February 1949
"There's still room in the luggage," Jasper complained. "How do humans manage to fill these things?"
He'd put several changes of clothes in his suitcase along with three pairs of shoes and two books but still had plenty of space.
"Here, let me help." I was toting armloads of shopping bags from today's trip to the department store. "Humans need more than clothes, you know."
I began packing stuff into our luggage while Jasper watched me dubiously. It was a small chance, but still a chance, that someone might rifle through our things. At the very least the housekeeping staff would need to see that we had all the usual stuff scattered through our hotel room. Jasper's suitcase received a shaving kit, shoeshine kit, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, pajamas and robe. That about filled it up.
I packed similar items in my luggage: cosmetics, nightgowns, bathroom supplies. Mostly things I would never use. Of course my luggage was already mostly full. I couldn't wait to wear some of the more glamorous things I'd purchased recently. We would only be in Las Vegas for three days at most, but if I changed my outfit once or twice a day I might be able to wear them all. In the small towns near our cabin there was never a good excuse to wear really nice clothes. I was also eager to see Jasper in the good suits and tuxedo I'd gotten for him.
"Do we have any money leftover?" Jasper griped while I forced the lid closed on my suitcase. "I should have come with you."
"It was just a quick shopping trip, that's all. We need to have everything they would expect to see. And, yes, we do still have enough money." I rolled my eyes.
"The room isn't cheap. I hope you took that into account."
The anticipation of our ordeal was making Jasper irritable. He was almost never short with me.
"I know, thirty five dollars per night." I smiled warmly at him. "Thank you for booking a suite by the way."
He shot me a half-smile in return. "You're welcome. I thought you might like to stay somewhere more luxurious for a while."
"You're right. I'm actually looking forward to the trip now. I can't wait to see the room in person." The clasps clicked closed on my suitcase; we were set to go. "We should leave immediately. If we run straight there it will take about twelve hours. But I think we might want to take the opportunity to hunt on the way." I couldn't help grimacing at the idea. I felt a wave of disgust from Jasper as well.
"Do you think it could really help?" he asked.
We'd spent the past several days gorging ourselves on animals, more than we ever had before. I was starting to question whether or not it was possible to force any more blood down my throat.
"I don't know," I answered. "But it couldn't hurt."
It was still daylight when we left the cabin, running swiftly, each toting a suitcase and wearing travel clothes. I'd memorized the landmarks and towns we should pass on the way and made sure we steered clear of inhabited areas, veering slightly north or south when necessary. Even though we were running as fast as we reasonably could, even though we were changing time zones thus gaining several hours of darkness, we were still cutting it close trying to make it in one night.
We couldn't really run all-out. We had to be careful to make sure our outfits were in pristine condition when we arrived at the hotel. We couldn't look like we'd just run over a thousand miles. Also, to avoid civilization we couldn't make a straight shot for Vegas. Our path was serpentine, veering one way and another to stay in the most deserted areas.
We paused for a quick hunt in the strip of forest running through Arizona. Neither of us really wanted to. The scent of the antelope I nabbed was enough to turn my stomach, but I forced the blood down anyway. Jasper drained his elk without complaint.
We followed the forest northwest until it dwindled and we were running through desert. We veered left, keeping in the lowlands, running across miles of sand and over giant beds of crystallized salt.
Then I came to a bit of a dilemma. We slowed as I thought about it, and then as we came near the Colorado River I stopped.
"What's the matter?" Jasper asked.
"I'm trying to figure out how we're going to cross the river." I smiled, sheepishly. "The narrowest point is about five hundred feet across. I know I can't jump that far."
"Nor can I. But what about the dam?"
"Even at this time of night there are cars crossing it. We would cause some suspicion looking like this." I lifted my briefcase and fingered my coat, illustrating my point.
Jasper thought for a moment. "I have an idea... What do you think?" He quickly explained his plan.
"I like it." I grinned.
"Will it work? It's a bit risky."
I examined the future carefully, making sure there was very little risk involved. I knew that if Jasper thought something was dangerous, even a little bit, he would never go through with it. If it were just himself he'd have no problem. But he had this thing about putting me in danger.
"It will work," I assured him. "We have to hurry though, before the sky starts to lighten."
We rushed north to Boulder Dam – Hoover Dam as it was now called – and leaped across the road between cars. We climbed down to the upstream face of the dam, below the view of the passing motorists and out of sight of the workers. To humans we were invisible under the convex curve of the huge cement wall.
It was a little tricky. We clutched the cement surface, gripping with our toes and fingertips, and slowly crawled across the face of the dam. We were about fifteen feet above the water, each carrying luggage in one arm and climbing with the other. It was especially difficult because we couldn't leave any noticeable traces of our passing, and there weren't many easy holds to grab onto, and we each had only three limbs to use. But after a few minutes we made it to the other side.
"That was a great idea," I complimented Jasper, rewarding him with a quick kiss.
"Glad to be of service." He grinned.
We continued northwest. A mere fifteen minutes later we were in the outskirts of Las Vegas.
"Do you know where the hotel is?" Jasper asked.
"It's near the train station."
He looked around at all the people walking about on the sidewalks. "There are a lot of humans about. If we're going to get close without being seen it's going to take awhile."
I closed my eyes and looked ahead, concentrating hard. But our future was a bit too vague and shadowy at the moment. I knew I could get to the hotel in a matter of minutes if I was alone. But my future was tied to Jasper's now, and his unmade decisions confused our future paths. If Jasper could trust me - really trust me - we could be at the hotel very quickly.
I opened my eyes to see him watching me curiously. "Jasper, remember when I challenged you a few weeks after we met? How I showed you what my gift can do?"
"Of course."
"I want to show you something else I can do, but I need you to trust me."
"I trust you, Alice. What are you talking about?"
"We can get to the casino before sunrise, but you have to be right behind me, following my lead. You have to do what I do without hesitation and follow my instructions immediately if need be. I need you to decide that; to commit to it."
He nodded. "Okay."
I closed my eyes again, shifting my attention to my extra sense. I concentrated on a window of time from about a half second to ten minutes in the future. I was looking for a likely route, timing the opportunities to cross streets, seeing where we could scale buildings unnoticed, looking for paths of darkness where we could run and remain unseen.
"Stay as close behind me as you can," I said, not opening my eyes, and started ghosting forward.
I ducked into an alley, scaled a wall, and hopped to the roof of a building. Jasper was right on my heels. We ran over the rooftop, jumped to the ground, flew across a street, and darted around an empty corner just before a car turned onto it. We were really moving now, skimming down a momentarily empty street, back into an alley, into the empty back lot of a store, over a fence. We came to an abrupt stop at the corner of a building.
One, two, three, four, five, GO!
We rushed around the corner, flew through a crowd of people-none of them looking our direction-darted across the street, scaled up a wall, jumped to another rooftop, down to the ground again, rushed through another alley, across a street, and down the crowded road just in time to dart around a corner before being seen.
I opened my eyes. Jasper was watching me intently with a slightly awed expression.
"I think we can walk from here," I told him.
He smiled and took my hand. "Have I told you lately that you are one terrifying little creature?"
I beamed up at him. "No, but I know it anyway."
We slipped on our shoes, which had remained packed for our journey to prevent wear. A few seconds passed and our window arrived. We walked out of the dark corner casually, hand in hand, and joined the crowd of humans completely unnoticed.
One block ahead I saw a large building with a huge neon sign that said "Flamingo" in giant pink cursive letters.
Now that I wasn't concentrating so hard on something else, I noticed the human scent more potently. It wasn't very bad; I was definitely not thirsty. But I wondered if it would be hard on Jasper, especially once we got inside. When the sun rose we would be quite literally trapped in the building, unable to escape the scent.
"How are you holding up?" I asked him.
"I'm doing fine right now. You?"
"Nothing I can't handle."
A warm cloud of tobacco smoke and human scent bombarded us in a concentrated wave when we entered the hotel. Jasper kept a neutral expression and went straight to the counter, weaving through the slot machines and past the blackjack tables without a second glance.
"Welcome to The Fabulous Flamingo, how can we help you?" The man at the counter greeted us.
"Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock. We have a reservation," Jasper announced. I felt a little tremor of happiness at the "Mr. and Mrs." I wasn't sure if it came from me or from Jasper.
The man checked his books. "Yes sir. You're in room twenty two; just down the hall." He snapped his fingers and the bellboy approached. The boy retrieved our room key then he took our luggage. I gave Jasper a meaningful look as if to say, "See? Isn't it a good thing they're not practically empty?" He didn't betray any emotion on his features, but I could tell he wanted to roll his eyes.
The boy carried our luggage into our room and asked us if there was anything we needed. He seemed a little uncomfortable to be alone with us, so I smiled, thanked him and passed him a five-dollar tip. His eyes popped wide when he saw it. He stammered a "thank you", assured us that if there was anything we needed we could contact the concierge with the telephone in the room, then stumbled out the door.
"Wow, look at this place. It's even better seeing it in person!" I sang, taking in our surroundings.
We had a deep porcelain bathtub, a shower, a fireplace, carpeted floors, chairs, electric lamps, and huge windows that looked out into the city. There were large vases with bunches of bird-of-paradise flowers. There were assorted potted plants scattered throughout the room. There were framed paintings hanging from the walls. We had an enormous canopy bed with a thick down comforter and half a dozen decorative pillows...
"What would you like to do now?" Jasper asked.
I swallowed and pushed aside the first thing that came to mind. He wouldn't agree to it. I wondered if he'd sensed my momentary shift in mood.
"Hmm… I think I'll take a hot bubble bath. I've always sort of wanted to try one."
"Go right ahead. I'll open the windows and see if I can chase away some of the scent. Would you like me to start a fire?" He knew I loved to sit and watch a fire burning.
"Sounds perfect."
He lifted my hand to kiss it, smiled warmly, and then went to the windows to open them.
The bubble bath felt amazing. I sat in the tub for a long time letting my body warm up to the temperature of the water. It was nice to scrub down in clean soapy water, too. I was sick of rinsing off in rivers whenever I got dirty. After a while I submerged myself under the bubbles, letting my face, neck, and scalp soak in the warmth for a while.
My body was steaming with heat when I stepped out of the tub. I sighed in satisfaction; it was nice to really be clean.
I rubbed a towel through my short-cropped hair, pulled on my robe, and went to join Jasper in the main room. I was surprised at how cold the air felt to my heated skin when I exited the bathroom. It wasn't unpleasant at all just different, interesting.
Jasper was sitting on the ground next to the windows reading a book. He looked up and his eyes popped wide for an instant when he saw me. Then he composed himself and smiled. "Did you enjoy your bath?"
"Very much. You should take advantage while we're here. It's much more pleasant than scrubbing off in a river."
I went to him and sat on the floor at his side.
"Why aren't you sitting in the bed?" I asked.
"It smells very strongly of human." He grimaced. "It's probably the worst place to be in this room."
"Hmm, that's too bad." I frowned.
Jasper lifted his book to continue reading and I kept silent for him, leaning against the wall and watching the fire. For some reason it was taking him a lot longer than usual to turn the pages.
The fire was crackling in the hearth, glowing orange-red. Behind the closed curtains the windows were open. A gentle breeze rustled the fabric, letting in small shafts of the morning sun. Jasper's neck and arm glimmered when the light touched his skin.
"How do you like your book?" I asked, noticing the title. "I thought you would be interested in the new takes on Civil War history."
"It is interesting. But I'm afraid I'm a bit too distracted at the moment to make much progress," he admitted. His eyes flickered down then quickly back to his page.
"Is the scent getting to you?" I asked, and then looked down to see what had caught his eye.
The front of my robe was slightly open, exposing my inner thigh. Was that what was distracting him?
"It's not too bad," he answered my spoken question. "I still feel rather bloated from our last hunt."
I decided not to make things easier for him this time. Let him be distracted tonight. It might even be good for him to be focused on something other than the smorgasbord of humans surrounding us.
I shifted closer, snuggling in against his side. The motion exposed more of my thigh.
He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tight, kissing my hair. "You're very warm," he murmured. "And you smell amazing."
"Thanks. They have very good soap here. I like the lavender."
"It's not that. You just have a very pleasant scent on your own. It's stronger now, somehow. Maybe from the warmth." He kissed my hair again, inhaling deeply. "I like it."
I turned my face upward to meet his lips with mine. He was certainly willing to oblige, leaning down to close the distance.
The kiss started out softly, sweetly. But after a few seconds it started to grow. It built up into something more. Without turning his head he tossed his book aside and brought his hand up to my cheek, kissing me slowly, deeply. It was a very intense, serious kind of kiss.
There was no way I could possibly hide my desire, growing in force every second. With his extra sense he had to feel it, but still he continued to kiss me. His cool fingers combed through my damp hair. My tongue grazed along his lips, taking in his delicious scent and flavor. He sighed and shifted, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me closer still.
With my senses heightened I could see the immediate future shifting around, flashes of possibilities that hadn't been made reality yet. This time I pushed them back. I wanted to enjoy this in the present. If his will was crumbling, if he was changing his mind, I didn't care to see it. Let whatever would happen just...happen.
He could feel how eager I was to continue, to progress. And I could feel his desire flowing as if it was radiating from him as heat.
Suddenly, in a movement so fast I almost missed it, he pulled me onto him so I was straddling his lap. His arms wrapped around my waist, hugging me into his chest. I didn't hesitate to return the embrace, pulling his face to me in a kiss I hoped conveyed every ounce of passion I felt.
He groaned, moving his lips down to the side of my neck.
I glided my hands down to his chest, not bothering to undo his buttons but opting instead to rip his shirt open. I slid my fingers down the skin of his abdomen and he shuddered at my touch. I leaned in, gliding my hands around to his back, lightly tracing the scars there.
He raised his hands to my cheeks, trapping my face between them. His lips found mine again, even more urgently than before. Then his hands slowly traced down the skin of my throat, down to my collarbones. He gently pushed the front of my robe open and let his hands glide down further, slowly, tenderly tracing all the way to my ribs. The sensation of his willing touch on my bare skin was amazing, electric, as if a live current was flowing from his fingertips. My eyes rolled back and I moaned softy at the sheer pleasure of it. My head lolled and he kissed down my jaw to my throat. His hands slid around my hips, tracing up my spine.
Then he hesitated.
"Alice..." he whispered roughly. His breath tickled against my skin.
"Don't stop," I begged.
He groaned again. "I'm not strong enough to resist you much longer."
"Then don't." I slid my hands back up his chest, wrapping them around his neck, and kissed him passionately, hoping I could drown his resistance.
He kissed me back eagerly. It seemed he was going to give in. Then he gently pushed my face away. His eyes burned into mine like golden flames.
"Alice, I want you," he gasped, breathing heavily. "You know how much I want you. But what I want more is for you to be happy."
"I am!"
"But there is something that would make you more happy," he insisted before I could attack him again. "I know you well enough to know that."
"I'm happier now... or ten seconds ago rather... than I've ever been before in my life!"
"Marry me, Alice." His eyes burned with staggering intensity.
I gasped, staring at him open-mouthed.
"Be my wife and I will be your husband. You can have a wedding ceremony, whenever and wherever you want. Make it as big and grand as you like. Hire a designer in Paris to make your dress. Invite hundreds of friends and perfect strangers to attend. Afterwards, we'll go anywhere you want to for our honeymoon. And then, on our wedding night..." he trailed off, stroking my still-frozen face with his fingertips. His voice was softer when he continued. "This will make you happy now. But don't try to pretend that wouldn't make you happier later. A hundred years from now... a thousand years from now, you will be glad we did it that way. And we only have this one chance to get it right."
"You just asked me to marry you," I whispered.
"You practically coerced me into it." He smiled wryly, gesturing to me and trying to keep his eyes from wandering away from my face.
I glanced down. I was still straddling him. The robe was wide open completely exposing my naked body. But I was too stunned to move yet.
My mind worked its way around this new information in slow motion. To have a wedding, a real wedding that meant something more than just a show for the humans; and then a honeymoon, not just a vacation with a lot of sex, but a real honeymoon, a launching point to our eternal commitment of unity...
I had no human memories, but if I was human I was sure this would be something I would look forward to. And the memories generated by our wedding and by our honeymoon would be treasured for my entire mortal life. And the significance of chastity, though lost on many humans, was suddenly clear to me. I could see it even without my gift. To waste our first physical union in a hotel in Las Vegas in a moment of passion would cheapen it. He was right. It would make me blissfully happy right now. And I didn't think I would ever truly regret it. But to save it, to cherish it, to place in it the value it deserved, and then on one special day, after proclaiming our love and commitment to the world... That would be...
Jasper was still waiting for me to respond. He took in a ragged breath, leaned forward to kiss my unmoving lips, and then whispered in my ear.
"Will you marry me, Alice?" His lips tickled my skin and his breath sent a shiver down my spine.
I snapped out of it.
"Yes, yes, YES! A million times, yes!" I flung my arms around him, squealing in delight, hugging him tightly, and kissing him all over his face while he laughed.
"I'm so happy! You can't possibly… Well yes you can, actually… I knew you would… I mean I was pretty sure… but I didn't know when… and now..? but how did you…? I didn't see! Why didn't I see?"
He continued laughing at my rambling exclamation of joy and surprise.
"Snap decision," he answered, confidently. "I knew that was the only way I could surprise you. I wanted to ask you eventually, but I couldn't decide to without you seeing it. So I didn't. Not until a moment before the words escaped my lips."
"How clever. I guess that would work," I mused, leaning back.
Jasper cleared his throat. "Um, Alice, if you don't mind... This really is very distracting and my willpower is weakening by the second," he hinted.
"Oh." That's right, I was still – for all intents and purposes – naked and straddling him. I crawled off of his lap and wrapped the robe back around myself properly, frowning in disappointment. "Maybe I can pull the wedding together quickly."
"That sounds good to me," Jasper agreed. "But I thought you would want to invite the Cullens?"
"Right. Darn it. I guess that means I've got over a year to plan. Hmm…" My mood improved as I considered the possibilities. Forget about hiring a designer, I would design my own wedding dress and the clothes for the rest of the wedding party, as well. Emmett, Carlisle and Edward could be groomsmen. Esme and Rosalie could be my bride's maids. Or was it "bride's matrons" since they were both already married? That would be an uneven grouping. Maybe Edward would find a mate between now and then? That didn't look likely. But I hadn't seen Rosalie or Emmett until shortly before Carlisle changed them…
Never mind. Who could we invite to the wedding? I would love for it to be a big affair, with grand decorations and gifts and hundreds of guests. But, somehow, that would seem too artificial. Part of me wanted the whole world to celebrate with us, but part of me wanted everything to be intimate and sincere, too. I struggled trying to reconcile the two desires, but couldn't. It was a dilemma.
I felt Jasper's fingers stroking my cheek.
"What are you thinking about? You're conflicted over something."
I smiled and leaned my face into his palm. "It's okay, I have a long time to consider it. I was wondering if I would rather have it just be our family, or if I really wanted to invite the whole city."
"Whatever you decide will be fine with me. Whatever makes you happy."
As I looked into his eyes, glowing with love and sincerity, my decision was made for me. I could never invite a crowd of random humans to our wedding. I couldn't because it would cause Jasper pain. We would be standing at the altar, saying our vows to cherish one another forever, and he would be fighting the urge to massacre our guests. I couldn't do that to him.
"Maybe Peter and Charlotte?" I suggested.
"That's a good idea. I'm sure they would be glad to meet you. But if you invite them I would suggest not including any humans on your guest list. Unless" – he chuckled darkly – "you intend for them to be the hors d'œuvre."
I snatched a pillow from a nearby chair and whacked him with it. Feathers exploded into the air. "You know I wouldn't do that!"
He laughed and I laughed with him. Then he sighed, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Please don't take this the wrong way, Alice, but I really think you ought to put on something else."
"Okay," I sighed, rolling my eyes. I could feel lingering flickers of passion flying between us and part of me was still not convinced that we were making the right decision. But I dutifully went to the bathroom and pulled my new silk chemise out of my luggage. I loved the feel of silk against my skin. This nightgown was baby pink, cut to accentuate my figure, shimmered when I moved, and came halfway down my thighs.
I re-entered the main room and Jasper half-groaned half-sighed when he saw me.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"I'm sorry. It's not your fault. It's just..." he trailed off, his eyes running up and down my figure.
"What's wrong?"
"That nightgown may be worse than the robe," he confessed, smiling sheepishly.
Author's Note: Yay! They're engaged! :) How does everyone like Jasper's proposal? Would you like to read it from his point of view? Jasper's mind is a little bit more...er "male" shall we say? So his POV might push the envelope for what's acceptable under a T rating. ;) If you want to read it, let me know in your review and I'll write it out for Behind the Full Moon!
