Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight
My beta (Legna989) is better than your beta. Well, except for yours, ElleCC.
HattieB99 hooked it up with this chapter's Bible quote. I'm getting lazy folks. Here it is in all it's biblical glory: "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires of this world." True that, God, true that.
"As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires of this world."
Peter 1:14
Bella Swan
I woke up to find James's face several inches from mine, mouth hanging open and head hogging a large portion of my pillow. Someone's pillow. I propped myself up on my elbow and scanned the room. Jasper was sleeping next to me on his stomach, still in all his shirtless glory; Alice was on the other side of James, her polka-dot-socked feet at his head and his signature straw fedora next to her head. The French guy, Laurent, was on the floor, sleeping atop what looked like couch cushions. I felt guilty that we commandeered his room for basically the entire night and now he had to sleep on the floor.
My eyes traveled back to Jasper. I smiled as I recalled the events of last night. I was still sort of proud of myself for letting things progress a bit further, a decision that I had actually made—more or less—the day I met his father. Something was always stopping me from letting things go further between us and I finally managed to put my finger on it. I felt weird about his past, about his level of experience and mostly about doing stuff with him with the knowledge that he was possibly doing that same stuff with other girls as well. I didn't want to be so uptight about things, and I didn't want to ask him to be exclusive, but at the same time I just couldn't seem to let go. Then the day I met the Reverend something changed. It wasn't anything obvious, and more than likely it was mostly my imagination, but after the brief conversation with his dad, we were talking in another room and suddenly he grabbed my face and kissed me, and he didn't say much but the look in his face just…it was like it filled up my heart.
He said, "You're crazy special, you know that?" and I'm sure to him it was just some innocuous little declaration—he was always saying that kind of stuff—but for some reason it made me all warm and melty inside. I decided then that I didn't care what people said about Jasper, or how big a mistake this all was, or even about my own reservations—right then I was willing to give him whatever he wanted.
But then when we were finally alone again, I still kept freezing up and I realized that I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't want to put myself out there with him, my first time for basically everything, if he was still with other girls. I didn't want to just blend in with the rest of them. I didn't want sloppy seconds or thirds or fourths and therefore, I couldn't let myself do what even I technically wanted to do.
And then there was Edward. I couldn't let go of my feelings for him no matter how hard I tried, and the fact that we were actually friends in some capacity made it even more wrong for some reason. Perhaps it was easy for Jasper, but I found it incredibly difficult to have feelings for more than one person, and I couldn't shake the guilt of enjoying a make-out session with Jasper after spending the afternoon with Edward imagining making out with him. But I couldn't stop because damn it, I had been hopelessly devoted to lusting after him for over three years and I couldn't just turn it off. I really, really tried, but sitting at his house listening to him talk about school and music…well, I considered the whole day a success merely due to the fact that I didn't suffer cardiac arrest.
So in a way, I felt I wasn't being fair to Jasper, being bothered by the thought of him being with other girls, when there I was, not letting go of this thing I had for Edward, which in some ways only grew with our newfound friendship. So, like it or not I was stuck until last night, when he told me that he hadn't been with anyone else since we met. And on top of that that it was a semi-conscious decision, though he denied it up and down. I knew Jasper enough to know that was a lot for him, and maybe I was reading too much into it, but for some reason I stopped caring. I was waiting for everything to feel right, and at that moment, it did. Jasper was there, and Edward was not. Jasper wanted me, and Edward didn't.
But I still didn't want to start at the end, so to speak. I knew that I'd been torturing Jasper for a while, and I figured that just helping him along would be enough for one night. There was a lot that I hadn't done—pretty much everything, to be honest—and I really didn't want to do it all in one night. Jasper didn't push me, and it was really hot, and I only hoped that I could let go of the last shreds of nervousness and reservation because I really honestly wanted to do more. I knew my friends would probably not approve of the attitude I was taking towards Jasper, but I felt like no one really knew him. I've always been inclined to trust my judgment, and I truly believed that beneath all his bullshit, there was something more.
I ran my fingers along Jasper's shoulder blades before laying my head on his back. A few minutes later he stirred, grunted, and then turned over beneath me until my head was on his chest. I felt his arm slide across my back, his hand coming to rest on my waist. I shimmied up his side until my head was resting on his shoulder, my face pressed into his neck.
"Did I miss an orgy? How much did I drink?" he asked, before kissing the top of my head.
I laughed. "Poor Laurent is sleeping on the floor, and it's his bed. Speaking of which, I feel kinda bad…"
"Don't. Trust me, this is Laurent we are talking about."
"Shhh."
"C'mere," Jasper said, nudging my chin up. We kissed for a couple minutes, until he rolled on top of me and pushed his hand beneath my shirt. I pulled it back out and gently pushed him off me.
"I'm not much of an exhibitionist. And I should probably go home now. Renee and Phil will be expecting me back before they head out for his game."
"I believe we had plans to hang out today, Ms. Swan," he said, pulling on my hair.
"Technically you got your hang-out a day early, but all right. I just want to go home and shower and get changed and stuff. Then we'll do something."
Alice's head suddenly popped up from behind James' legs, her hair adorably disheveled.
"Yes…need to go now…need my bed," she groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"Hey, if Peter left can you give James and me a ride to his place? We rode here with him," Jasper requested.
"You have one minute to assemble yourselves," Alice declared. She smacked James in the stomach before crawling off the bed.
James rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. Jasper reached over me and shook his shoulder.
"J, if you want a ride you need to get up."
"I'll sleep here," he mumbled, raising an arm and waving Jasper off.
"All right, you can sleep here with Laurent," he said, getting off the bed.
James abruptly sat up. "Let's go. Hey, happy birthday! We should go get birthday donuts or something."
I turned to Jasper. "Birthday? You didn't tell me it was your birthday!" I felt bad, even though I really had no way of knowing.
Jasper shrugged. "Guys don't really go around telling everyone it's their birthday. That's a chick thing."
"Well…happy birthday! Jeez, I don't even have a present for you."
He smiled and extended his hand to help me off the bed. "Don't make me say something cheesy like you're the only present I need."
"That was not my intention, believe me," I said, laughing.
"I tell you what," he said, gripping the hem of my t-shirt, "how about you give me my shirt back for my birthday."
He pulled it gently and I pushed him and slapped his chest. He bent over behind the bed and when he reappeared he had my t-shirt and bra in his hand. He threw them at me.
James and Alice turned to each other and snickered. I turned purple and scowled at Jasper. "Never mind. Screw your birthday!"
He chuckled and threw his arm around my shoulder. "C'mon, I'll show you where the bathroom is."
I changed back into my clothes and returned Jasper's t-shirt to him when I came out of the bathroom. We went back into the front room and found James and Alice waiting for us by the door. She led the way when we arrived at the car, James and Jasper looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
"What is this?" James asked.
"It's a fucking Mini," Alice snarled.
"What color is this, exactly?" Jasper asked, wrinkling his nose.
"It's the color of awesome. Shut the fuck up, I'm sorry I don't drive the General Lee," Alice said opening her door. James walked to the front passenger side and Alice pointed her key at him. "You! In the back."
We swapped, and I got into the front seat. Jasper was frowning in the back seat. I reached back and grabbed his knee. "Okay, you know that was kinda funny."
"Whatever, just tell her to drive fast, I can already feel my balls shriveling."
"Just for that we're also listening to Lady Gaga the whole way," Alice said, cranking the music and giving Jasper the evil eye in the rearview mirror.
After a minute James shouted from the back seat, "Hey, Alice?"
"Yeah?" she responded.
"I've got a discostick for you…"
Jasper busted out laughing and I turned to scowl at James. I expected Alice to go on a tirade, but when I turned back to look at her she was merely smirking, suppressing a laugh.
We pulled up to Peter's apartment building and Jasper and James got out of the backseat. Jasper came around to my window and I rolled it down.
"Call me when you're ready and I'll come get you, okay? Wouldn't want you to have to drive that covered wagon of yours."
I swatted his chin. "Thanks, I'll see you later."
He kissed me quickly on the lips and stepped away from the car. James tapped on Alice's window and puckered up and she responded by reversing out of the lot. As we pulled away I watched them walk towards Pearl. Jasper casually reached behind James's head and knocked his hat off. James reached down to grab it and then kicked Jasper in the back of the knees. By the time we turned out of the complex, both of them were on the ground.
"So," Alice said, turning the music down.
"So," I responded.
"So, spill. I don't want to have to drag this shit out of you, Bella. Let's start with the part where you're wearing his t-shirt and go backwards."
"Ali, I'm so not doing this. We hooked up, okay, big deal. It's not as if it's a new thing."
"I know that, I'm just wondering the extent of the hook up."
"We didn't have sex, if that's what you're trying to get at."
"Oh come on, Bella, stop being such a prude. So you didn't have sex, what did you do?"
I folded my arms against my chest. "I gave him a hand job, okay?"
Alice squealed and let go of the steering wheel to clap her hands together. "Yessss. This is exciting, you should call Jess."
"No. No, we're not calling anyone. This really isn't a big deal."
"Um, you gave Jasper Hale a hand—"
I cut her off. "For the love of God, stop calling him Jasper Hale!"
"Whatever, so…I recall that during your espionage you discovered a very unsettling condom, right? Was all that worry for naught? Was that possibly just an old gag gift? Strategically placed to pique your curiosity?"
"Well, obviously we didn't need it, but…I think it was legit."
"Yes! Amazing. Did you, like, cry when he whipped it out?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "No, it wasn't as bad as I thought."
"Just wait 'til you have to give him head," she said matter-of-factly.
"Shut up. I am not talking about this anymore."
"Jess is so much more fun, and you know she's gonna grill your ass at school on Monday."
"Because you are gonna call her and tell her everything?"
"Oh yeah, baby."
"Okay, well maybe I'll call her and talk to her about you and James following each other around all night."
A look of sheepish embarrassment overtook her expression for just a moment before she recovered and shrugged. "Go ahead. I wasn't wearing his t-shirt in the morning."
"Al, do you like him?"
"Why?"
"Well, he's like…worse than Jasper. I mean, in terms of reputation, and the way he acts."
"Bella Swan, are you warning me?"
I scrunched up my face. "Right. Sorry. Never mind."
We pulled into my driveway and I found myself impressed at how Alice managed to dodge my line of questioning. I needed to learn how to turn tables and talk in circles better.
I gave her a hug goodbye and stood waving on the driveway until she left. I headed straight for the kitchen when I got inside, where I dropped my bag on the floor and started picking at a bowl of fruit salad on the counter.
"Baby!" I heard my mother call from behind me, in the living room.
A moment later I felt her hand on my shoulder, before she planted a kiss on the back of my head. "Hey, Mom."
"How was your sleepover?"
"Good. I'm tired, though."
"Gossiping all night?" she asked, pulling a jug of chocolate milk from the fridge.
"More or less…" Omitting the truth wasn't much better than lying and I started to feel a little guilty. I hoped Renee wouldn't grill me too much on my evening.
"Well, try to take a nap or something today. I'll make you a nice big salad before we go, too."
"Thanks, Mom. I think I'm going to do something with Jasper later this afternoon."
Her jaw clenched and her lips pursed ever so slightly, but she didn't say anything. She just poured a glass of milk and slid it over to me.
"What time do you guys have to leave?"
"Around 1:30. You could come, Bella. It's been awhile since you've seen Phil play."
"Next time, Mom. Like I said, I have plans already and I'm kind of tired."
She smiled and nodded. "Well don't stay out too late, okay? We'll be home around 10 or 11."
"Okay, have fun. I'm going to go take a shower." I pecked her on the cheek and left the kitchen, chocolate milk in one hand, my bag in the other.
I passed Phil on the stairs. "Bells, did you have fun last night?" he asked, mussing my hair a bit. It was the only way he knew how to show parental affection, other than the occasional awkward hug on a very special occasion.
"Hey, Phil. Yeah, I did." I cringed a little at my own response. "So, you're playing today? Have a great game!"
"Thanks, any plans this afternoon?"
"Not much, just going out with Jasper later."
Like Renee, his face changed and I cursed myself for being so honest. He smiled weakly.
"All right, well have a good afternoon."
We both continued on our separate ways. I threw my bag in my room and grabbed some underwear, a change of clothes, and my towel before heading back to the bathroom. On the way I heard terse whispers downstairs, and I knew Renee and Phil had to be discussing me. I stopped and listened for a moment at the stairs.
"…can I say? You know if I try to stop her she'll probably just be sneaking around."
"Reen, she's been seeing that guy too much. You know I'm right. The age gap is a lot wider when you're a teenager."
"I know Phil, but I'm not going to get all 'overbearing parent' on her now. Charlie tries that with her all the time and it never works. She's a mature girl, I have to trust her."
"Well, maybe I should tell Charlie what's going on here," he threatened.
"If you do, you can go ahead and deal with him and Bella. That'll be something else."
Phil muttered something that I couldn't make out, but I didn't want to hear anymore anyway, so I went into the bathroom and started the shower. On one hand, I was beyond annoyed that they were still discussing this, and that Phil was trying to convince Renee to stop me from seeing Jasper. Yet on the other, if they knew what I had done last night, and where I was, I would have only proved them right.
Still, I couldn't shake my annoyance at Phil for trying to influence how Renee parented me. She and I had been together from the beginning, and from time to time I still felt a little resentful that he thought he knew better than my mother. Especially since they had quite an age gap between them, and he was probably better suited to be my big brother than my father.
I stewed for a while in the shower and then decided that there was no point in thinking about it anymore. I just prayed that Phil would never make good on that telling Charlie threat.
When I finished drying my hair and cleaning up my room, I called Jasper.
"Ready, sugar?" he answered, his voice a little gravelly and very lazy.
"Were you asleep?"
"Possibly. A little bit. Are you ready or what? I've been waiting patiently."
"Yeah, I'm ready. I'm sorry I woke you."
"I like waking up to your voice. I'll see ya in a few." I knew it was mostly bullshit, but for some reason he could always make me blush. "Oh, and Bella?"
"Hmm?"
"Bring a bathing suit. I'm gonna make good on that pool invite."
I packed a bag with sunblock, a towel, and my bikini and headed downstairs to eat something before Jasper arrived.
I was stuffing salad into my mouth when I heard two short honks. I finished chewing, grabbed my bag, and headed out the front door. Jasper was leaning against Pearl, on the passenger side and when I approached he opened the door and then leaned down to kiss me. I ducked out of the way and pointed to my mouth.
"Just finished eating Caesar salad."
"That's fine," he said, pulling me back to him. "I just won't kiss your mouth."
He kissed my neck and shoulder and then tugged on the strap of my tank top.
"Bathing suit?"
I held up my bag. "In here."
He nodded and pulled the door open wider. I got in and threw my bag at my feet. I fished out some gum and popped two pieces into my mouth. I held the pack towards Jasper as he got in the driver's side.
"Gum?" I asked.
"Nah, I'll just steal yours later."
We both laughed as he drove out of the development. When we pulled up to his house he leaned over to kiss me.
"Is anyone home?" I asked.
He leered. "Why do you ask?"
"You are such a perv. I was just wondering."
He shrugged and got out of the car. I waited for him to come around and open my door, having finally gotten used to 'the rules.' I stepped out of the car and shut the door. Jasper nudged me against it, pushing his hips into me. His fingers skimmed over my hair, but before he could kiss me, I held my hand up.
"Wait. Hold on." I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a tiara that said Happy Birthday Princess in pink rhinestones. I placed it on his head. "I brought this for you."
His eyes traveled upward. He chuckled and flicked my nose. "You're such a teenager."
"Yeah, and you're such a wise and mature older man."
He smiled and leaned in to kiss me but I ducked away again and headed towards the door. "Ew. Not kissing a dude in a tiara."
He ran up behind me and grabbed me by the waist, slapping the tiara on to my head.
"Play your cards right and you could be wearing this and nothing else in my room in less than a minute," he purred into my ear.
"Or, even better, you could be wearing that and nothing else."
"Careful what you wish for, sweetheart. I'm a bit of a freak like that."
I laughed and let him lead me upstairs to his room. The moment we crossed the threshold into his room he slammed the door and pulled me to the bed. We were grabbing and fumbling and kissing in a rather uncoordinated manner but somehow we ended up on the bed, me on my back and him leaning over me on his side. His hand moved down my waist and over my stomach, his mouth to my ear.
"I want my birthday present," he mumbled between kisses to my neck and ear.
Before I could summon a proper response, he was already pulling my shirt over my head. I was nervous about what Jasper's idea of a birthday gift entailed.
"What kind of birthday present were you expecting?" I asked, not quite masking the hesitation in my voice.
He put his hand on my inner thigh and squeezed. His mouth moved from my neck back to my lips and he kissed me a few times before pulling away and looking into my eyes.
"This," he said, moving his hand up my thigh, beneath the hem of my shorts and bringing it to rest between my legs.
I grabbed his arm. "Wait. Jasper, stop." I knew those three words were going to piss him off but I had to set my boundaries. "There's like a natural order of things, you know? I am really embarrassed I even have to admit this, but I really haven't done much of anything, so I'd rather not just skip right to the grand finale, you know? I don't want to go backwards."
I expected him to huff and puff and whine about how hard life was because he was so horny, but instead he just smiled knowingly. "I wasn't referring to sex," he stated, moving his hand back to where it was. "Just relax for a minute. If you hate it you can tell me to stop."
He pressed his fingers into me and I definitely didn't hate it. I relaxed my head against the pillow and moaned a little bit as I felt him push my panties to the side. He kissed me and his fingers moved slowly over me and then faster, and my head was reeling and then they were inside me, one, two, and I really, really didn't hate it. I clutched his bicep tightly with one hand and the other grasped the edge of the mattress because I just didn't know what to do with myself.
I tried to steady my breathing, but after a few minutes it was impossible. Jasper pressed his mouth against my ear and groaned.
"I wish you could know how this feels," he whispered.
It took me a minute but finally I choked out, "I have a pretty good idea."
He picked up his pace. "No, for me. How it feels for me."
The statement sent chills down my back. He whispered a few more things in my ear that made me blush, and then I started to notice my legs and toes felt funny. Everything felt hot and cold at once and I started to feel uneasy, like I was losing control.
I dug my nails into his arm. "Oh, God…Jasper…I'm…oh God, I don't….stop!" My brain had been rendered into a bubbling pile of goop, along with my nether-regions.
"Just go with it, honey. C'mon. Let go."
I probably looked and sounded like I was having a seizure or something, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything. I just dug my heels into the mattress and pressed my face against his. After a moment, everything refocused and the sensation of his touch became unbearable. I nudged his arm and he pulled away and slipped it underneath my back.
"Well, that was something else," he said, squeezing my back.
"Sorry. You're pretty good at that," I said, looking away from his eyes. The euphoria was wearing off and suddenly I was a little embarrassed.
"I could have watched that for hours," he said, smirking. He kissed my forehead.
"I don't think I could have handled that for hours," I said. "I think I need a nap or something."
"We could nap. Or how about a swim? Or how about you nap in a bikini?"
"A swim would be perfect. I hope the water is really, really cold."
"You? What about me? I'm gonna need a few minutes before I put on any sort of swim gear."
"Oh, right! I'm sorry, I'm still a little foggy." I moved my hand down his stomach. "Well, I could use a little bit more practice…"
He groaned and slipped his hand into my hair, grabbing a fistful. "I do love an eager student."
So I gave him what I was now referring to as "The Bella Special" in my head, except it probably wasn't all that special, because it took a really long time and I thought my arm was going to fall off by the end. But it got the job done and after a brief rest we both got up and got ready for the pool.
I grabbed my swimsuit and towel out of my bag and went to the bathroom to wash up. I slipped into the bikini Renee bought me in Florida a few months ago; it was white with green stripes, with a black R and O on each cup and an X and Y on the bottoms. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and left the bathroom after a final once-over. When I came back out, Jasper was standing in a pair of Texas flag swim trunks, a black towel over his shoulder. I looked him up and down and he just stood there smiling. The shorts were ridiculous but his body was most definitely not. I tried to keep the saliva in my mouth long enough to tease him.
"You're kidding, right?" I asked, shaking my head.
"Sort of. A friend bought these for me before I left Texas. Sort of an inside joke."
"Brady?" I asked, sitting on the bed to apply my sunscreen.
"Yeah, how did you know?" he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
I blushed remembering my snooping, more so at the memory of the Magnum. It was no longer such a scary thing but still, I didn't need him finding out about that little discovery. "I saw the postcard. Sorry."
"S'okay," he said, grabbing the sunscreen bottle from my hands. "I get to do this."
"So, what was it like there? Do you miss it?" I asked as he worked the sunscreen into my shoulders.
"Yeah. I miss my friends. But I go visit often enough. San Antonio is great. Texas is great. This bikini is great." His hands moved down my chest and I elbowed him gently.
"I don't need sunscreen under the bathing suit, Jas."
"Sun protection is a very serious matter," he argued, but nevertheless moved his hands to my arms.
"Do you want to move back?"
"Yep. I will someday. I mean, I like Arizona, but Texas is home. Always will be."
I turned to face him. "Well, I hope you'll stay here for a while, anyway." I thought it was a sweet thing to say, and for some reason I was in the mood to be sweet with him.
He looked into my eyes and after a moment his narrowed a bit. He placed the sun block in my hands and got up off the bed. "Yeah, well, I will be if my father has any say in the matter. At least until I finish school, which could be another eight to ten years, at the rate I'm going."
I laughed, and it came out more nervously than I wanted. His reaction bothered me a little, though I tried not to let it. He was a guy, and guys were weird about that stuff. Or at least that's what I told myself.
"C'mon, let's go downstairs," he said, picking up my towel.
No one was around when we got home, but when we walked into the kitchen the whole damn family was there, including Edward. I suddenly became hyper-aware of my near-nakedness. Rosalie was standing next to her father at the kitchen counter wearing a bathing suit and cover-up. The Reverend and Sara-Jane were dressed in expensive looking casual clothes and Edward was in board shorts and a t-shirt. I felt my face heat up as everyone's eyes landed on us. I panicked internally, trying to come up with a way out of Hale family swim time.
Mrs. Hale spoke first. "Good afternoon, Bella. I didn't know you were here. Would you like something to eat or drink?"
"No thanks, Mrs. Hale, I'm fine."
The Reverend was staring at Jasper, his face unreadable. "Did you two just come from upstairs?"
Jasper nodded and stared back.
Reverend Hale shifted his gaze to me and smiled, flashing me all of his straight white teeth. "Bella, we've got rules in this house about being upstairs with the doors closed. I can't trust Jasper to follow them, but I am sure you'll keep him in line, right?"
There had to have been smoke rising off my face, it was burning so hot. Rosalie smirked and stared at me, as if she too were waiting for my answer. I tried to find words but I couldn't. I was afraid if I tried to speak I would just burst into tears, so I merely nodded. I chanced a glance at Edward, who flashed me a sympathetic smile. He and Rosalie were often up in her room when the Reverend wasn't around, but I suppose they just hadn't gotten caught yet. I made a mental note to bitch Jasper out later for not telling me the house rules.
Mrs. Hale was the one to break the awkward silence. She flitted over to Jasper and kissed his face loudly, several times. "Now, William just let it go for now. After all, Jasper is the birthday boy today!"
Reverend Hale frowned, but didn't argue.
"Happy Birthday, sweet meat," she said kissing him again. "Rosalie, wish your brother a Happy Birthday."
"Happy Birthday," Rosalie mumbled rolling her eyes.
I was still stuck on 'Sweet Meat.' I made eye contact with Edward, who was smirking, no doubt at the ridiculous nickname as well.
"Aw, thanks guys, gee, I feel so special with all this warm gooey birthday love flowing my way," Jasper quipped sarcastically.
"We'll go to the club for dinner tonight, Sug, and you'll get your present then. Bella, would you like to join us?" She looked at Jasper tentatively as if to ask, "Are you at birthday dinner level yet?"
I had to think fast. "I'm sorry, I don't think I'll be able to. I've got to be home this evening." Jasper knew I was bullshitting for sure, but he sure as hell couldn't blame me.
"I am sorry, dear, I suppose some more notice would have been nice. I just didn't know you were…well, if you'd be around." She stumbled mid-sentence, probably because what she meant to say was "I didn't realize Jasper hadn't dropped your ass already," but I did appreciate her attempt to make me feel comfortable and included.
Jasper grabbed my hand and led me to the patio doors. "We're going swimming. Thanks again for the heartfelt birthday wishes, Rosalie. What did I do to deserve such a kind and loving sister?"
"Enough, Jasper," the Reverend snapped.
I squeezed Jasper's hand because his father's bias towards Rosalie pissed me off to no end. He was no doubt to blame for her spoiled, surly attitude, and yet he seemed to think she was absolute perfection.
We stepped outside, and Jasper closed the door behind us and led me to the other side of the pool. He grabbed my hips and pulled me close.
"So, the mere thought of having dinner at the Christian Coalition with the Hales is enough to get you lying through your teeth, Miss Swan?"
"I'm sorry, I just…I mean…"
"Stop stuttering. I'd get out of it if I could. Now can you see why I want to move back to Texas?"
I laughed. "Yes, I absolutely can."
Edward and Rosalie came out of the kitchen onto the patio. They both sat down on lounge chairs on the opposite side of the pool. Jasper patted my butt and nudged me along.
"C'mon, let's get you wet."
I sat down at the edge of the pool and put my feet in, just to get adjusted first. Jasper dove directly into the deep end. Rosalie removed her cover-up and Edward, his t-shirt. I tried so hard not to stare at the fine trail of dark hair leading into the waistband of his shorts, but I failed miserably. Rose was wearing a full bathing suit and at first that made me feel worse about my skimpy bikini, but something about her porno body made that suit look way more scandalous than mine. I sighed out loud, suddenly wishing I had a cover-up of my own. I really didn't need a side-by-side comparison.
Rosalie put her headphones on, pushed her sunglasses over her eyes and lay back on her chair. After a few minutes Edward came over and sat down next to me. My eyes bounced between the sparkling water and his insanely inviting flat stomach. I chastised myself for ogling, but luckily Jasper was busy swimming laps.
"So, welcome to the Hale family," Edward said, smiling.
"Yeah, really. Are they always so…like that?"
"Pretty much. They're an odd bunch. I can't believe they haven't all killed each other yet. If it wasn't for that one commandment, I'm sure they would have."
"Are you going to dinner tonight?"
"Yeah, I kind of have to. It's very much against my will."
"I feel for you. But I guess the Reverend is nice to you, since you're dating the Chosen One." I glanced quickly at Rosalie, praying she didn't hear that.
Edward laughed heartily. "He hates my guts."
"Wow, he's tough, huh?"
He shrugged. "He's weird. He's really phony. He never really outwardly shows that he hates me, I can just tell. Honestly, I just try to stay out of his way, and he's busy a lot."
"I feel bad for Jasper. He's awfully hard on him."
"Yeah but Jasper is…difficult. I mean he got into so much shit in Texas, like getting arrested a bunch of times and people were always telling the Reverend what he was getting into there, so I think he's really lost patience."
"It's weird, but I just don't see him like that at all. It's almost a little hard to imagine."
"Well, he's different with you. Or at least he acts differently."
I tried to stop myself from smiling but I couldn't.
Just then, Jasper swam up and grabbed my feet. "It's nine million degrees, girl. Get your ass in here."
I turned to Edward, "Okay, I am going in. You should come in, too. We can play Marco Polo."
He laughed, "All right. Listen, do you want to meet on Tuesday or Wednesday for Bio? Our first status report is due on Friday."
I nodded a little too enthusiastically at the prospect of more after-school alone time with Edward. Old habits die hard. "Definitely, just let me know when and where."
Before we could finish our conversation Jasper's hands slid up my legs to my hips and he yanked me into the pool. Edward got up and walked around to dive into the deep end.
"No chatting with high school boys in that bikini. It's far too dangerous," Jasper murmured in my ear, pulling me against him.
"I don't think he finds my bikini distracting when he's got…uh…well, your sister."
Jasper laughed and kissed the back of my neck. "Sweetheart, don't ever change."
I chose to ignore him rather than ask him to clarify. I swam up to Edward and splashed him. "Race?" I asked.
"You're on, and FYI—I'm fucking Michael Phelps."
"Oh, yeah?" Jasper asked, "Is he any good?"
I laughed, hard, and then set the ground rules. "Two lengths, no tomfoolery, no early starts."
We lined up along the deep-end of the pool and I counted us down. We raced a few times until we were all exhausted. Edward won three, and Jasper one. I was just happy I didn't drown.
After that we were too tired to swim anymore so we got out and headed over to the lounge chairs. Rose immediately began bitching about Edward dripping on her, and Jasper and I collapsed on one chair without even bothering to dry off. The heat only made me more exhausted so I allowed myself to drift off to sleep, enjoying the feel of the warm sun, Jasper's cool clammy skin, and the soothing sounds of Edward and Rosalie fighting.
