Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Warning: adult themes ahead.

Chapter 21

I immediately froze on the dance floor and Jasper stopped moving, too. I leaned back slightly to be able to examine his face. I could hardly believe that I heard him correctly. But his expression was soft, warm and most of all genuine. He had truly meant it!

"I love you, too." I whispered back with a soft smile.

"I know." He simply stated, and we resumed our dancing.

Later that night I was lying awake in my bed reflecting back on my wonderful date with Jazzy. My head was still reeling with the knowledge that Jasper loved me. Finally, he had said those three little words. And when we said goodbye he kissed me so softly, reverentially and tenderly that I thought I was going to melt. He had let me know with that kiss that he really and truly loved me. I guess I can safely say that I was the happiest person on the planet! My Jazzy loved me. I drifted off to sleep happily knowing that I no longer needed dreams to smooth my soul, Jasper was better than any dream can be!

January slowly turned into February, and Valentine's Day was fast approaching. It would be my first Valentine's Day with a boyfriend. I wondered if Jasper had any specific plans for the day or if he even knew what day was coming. He really wasn't the type of showing open affection. We were a very private couple, and that just suited me fine, too. We had never engaged in public displays of affection or said I love you all the time. It was enough for us to just look into each other's eyes to convey our feelings. It was very private and very deep and meaningful. I adored seeing my love reflected back to me in those impossibly blue eyes. When he looked at me with love in his eyes I felt stronger than ever like I could handle anything in the whole world. He made me utterly happy. And I knew that I made him happy, too his grandfather assured me of that. I still could remember his words.

Jasper and I was heading over to his place. We hung out there, too, but mostly we preferred my room. But today he had invited me over for dinner. When we arrived I wasn't surprised that his grandfather was sitting in front of the TV, eyes glued to the screen. I giggled lightly, Mr. Jackson was so predictable. Jasper immediately went on to finish dinner, and I joined his grandfather. He was watching some kind of quiz show, but we started talking anyway. When there was a lull in our conversation he looked deeply in my eyes and said.

"Thank you." His voice was very sincere.

I blinked in surprise. "For what?"

"You brought my grandson back to life." He said softly. And I saw moisture shining in his eyes. "I knew you would be good for him. You make him happy." He shifted closer and hugged me tightly.

"You don't have to thank me. I didn't do anything, I just love him very much." I whispered, touched by his words.

"That's more than enough."

I giggled at this memory because later that night those infamous photos about a young Jasper were brought up. I enjoyed watching them quite immensely while his grandfather told me more stories. My Jazzy couldn't do much than grin and bear it. Not surprisingly Jasper was a very cute little boy. My favorite photo showed Jasper on his first fishing trip with his mother. A little version of Jazzy stood in the middle of the picture proudly showing the camera the big fish he had just caught. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt with an adorable little hat on his head, and he was grinning like a fool. He was so cute!

Unfortunately, Valentine's Day was on Wednesday which meant that Jasper was working. I knew it was wrong, but I felt disappointed that even though I had a boyfriend I was going to spend Valentine's Day alone. It didn't help matters that at school everybody was all loved up and exchanged those awful red and pink cards, and my Jazzy didn't mention anything about the day. Well, technically he did. We were in the cafeteria, which that day was like couples' paradise, where everybody exchanged gifts.

"That's ridiculous!" Jasper said with disdain.

"What?" I asked, but I had an idea what he had meant.

"Do they really think that those shitty cards mean I love you? I mean those things have to be the ugliest things in the world both in appearance and in meaning." He said with a disapproving head shake.

I didn't know what to say to that. Of course I had a card for him in my bag, and although it wasn't pink or red there was no chance that I was going to give that to him after that little speech. "I guess you are not a fan of Valentine's Day?" I tried to keep the hurt out of my voice.

"I'm sorry, but I think it's a stupid holiday. And now I have to work extra long in the Diner because of it." He said.

"Oh, I didn't know that." I immediately put aside my hurt feelings, and looked at him in concern. I lightly touched the fading circles under his eyes. He wasn't sleeping well lately. He didn't tell me the reason, but I guess it was because of moving forward in his therapy.

So I thought that Valentine's Day was going to pass as any other day, but in the evening I was at home only with my mom. Dad had to work so she was alone, too, but Dad promised her a fantastic date for Saturday. And my brothers were out with their girlfriends, of course. Edward took this opportunity very seriously, and prepared a super romantic evening for Bella. When will that boy learn that with Bella the less is more! Mom and I were watching a really awful romantic comedy in the TV when we heard the doorbell ring.

"I get it!" Mom quickly stood up.

"Anything to get out of watching this movie?" I questioned her with a smile.

Mom nodded and went to answer the door. Soon she came back with a beautiful rose bouquet in her hand. Dad was such a romantic, I thought fondly.

"These are for you, honey!" Mom cried excitedly.

"For me?" I asked incredulously. It couldn't be from Jasper, could it?

"Yes!" Mom cried. "Come on! There's a card, too, open it!"

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my name on the card. The roses were beautiful, and I noticed that there were eleven red roses and one white. Hmm… interesting. I quickly opened the card and it read:

"In every bunch there's one who stands out and you are that one." Love, your Jazzy

My eyes filled with tears at this romantic gesture. And I know that this wasn't any afterthought gift, like compensation when he noticed that I liked this holiday. No, it was an all thought out gift even though he resented this. I couldn't wait for it to be nine so I could call Jazzy and thank him.

"Oh, Jazzy thank you so much for the roses!" I immediately said when he answered his phone.

"You are very welcome. So you liked them?" He asked softly.

"Of course! They are very beautiful. But you shouldn't have given me anything. I know you don't like it." I told him equally softly.

"That's true, but I know that you do." I was sure he smiled when he said that.

It was official: my boyfriend was the sweetest guy on the planet.

In the following months I had so many first experiences with Jasper that I couldn't be happier. For the first time in my life I experienced the ups and downs of a blossoming relationship. We were truly in a relationship, and he became the center of my world. We tried to spend as much time together as possible, but it was difficult with his busy working schedule, but at least at school I saw him every day. We moved forward in a slow, but steady pace, and it suited me just fine. I knew that we loved each other very much, but I still didn't feel ready to take that last step. Of course my Jazzy was very understanding, never pressuring me, but this didn't mean that we weren't experimenting with other stuff. We were touching quite a bit, but hey, we were just taking his assignment very seriously! I was allowed to touch his fine packs under his shirt, but I still didn't see him without it. He seemed shy about that, but he definitely wasn't shy about removing my top. First I was a bit worried about it as I wasn't very well-endowed in that department, but he seemed to like me just as I was. He always made me feel beautiful and confident. My favorite memory so far was the time when I first felt his desire against me. Admittedly I was slightly shocked, but it quickly turned into pleasure feeling his hardness pressing to me, the feeling that he wanted me was heady. I quite enjoyed the physical part of our relationship, too. And as I got to know him better, I became better at reading his expressions and moods as well. My Jazzy was a very complicated soul! He could be playful, tender, teasing and sober when he needed to be with the occasional depressive spiral. Unfortunately, he was prone to depression now and then, especially after his sessions with his psychologist. He wasn't open about that any more; he simply said that they were actively working on his past. I had never pressured him, I knew that he needed time and space to deal with those demons on his own time and pace.

And of course not all of these new first experiences were good. We also had our first sort of argument when the topic of past relationships came up. I was very curious about that, but I was conflicted, too. On the one hand it was great that he had experiment, but on the other I was curious about whom he learnt all this stuff. I was thinking about this, slowly driving myself crazy when Jasper interrupted me.

"Hey, where did you go?" He asked from his spot on my sofa. I was sitting at my desk because originally I wanted to show him a funny clip that I had found on youtube.

"Nowhere. I just can't find that clip!" I said trying to sound exasperated.

Jazz stood up and slowly walked up to my seat. I had to crane my neck to look at him from my position so he crouched down to my level.

"I don't believe you. Something is on your mind." He commented simply. "I know you, something is bothering you. Can't you tell me what it is?"

I sighed: now or never. "I'm afraid of saying it…"

"Why?" He frowned at me.

"Because I'm afraid of your reaction." I saw as concern washed across his face so I quickly added. "It's nothing bad."

"Then tell me!" He encouraged me.

"I was thinking about past relationships." I sighed.

"Oh." He simply said. I could tell he wasn't expecting that. "And which one of your old boyfriends were you thinking of?" He asked me sounding hurt.

I blinked at him in surprise. "What?" I managed to stutter out. "I don't… I mean…" I took a deep breath. "You are my first boyfriend, Jasper."

I studied his face, and he looked surprised. It was my turn to frown: it was quite obvious that I had no experience. So what the hell was that about?

"How is that possible?" He asked me after a couple of minutes of silence. "I mean you are a very beautiful girl, I'm sure you weren't lacking in offers."

"I wasn't." I admitted quietly. "But I had never met anyone whom I wanted until I met you." He gently cupped my face and kissed me.

"I feel very honored." He said sincerely. It didn't escape my notice that he wasn't volunteering information about his past relationships. That couldn't be good.

"What about you?" I asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Do we have to talk about it?" He asked frustrated. I really didn't want to push him, but I knew if we left this conversation open, I would drive myself crazy with assumptions.

"Yes, please." I said in a broken tone.

I heard him sigh deeply, and I looked into his eyes the first time since we started this horrible conversation. He looked sad and resigned.

"Come! Sit with me on the couch." He said softly. I obeyed, and we sat down.

At first we just sat there in silence. He broke it first. "When I was growing up I didn't have friends for obvious reasons." He started to explain. "But there was a girl who lived only one street down from us. Her name was Maria. Soon we discovered that we were in the same boat, she had similar issues with her stepfather so we bonded over shared experiences. When we were 14 our friendship had changed, I guess you could say we became a couple." He stopped talking.

"Did you love her?" I asked hesitantly not sure if it was okay to ask.

"No, at least not in the sense you mean. We weren't in love or anything, it was sort of like a friends with benefits kind of relationship. It's hard to explain…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Basically we used each other's bodies to feel good and to escape reality."

The silence hung heavily between us. "So what had happened?" I asked.

"Toward the end we grew apart. She started hanging out with junkies, but I wasn't really into that. Then my grandpa showed up…" He trailed off. I was shocked. Did that mean that he used drugs? He understood the question in my eyes.

"Yes, I tried it, but it never worked for me." He admitted quietly. I suddenly realized that Jasper and I had a very different life. I was so sorry that he had such a hard life so young. But he misinterpreted my silence. "Are you completely disgusted with me now?" He inquired softly.

"What?" I asked with wide eyes. "No, of course not. It's just a lot to take in. But I love you very much." I assured him.

He hugged me tightly and whispered a thank you.

One Saturday afternoon we were fooling around in Jasper's room. We were alone at his house as his grandfather was an avid fisherman and as soon as the weather permitted he went out with his friend or Charlie even. We were engaged in a heavy make out session when I snaked my hand under his shirt. It was something I did quite frequently and I desperately wanted to see his bare chest. I pulled away breathing hard.

"Jazzy, please!" I panted, and lifted his shirt a bit indicating that I wanted it off.

He looked deep in my eyes searching for something, and then he pulled back a little. I sighed as I had thought that he was putting a stop to our activity. However, he pulled back only to remove that offending piece of material. Jazzy laid back on his bed while I stayed sitting my eyes feasting on the fine masculine display in front of me. He was beautiful! His skin was slightly tanned, not pale like others in Forks. His chest and stomach was toned and muscular with a defined six-pack. His arms were equally solid and defined. I knew that he wasn't working out or anything still his body looked liked an Adonis. I guess working as a waiter and riding that bike helped in keeping his body so fit. However, there was a small thing that ruined his perfection: on his abdomen there was a big T-shaped incision. I slowly reached out and ran a finger along the scar. I looked back at him to check his reaction. He was looking at me with uncertainty in his blue eyes, he was examining my face.

"Jazzy?" I asked quietly. I had known about his scars on his arms, but not about this.

"Do you remember? When I told you about my past I mentioned that I had a surgery because I had internal bleeding. The scar is this big because they had to remove my spleen as well." He explained in a small voice. The uncertainty never left his eyes. I knew he was very self-conscious about his scars, and I wanted to reassure him. I leaned down and placed a soft kiss in the middle of his scar. I heard him suck in a quick breath.

"You are still beautiful!" I told him confidently. He frowned at my statement, and then suddenly a wicked glint appeared in his eyes. He grabbed my waist, pulled me down on the bed, flicked me over and hovered above me. I squealed in surprise.

"You are the beautiful one!" He said then silenced my giggles with a searing kiss. Then before I could react, swiftly as a panther he removed my shirt, too. I laid under him only in my bright pink bra.

"Hmm… Beautiful." He hummed and kissed me again. I fisted my hands in his silky hair urging him closer when I felt his hands covering my breast. He cupped them gently while massaging my nipples with his thumb. An embarrassing moan escaped my lips. He moved his lips along my chin to my neck where he softly kissed and sucked. The pleasure that he created with his ministrations was mind-blowing. I had never felt better in my entire life! And I started my own exploration: I let go of his hair and ran my hands along his neck to his back where I lightly ran my hands up and down along his spine. He arched his back in reaction and a delicious groan left those incredible lips. I was pleased with myself at this audible proof of his pleasure which only increased when I felt his hardness pressing to my core. It wasn't the first time I felt it, but it never stopped thrilling me. I desperately pressed against him feeling tension coiling in my belly. I didn't know what it meant or how to smooth it, but I knew that Jazzy would know.

He pulled back from my throat and searched my face. I could only imagine how I looked, but it didn't seem to faze him. He knew what I needed. He caressed my left breast with one of his hands while the other ran along my stomach toward my jeans. I shivered in reaction when I felt him undo my button and unzipping my pants. A new wave of wetness gathered in my panties, and in the back of my mind I was a bit worried about his reaction to it. But I didn't have time to dwell on it as I felt his hand cup me through my underwear. The pleasure was immense!

"Please!" I whispered, but I had no idea what I was pleading for. Fortunately, my Jazzy didn't have the same problem as suddenly he kissed me hard, and then I felt his fingers searching my completely naked sex.

"Fuck!" I dimly heard him say. I mentally congratulated myself for going to that spa yesterday. But my attention was turned back to his fingers when I felt his thumb teasing my clit. He pushed his hand lower, and one of his fingers entered me very gently. I threw my head back at the exquisite sensation and shifted underneath him, silently begging for more. He immediately understood my signal as he increased his rubbing back and forth, the motion becoming easier as I adjusted and became more wet for him so he added another finger to the first. The tension in my belly increased impossibly as he continued stroking, twisting and curling his fingers in a steady pace. The sensations that ran through my body at his expert ministration were so intense and foreign at the same time that I could hardy think or do anything, but it seemed that I was searching for something. But for what? I had no idea until I heard his soft encouraging.

"That's it, darling!" he whispered. "Let it go! You are coming!"

That was all I needed: I cried out when shocking convulsions rocked my entire body, and I dag my nails into his sheets at my sides. Intense pleasure coursed through me that eventually left me limp and sated. When finally I came down from my high I was able to focus on his gorgeous face. He laid back next to me supporting his head on his bent elbow. The expression on his face was soft and tender, and he quickly pecked my lips.

"Wow!" It was the only thing I was capable of uttering. I had just had my first orgasm. Give me a break! I had no idea that something could feel so good and pleasurable. I moved to cuddle up to him, and that was when I felt it again, the bulge in his pants. I hesitated, I knew I should reciprocate, but I had no idea how. I mean, yes, Rose gave me some pointers and stuff, but faced with the reality I wasn't sure how to go about it. However, my sweet Jazzy sensed my hesitation and we simply lay holding each other. As I said, he never pressured me.

A week after it had happened I still felt a little guilty that I was so ready to accept pleasure from him, but I was uncertain about returning it. I had to get a grip on myself! One afternoon we were hanging out in my room listening to some music. I was sitting on my bed while Jazz laid on it with his head in my lap. His eyes were closed while I lightly caressed every feature of his gorgeous face. Occasionally he hummed his approval and I thought it would be a perfect time to make him feel good. We were alone at my house which was a rare occurrence. Dad was working, and Mom was out to organize his surprise birthday party that we hosted on Friday. And my brothers were out with their girlfriends. Rose was a very helpful alliance in diverting Emmett's attention away from us. She knew that I wanted to be alone with my Jazzy so she always came up with something to distract my overprotective brother. Both Jasper and his grandfather were invited to the party, but Jazz could only come after his shift in the Diner. I was excited about it because this would be the first party that we go to together as a couple.

"You are excited." I heard Jazz comment, effectively cutting off my thoughts. He was excellent at reading my emotions or he was simply very attuned to me. I looked back at his face only to have those fathomless eyes stare back at me.

"I was thinking about my dad's birthday party." I answered.

"And were you thinking about a shopping trip to get him a gift?" He asked with a teasing smile. God, my boyfriend was so gorgeous!

"No." I giggled. "Actually, I have already got him something."

"Hmm… Really? What?" He inquired lazily shutting his eyes.

"Nah, I can't tell you." I said with a smile. I wanted to tease him a little.

He opened one eye to peer at me. I smiled sweetly and innocently back at him. He chuckled deep in his throat and quickly sat up, grabbed me and we fell back on my bed laughing.

"I see that I have to coax it out of you." He said with a playful expression on his face. I giggled in response.

"No giggling!" He warned me. "It's serious!"

He started caressing my face just like I did to him earlier. He started slowly and sensually rubbing my lower lip with his thumb. I realized that I had to put a stop to it or I would end up being the selfish one again. Then a brilliant idea occurred to me!

"I offer you a deal!" I breathed out when he started caressing my throat.

His fingers instantly stilled. "What kind of a deal?"

"I'll tell you about the gift under one condition…" I trailed off deliberately letting it hang in the air. It worked.

"And what is that condition?" He asked, interested.

Instead of answering I pushed his chest back on the bed so he lay on his back. He immediately understood my intension and gave me a devastatingly sexy smile letting me know that I have a free rein. I sat up and moved to straddle his waist always making sure that my actions were alright with him. So far he seemed pleased so I quickly leaned down to kiss him with all I had. It was a hard and needy kiss: I wanted to explore his mouth and get a sample of his exquisite taste. Meanwhile, I moved my hands along his ribs under his shirt, and then I started to move it over his shoulders. I only stopped kissing him to remove his shirt completely. I moved back on his tights just to be able to drink all his perfection in. He smiled and then reached for the hem of my shirt to take it off. I let him because I wanted it to be about all what he wanted. I started caressing his muscular arms, shoulders and chest with both of my hands, but that wasn't enough. I wanted to taste his skin. So I leaned down and placed a kiss on his chest where his heart was beating frantically. He let out a low groan, and his reaction spurred me on. For many minutes I licked and kissed the defined and toned planes of his chest and abdomen. However, when I moved to unbuckle his pants his hand shot out lightening fast to stop me.

I stopped to look at him. "Please, let me!" I implored him softly.

"Are you sure, Alice?" He asked studying my face.

"I have never been surer about anything." I said letting him see the sincerity in my eyes.

"Only do what you are comfortable with." He said, but moved his hands away from mine.

I knew I had to be sure and confident in my action, because he would stop me at the first sign of hesitation. He was too considerate for his own good! So with steady hands I unbuckled his belt, undid his button and unzipped his fly. I didn't dare remove his jeans completely so I just made room in his pants for my hand. And I got my long awaited answer: Jasper wears boxer briefs. I reached out and gently stroked his bulge while watching in fascination as his stomach fluttered unsteadily with his excited breaths. It boosted my confidence: he liked what I was doing. So in a quick motion my hand was under his boxer briefs touching him directly. He sucked in a breath, and then hissed through his teeth. I looked at him thinking that I went too far, but his eyes were closed and his face contorted in pleasure. Well, I hoped to God it was pleasure! I focused on his member in my hand: it was warm and hard in my palm, yet his skin was incredibly soft there. At first I only ran a finger along his shaft in experiment, and I noted with happiness that he was quite big. Lucky me! I closed my fist around him, just below the head, and then brought my other hand around to cover what my first couldn't. I caressed him slowly listening to his grunts and pants, learning what he liked. I licked my palms to make my movement easier, and then tightened my grip on him and started to move my hands faster. His breathing became labored and he started thrusting against my hands.

"Um… I'm close!" He called out in warning.

I watched with rapt interest as he became harder and harder till finally he came in long convulsive waves panting and moaning. I was quite pleased with myself! I crawled up to him and snuggled in the crook of his arm. He squeezed me tightly to himself.

"Thank you." He whispered and placed a tender kiss to my temple.

"You are very welcome!" I whispered back.

We were lying there softly touching and caressing each other when I heard him chuckle. I looked at him questioningly.

"You never did tell me what you got to your father." He said in amusement.

Well, that was the last thing on my mind after that…

"I got him a very nice sweater with a matching shirt." I answered. His deep chuckle turned into full blown laughter. I looked at him adoringly. It seemed that my Jazzy was finally happy. This carefree and laughing Jasper was so much different from the closed off and quiet Jasper I had first met. He changed a lot, and I was very happy that I had a little hand it that.

I can't take credit for the rose idea as I read that once on the internet.

So what do you think? Should I continue?