how he is," Bella stepped out from behind the screen and carefully passed the dress over to me.

"Do you flirt back?"

"In my very awkward, ineffective sort of way I do. I mostly just joke with him, but you know I'm shit at the hair-flipping, eyelash-batting kind of flirting. I'm just not that girl,"

"Bella, I'm going to tell you something, and I don't want you to over-think it, or question it or go all Bella about it, okay?"

"Ummm, sure?" She looked slightly worried about what I was going to say.

"I've seen the way he looks at you and it most certainly isn't how he looks at me or Rose or any other girl I've seen him around. I don't necessarily know what that means, but I'm willing to bet he's at least a little interested," That was a blatant lie since I knew for a fact that he liked Bella a hell of a lot, but we needed to do this on Bella's terms and not freak her out with thoughts of love and marriage and babies quite yet. Because anybody who looked at the two of them together knew that's right where this was heading.

"Just trust your instinct on this, babe. I know you haven't in the past and I think it's time you started. And if that fails, trust mine, it's never failed me in the past. Right now my instinct is telling me that you need to keep your eyes open and see where things go. Now, let's go home. Jasper is bringing us dinner and we don't want to keep the boy waiting," I playfully smacked her ass and we started making our way out of my office.

"Did I tell you that Em and Rose are having a housewarming get together this weekend?" Bella asked as we were walking out.

"I knew they were thinking about having one, but I didn't know they'd set a date."

"Yeah, it's this Saturday. Rose is having it catered or something, so all we have to bring is drinks if we want."

"Why didn't she ask me to help? I'm great at that sort of stuff," I was slightly offended. Rose knows I live to plan stuff. It was my dream to open a wedding planning business and help the brides design their dream gowns. It would be a small, exclusive operation, but I already have great contacts in the event planning industry, so it would be an easy transition when I decide to make it.

I had actually been thinking about doing it more and more recently. I was in a good position financially and some of my dress designs that I've done here and there are starting to gain recognition. The only thing holding me back is that I wouldn't want to leave work in the middle of the seasonal transition. I planned on training my replacement while gradually scaling back my time at the store. If it all goes as planned it'd take me around 6 months to complete to where I would be at the salon full time.

"I think they didn't want to bother you. They know you're really busy at work and now you're making my gown for the reception. Plus I think they wanted to hire someone so we can all relax and enjoy the party," Bella replied. By this time we had made it to our cars. "I'll see you at home."

We hugged quickly and both hopped into our cars and started for home. I couldn't wait to get home and curl up with Jasper. He had this amazing way of calming me, which was exactly what I needed tonight. It had been a stressful day and all I wanted right now was some Jasper time.

* * *

"You ready, Bells?" I asked as Jasper and I were waiting on her to finish getting ready.

"Just about," Bella said, poking her head out of her bedroom door.

Five minutes later, Bella waltzed out of her room in a fantastic dress we bought a few months ago when the new line came out. It was a bright, emerald green with a flouncy skirt that fell to right above her knees and demure cap sleeves. The neckline was just low enough to be enticing without being obvious. It looked lovely on her. She wore silver kitten heels, since we decided that until her ankle is fully healed she shouldn't wear anything much higher.

"You lovely, as usual, Miss Bella," Jasper stood up and kissed her hand.

Bella blushed softly and returned Jasper's kiss on his cheek.

"And you look dashing, as usual. You have to tell me who dressed you," She said with a wink.

"Let's get this show on the road!" I announced and grabbed the housewarming gifts we'd picked out.

We rode quietly in Jasper's BMW. He seemed so clean cut and straight laced until you saw his tattoos and knew that he had a Ducati parked in his garage at home. I just about had a fit when he took his shirt off the first time and I saw the Greek Psi on his left pec. He had to explain to me that Psi was the symbol for psychology. Apparently Edward has one of the medical symbol in the same place. They went and got them after they found out they had been accepted in to their respective graduate programs.

He has another on his back that's the Latin translation of "Only the educated are free". It stretches between his shoulder blades in elegant, looping script. I loved laying in bed tracing the letters with my fingers over and over. More often than not, he'd fall asleep while I did it.

Bella was squirming in the backseat by the time we pulled into Emmett and Rose's driveway. I had a feeling she was aching to see Edward again, but was too embarrassed to admit it. I looked around and didn't see his car yet, so I guessed he was running a little late. She handed off the bamboo plant we got them before stepping out of the car. It was kind of an unspoken rule that we didn't trust Bella with anything breakable after she dropped a glass baking dish full of the dessert she'd made for a party one night. The glass broke and naturally the dessert went all over the driveway.

Emmett answered the door and ushered us inside. Rosalie strode out of the kitchen to greet us and I handed her the plant.

"It's tradition to give a bamboo plant as a housewarming gift," Bella explained. "It's supposed to bring good luck."

"And the horseshoe is supposed to be placed above the door for the same reason," I supplied, explaining the other symbol we gave them.

"We'll always take a little extra luck," Rose smiled, taking the horseshoe from me.

"And I brought beer," Jasper grinned and held out the box to Em.

"Dude! It's a build-your-own six pack! That's sweet!" He bumped Jazz's fist.

"Edward has another. We thought it'd be cool to pick out four different beers to try them out."

"Sweet. He'll be here in a bit, he just called and said that he was running a little late," Em said and waved us all into the living room while he put the beer in the fridge.

"There are hors d'ouvres and drinks on the bar, please help yourselves," Rose said as we all sat down in the living room.

"Hey Herbert?" Emmett addressed me as he came in the room.

"Yes, Big Popa?" I replied, smiling at him.

"We got stuff for margaritas in case you wanted to make some," He patted me on the head before sitting down.

"Why did he just call you Herbert?" Jasper asked me.

"It's an inside joke. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the King of the Swamp addresses his son Herbert as Alice. Em thought it was so funny he started calling me Herbert."

"I've never actually seen that movie," Rose said.

There was a collective gasp.

"What?!?!" We all replied.

"Um, I just never really had the chance to watch it," She replied slightly sheepishly.

"Oh, that settles it. We're watching it tonight," Bella responded. "Emmett has a copy around here somewhere."

The doorbell rang shortly after and Emmett jumped up to get it.

"That'll be Edward."

We heard the door open, and what sounded like a scuffle.

"Seriously, Em, let me in!" Edward said, sounding slightly agitated.

"None shall pass!"

"Oh god…" Edward groaned. "May I please come in, good sir knight?"

"I move… for no man!"

"What's he doing?" Rose whispered to me.

"It from the movie, you'll understand when we watch it." I whispered back.

"Hey Em, as much as I love to watch Edward chop off your limbs, I'd like to drink some of that beer soon. Just let him in," Jasper called to the foyer, trying to keep he laughter under control.

Once the boys came back in and everybody got settled in with their drinks and food, Emmett put in the movie.

"Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?" I asked.

"Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let's not bicker and argue over who killed who." Jasper added

"I fart in your general direction. Your father was a hamster and your mother smelt of elderberries!" Emmett chimed in.

"Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony." Bella piped up.

"You must bring us… a shrubbery!" Edward quoted.

"Uhh, guys? Aren't we supposed to be watching the movie?" Rose asked.

"Oh, we will, but this is just the credits. This has nothing to do with the movie, unless you'd like to watch the first few minutes of Dentist on the Job. We were just giving you a preview of what you can expect." I told her.

"But if you'd like you can spank us," Bella giggled

"And after the spankings, the oral sex!" Emmett was now laughing uncontrollably.

"Maybe we should shut up and let Rose watch the movie before she turns us into newts," Jasper said.

I took a moment to assess the seating situation. I was sitting in the recliner with Jasper sprawled out on the floor leaning against my legs. Emmett and Rose were sharing the sofa based on the sheer size of Em, which left Bella and Edward on the loveseat. They looked so awkwardly cute sitting there. I could tell they both wanted to touch the other but were too scared. I caught Edward's eyes around the time the credits were talking about the "majestic moose" and gave him a slight nod. He grinned at me and shifted slightly so their legs were touching. Bella exhaled and a small smile graced her face.

I nearly lost it when the guys sang the Camelot song. I was holding it together quite well until Emmett very austerely sung, "I have to push the pram a lot!" in his deep voice. They knew all the words to the song, and harmonized quite well.

By the end of the movie Edward had put his arm on the loveseat behind Bella and she had shifted so she was leaning slightly against his side. Occasionally he would lean down and whisper something in her ear and she would laugh. Those two were just too darn cute.

When it finished everybody looked expectantly at Rose, who had remained relatively quiet through the whole thing.

"So what'd you think, Babe?" Emmett asked.

"Eh, it was okay, I guess. I don't get what the fuss was about," Rose said.

Jasper gasped and clutched his heart. "You wound me sister! How can you not appreciate the cinematic genius that is Monty Python?"

"She obviously doesn't get the intellectual humor of it," I said.

"I think this is one of those things that's just going to have to be filed under 'differing interests' tab of our relationship," Rose said.

"I suppose it may be necessary for domestic bliss," Emmett conceded giving her a kiss on the nose.

"How'd the interview go? You met with Judge Aro yesterday, didn't you?" Edward asked Emmett.

"I did. It went really well. He's a good man. He talked candidly about some of his earlier cases and his experience when he first became a judge. A lot of people see him as a bad guy because of some of his rulings, but really, he's upholding the laws to the best of his ability,"

"I'm glad it went well. Jake said he was incredibly cooperative during his photo shoot," Bella said, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah, and he has a great sense of humor, which you don't really expect from someone in his position," Emmett replied.

"Have you had the chance to work with him yet?" Jasper asked Rose.

"Not yet, but I hope to," Rose said, also yawning.

"I think the ladies are crashing. Shall we get you home?" Jasper asked Bella and me.

"Sure, sure," Bella said.

We all said our goodbyes. We all surreptitiously kept an eye on Edward and Bella when it came time for their farewell. He bent down and said something in her ear and then kissed her on the cheek, which had at that point become the color of a tomato. She shyly smiled back at him and wished him good night.

"You two seemed quite cozy back there, Miss Bella," Jasper smirked in the rearview mirror.

She flushed again and looked down. "I didn't even realize that I was moving until the movie was over and I was practically in his lap."

Jasper and I exchanged a meaningful look and let it drop. We didn't want to push her too much, so we were quiet for the rest of the ride home. When we got in, we bade Bella good night and went to my room.

"You tired, darlin?" Jasper asked when I sat down on my bed to take off my shoes.

"Not really, why?" I asked, but I had a pretty good reason what he was up to.

"Oh, just wondering…" He trailed off as he slid a finger down the column of my throat.

I moaned quietly. He started kissing his way along my neck. He gently pushed me down on the bed and pushed the strap of my shirt to the side so he could move his attention to my shoulder.

He moved his way to my other shoulder, and finally getting tired of it being in his way he slipped my blouse off over my head. Once it was removed he looked at my chest with a hungry expression. I moaned when he licked his lips and looked into my eyes and I saw lust and love and adoration reflected back. It felt like we hadn't spoken for hours, but with Jasper and me, our bodies had a language all to themselves.

He pounced on my then, taking one of my hard nipples into his mouth and rolling it around with his tongue. I felt his hand come up and mimic the motions his mouth was making with his fingers.

I was squirming and moaning lightly under him. My legs were rubbing themselves together to relieve some of the pressure that was building up in my core. I was hardly aware of how my pants and panties were removed, but suddenly his hand was dipping between my legs to feel the wetness that had gathered there. He groaned deeply and pushed his hips against my leg he was straddling. My god, he was hard.

While he was rubbing my clit he came up and started devouring my mouth. I started frantically clawing at his shirt, wanting to feel his bare skin against my heated chest. He got the hint and shrugged out of his shirt, taking the chance to kick out of his jeans and boxers so we were both naked.

I don't know how much longer he teased me by sucking on my ear lobes and nipples while slowly stroking my clit but it soon came too much. He was teasing me, giving me just enough to wind me up, but not enough actually make me come.

I whined and shuddered under him, and he finally decided he was ready to enter me. He gently laid himself between my legs while looking at me reverently. I always felt so adored and wanted when I was with him. He leaned down to kiss me, sucking on my bottom lip while he slid into me.

He languidly slid in and out of me for a time, just enjoying the feeling of our two bodies together. I grew impatient and started meeting his strokes with more and more force and then our worshipful lovemaking transformed to passionate fucking.

I moaned loudly and felt myself tightening around him. He must have sensed it, too, because he hitched my legs up around his waist and deepened his thrusts. The change in angle was enough to throw me over the edge and I held on to Jasper for dear life while I rode out my orgasm. I felt myself pulsate around him over and over and a flood of warmth spread throughout my body. I was vaguely aware of my embarrassingly loud moaning, but I had no control over myself to stop it.

I was still shuddering around Jasper when I felt his thrusts speed up and become erratic.

"Holy fuck, Alice," He moaned out loudly and then started jerking above me. I felt his cock throb inside me and his moans became louder and less intelligible.

When he finally finished riding out his orgasm he collapsed on top of me and I reveled in the warmth and weight of him. I knew I had to get him to roll off of me before he fell asleep, but I really hated to disturb him.

"Jasper, baby, you gotta move," I shook him gently.

"Mumph," was his intelligent reply.

"Seriously, I gotta pee," I tried to push him off me.

"Fine, fine," He groaned and rolled off to the side.

I kissed his cheek and hopped out of bed to go the bathroom and get a drink of water. Once I took care of my business I crawled back in bed with my man and fell into a peaceful sleep.