Jasper found himself restlessly walking the halls of his apartment with nervous energy as he turned everything over and over in his head.
It bothered him that Bella knew Carlisle so much better than he did. But they hadn't really had time to talk about much more than past sexual experiences, jobs, and how hilarious Edward's queasiness about them was.
He growled to himself, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
Every relationship he'd had before had been almost effortless. He met a girl, they had a good time, and he wanted to spend more time with her so he did. Ambivalent, Bella had called it once. He was present but not invested.
All of this doubting, questioning, and nervousness surrounding Carlisle was more of an investment than he could ever remember making and they hadn't even dated yet.
And, if Jasper was being honest with himself, he had to admit that some of his reluctance to have that talk with the older man was the additional complication a real relationship would bring.
One by one, Jasper tried to picture how each of his friends would react if ... when he came out of the closet.
His parents wouldn't take it well - that was a foregone conclusion. He had no idea if they would pull the dramatics that were the made for TV movie's bread and butter. Disowning him seemed counterproductive as 'punishment' since he was already a self-sufficient adult.
Jasper threw himself down in his computer chair, picking up his Xoom. He distracted himself for hours looking over all the apps, until he fell into bed too exhausted to think.
A/N: Two more updates today.