CHAPTER 6

The store was extremely busy, which was really no surprise. At one point, I nearly got lost in a particularly crowded aisle, but Jasper took hold of my hand and continued to pull me behind him as we weaved through the people and the store. We had found something for his parents, and he had already planned on giving my brother, Edward, and Emmett a bottle or two of top shelf liquor (perks of the job, I guess), so the only people he had left to buy gifts for today were his sisters.

"Can't I just get them gift cards?" He asked as he wandered aimlessly through another crowded aisle.

"You can, but they're gonna be a little disappointed about it. They're more of presents over cash kinda people." I warned him.

He groaned. "What are they getting me?"

"I'm not telling you that! It'll ruin the surprise."

"Come on, Bella."

"No." I insisted.

"What are you getting them?"

"I got Rosalie a jacket she's been wanting, Tanya some earrings, and both of them each got a monogrammed leather portfolio to use for work."

"Damn, that's actually really good." He muttered.

I smirked, shrugging smugly. "I know."

"Bella, help. I'm bad at this." He complained as he leaned against a shelf, taking his baseball hat off to rub his forehead and then putting it back on.

I laughed. "Yeah. You are."

He groaned again.

"What about a work bag? They both need one. They're still using their book bags from college."

He pursed his lips. "Would you help me pick them out?"

I smiled and rolled my eyes playfully. "Yes, honey. You're so helpless." I teased, tugging him towards the checkout counter so we could go to a different store to look for Tanya and Rosalie's presents.

Jasper bought his parents' gifts, and we made our way out of the store to go to the next one. The second store was just as crowded as the first, and when we walked in, I hooked a finger through one of the belt loops on his jeans as he led us to the right section.

The pickings in the tote bags were slim, but we managed to find two that I thought Rosalie and Tanya would each like, and we quickly checked out and left to go back to his truck.

"Any preference on where you want to eat?" He asked as we pulled out onto the highway.

I brought my feet up to rest on his front dashboard. "Not really. You can pick."

A phone call came through, showing on his dashboard screen and the caller ID showing my brother's name.

Jasper answered it on his speaker. "Hey, man. What's up?"

"You doin' anything tonight? Vic's cooking and the game's coming on. Thought you and Bells might wanna come over."

I looked at Jasper in panic and shook my head, mouthing to him, 'I spent all fucking day with her.'

He fought back a laugh. "Shit, we actually have dinner reservations tonight." He lied smoothly. "We'll catch ya later, though."

I let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Yeah, just let me know." Garrett said, and after they said their goodbyes, Jasper ended the call.

He shook his head at me. "Shameful. Just shameful, Bella."

"Oh, you know you didn't want to go either." I argued.

Jasper chuckled but remained quiet otherwise before turning into the parking lot of a popular seafood restaurant.

By the time we'd gotten our table and after we'd ordered, I was starting to feel like this really was a date. A heavy silence fell over us as we sat at that tiny table in the corner of the restaurant. It was tucked away in the room with the most intimate lighting and the most privacy, and nothing about the ambiance was making me convince myself that this truly was just a casual meal between sort-of friends.

Thankfully, Jasper broke the silence so that I didn't have to. "It's just me, babe." He said with a soft, crooked smile.

I tilted my head at him. "Do you call everybody that? Or just me?"

"Just you."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" He asked.

"Honestly? I don't know. Because at this point, you've been calling me that for years now."

His smile grew a little more cocky, and his hazel eyes became playful. "And that doesn't tell you somethin'?"

I studied him for a moment. "It's just a little hard for me to believe that someone with such a dangerous level of confidence would wait so long to say how he really feels."

"I've been telling you how I feel for years, Bella."

I rolled my eyes. "You told me dumb pick up lines, Jas."

"Rest assured, baby doll, dumb pick up lines or not, I never say anything I don't mean, and I don't make any promises that I can't keep. How many times have I told you that I wasn't goin' anywhere? And that night at the bar, did I not explicitly say that I want more with you?"

I sighed and looked down at the table. "We were drunk. I had just broken up with Tyler. It just… didn't feel real."

"What about now?"

I looked up, and his face had lost all its humor. "I don't know." I admitted.

Jasper sighed. "I shouldn't have ever let you act like that night at the hospital never happened." He said softly, his voice tired.

"That's the problem, Jas. I can't act like it never happened. Every time I'm with you, it's all I can think about." I whispered.

"Then why keep pushing me away?"

I leaned back in my spot, wrapping my arms around myself, and shrugging. "I just don't want to fuck everything up, I guess. I liked how things were before."

"We can't go back to before."

"I know."

Our conversation got cut short by our food arriving at the table. The rest of the meal was quiet and even more uncomfortable than before. Jasper paid after shooting me a look when I tried to pull out my wallet, and then we went back to his truck so that he could take me home.

Edward and Tanya were pulling up at the same time as us when we got there, and before I knew it, Jasper and I got roped into watching what was left of the football game on television and drinking whatever alcoholic concoction Tanya had made. I'm not sure what was in it, but it went down far too smoothly, and I wasn't the only one feeling them.

Tanya rested her head on my shoulder. "Bella?" Drunk Tanya was a completely different person than sober Tanya. She was giggly and cuddly and extremely emotional, and I truly enjoyed when she made her appearances.

"Hmm?"

"I think we should sabotage your brother's wedding." She was also incredibly vindictive, but the same was also true about sober Tanya.

I laughed. "Yeah, T, I think we should."

"Do you know what your bridesmaid dress looks like yet?"

"No, and I'm not looking forward to figuring it out either. I'm sure it'll be tacky as hell."

Tanya gasped. "Good God, Bella, what if she tries to put you in taffeta?"

"I'll fucking riot." I said honestly.

She giggled. "Is her dress ugly? Please tell me her dress is ugly."

"Which one?" I deadpanned and finished off my drink.

Tanya's jaw dropped. "'Which one?' She got more than one?"

"She has two."

"Ugh. I need another drink." She said, clamoring up to her feet. "You want another one?" She asked me.

"No, I'm good."

"I'm getting you another one." She waved me off. "You two, too. Come on. There's still like a half gallon of this stuff left." She told the guys.

"Tanya, I'm already gonna have to spend the night on the couch. Just let me wake up in the morning with some of my dignity still intact." Jasper argued.

Tanya stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes at her brother. "The couch? Is she making you sleep on the couch? What the fuck did you do?" She rambled quickly and then looked at me. "What did he do? Was he being mean? I'll beat his ass."

Jasper looked over at me anxiously, realizing his slip up.

I was too drunk to think clearly, but I wracked my mind, trying to think of an excuse. Thankfully, Edward came to our rescue.

"Baby, they're fucked up, and so are you." He laughed. "He's saying he won't be able to get up the stairs at this point."

Tanya turned back to Jasper, still not trusting that answer. "Is that really what you meant?"

Jasper nodded. "Yep." He downed the rest of what was in his cup.

Tanya huffed and left to go to the bathroom before she got her next drink.

"Okay, y'all two. What the fuck gives? You're obviously lying about dating, and don't tell me I'm wrong because I'm not fucking wrong." Edward accused lowly.

My jaw dropped. Son of a fucking whore.

"What're you talkin' about?" Jasper asked.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "You look like seventh graders at your first school dance. There's like a foot between you over there. I've seen the both of you in relationships before. That's not normal."

Jasper tried to pull me closer, but I shoved him on instinct.

"Ha!" Edward pointed.

"Come on, Bella." Jasper groaned, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Oops." I giggled nervously.

"What's happening here?" Edward pressed.

I heard Tanya's bathroom door shut, and I made a motion for Edward to shut up before she came back into the living room.

He pursed his lips and looked back at the television.

When Tanya came back into the room, she got everyone another drink and then sat next to Edward on the couch, curling into his side.

I let out an inward groan, realizing that Edward was right, and leaned slightly against Jasper's arm before bringing my feet up on the sofa. He adjusted to drape his arm over my shoulders, and only minutes after getting more comfortable in his embrace, I felt my eyes getting heavy. I didn't even bother trying to fight my sleep, but I drifted in and out of consciousness the rest of the night.

At one point, I saw Tanya get up and go to bed before falling asleep again. When I woke up again, my eyes never opened, but I could hear Edward and Jasper talking.

"I'm not sure this isn't gonna be a complete shitshow, but I'm not gonna be the one to give y'all up." Edward said lowly. "At least it's for a good cause."

"It's not gonna be a shitshow. You were the only person who was even a little bit suspicious." Jasper replied.

"For now, but the two of you are gonna need to take some acting lessons if you plan on keeping this up for as long as you are. I'm also not sure that you've thought about the repercussions after all of this is over."

I felt Jasper sigh just as I drifted back off to sleep. When I woke up again, I was being lifted off the sofa and felt myself being carried up the stairs. I leaned into whoever was holding me, immediately recognizing the cologne as Jasper's. I opened my eyes just as he opened the door to my bedroom.

He laid me down on the bed, and when he tried to step away from me, I held tight to his pullover.

"You can't sleep on the sofa." I mumbled.

He chuckled. "I know, babe. The floor up here is fine." He said, loosening my grip on his shirt.

"Don't sleep on the floor. I'll share." I scooted to one side of the bed and got under the covers.

"It's fine, Bella."

"No. Come here." I argued sleepily.

I heard him mutter something under his breath, and a few moments later, he was beneath the covers with me. I didn't hesitate to grab his hand and snuggle into his side. He wasn't wearing his shirt, but I could feel the rough denim of his jeans through my leggings.

"You're sleeping in jeans?" I giggled.

"Well, I didn't exactly pack an overnight bag, so I don't have much of another option."

"Oh." I laid awake next to him for a few minutes, but my day clothes were quickly becoming too heavy on my body. I clumsily climbed over Jasper to get to my closet.

"Where are you goin'?"

"I'm not comfy." I complained, fumbling around until I found the light switch in my closet. I squeaked at the brightness when I flipped on the switch, changed into my typical sleep shorts and cami, and then turned the light back off and blindly found my way back to the bed.

When I tried to climb over Jasper again, I lost my balance, falling on top of him.

"What're ya doin', woman?" He grunted.

I giggled and crawled off of him, returning to my spot against his side and resting my chin on his shoulder.

"Comfy?" He asked.

"Quite."

"Glad to hear it."

"Jasper?"

"Hmm?"

I sat up on my elbow and looked down at his face. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness just enough to make out the features on his face. When I brought my hand to rest on his scruffy cheek, his eyes opened.

"Go to sleep, Bella." He said softly.

"I'm not tired." I lied.

Jasper removed my hand from his cheek and quickly rolled on his side, wrapping his arms around me, and keeping me pinned to the bed. "Sleep."

I sighed dramatically. "You don't even know what I was gonna say."

"You weren't gonna say anythin'."

"What're you talkin' about?" I asked.

"I know that look, and quite frankly, I'm a little offended that the only times you try to kiss me is when you're drunk and or crying."

"I was not going to kiss you." I was definitely considering it, though.

"Go to sleep, babe." He repeated through a chuckle.

"You go to sleep, cowboy." I snapped.

His lips were near my ear as he moved his head to get more comfortable. "Well, I would if you'd hush."

I huffed but remained silent for a while, letting his response simmer in my head for a moment. "So you don't want me to kiss you then?"

Oh, you are saying a lot of things right now, Isabella. What the hell was in those drinks?

"I want you to be half coherent so we can have an adult conversation and not act exclusively on impulse for once."

"Ugh." I muttered. "What is it with you and talking about feelings today?"

"Why do you think anything is gonna change between us if we don't talk about them?" He retorted.

"I didn't want anything to change. I told you that at dinner."

"But you kissed me, so they did. And we've never talked about it. And look at where we are now."

"Drunk and cozy in bed at ten PM on Saturday. That's the dream, Jasper. I don't know why you're being difficult." Would you shut the fuck up? Oh my God, Isabella.

"Because when you wake up, you're not gonna remember any of this, and then you're gonna act like you hate me again." He explained.

I turned my head to face him, and he was so close that our noses were nearly touching when I did. "I don't hate you. You just… intimina–...intimat–... imnidat–..." My brows furrowed as I thought about the word I was trying to say.

"Intimidate?" He smirked.

"Yeah, that word. That's you." I said, reaching up and touching the tip of his nose with my finger.

"You've known me for over fourteen years, Bella." He replied softly.

"Jasper, you're like… really cool." That's alright. Don't listen to me. Just keep digging yourself into a deeper grave.

He chuckled lowly.

Despite my bitchy inner monologue, I continued my drunken ramble, "And I'm… a home ec teacher with too many houseplants and way too much atheleisure and Patagonia for someone who fucking hates ninety percent of outdoor activites. I'm also a goody two shoes, and I got a lot of ear piercings and a nose ring to make me look edgy, but I just look like a poser trying to fit in at a Green Day concert. I mean, I think I know like two of their songs maybe. I'm not saying I'm not poser, but I don't wanna look like one. But you… run a distillery and rodeo all over the country and have this gorgeous ranch house that you don't even live in because you travel like 25 weeks out of the year. You wear corduroy jackets unironically and somehow pull them off like… Jasper…"

He met my eyes, holding in a laugh. "What?"

"You're the guy they make Hallmark movies about. You're over six feet tall with pretty eyes. I mean come on… I can't believe there aren't producers knocking down your front door right now."

He smiled a full, amused grin. "You needa go to sleep, baby doll."

I glared at him in shock. "I pour out my soul to you and you tell me to go to sleep? What the fuck? See… this is why I don't talk about my feelings. You're dismissing me, Jasper. You're being dismissive." I ranted.

He couldn't contain his laugh anymore, and when he spoke again, I could still hear the humor in his voice. "I'm not being dismissive, babe. I just think you're saying a lot of things that you'll wish you hadn't said in the morning. Not that I don't thoroughly enjoy hearing how utterly infatuated you are with me." He teased.

"I am not infatuated with you. Please." I said, getting comfortable in bed and in his arms to go to sleep.

It was quiet for a few moments until Jasper's deep drawl broke through the darkness. "Ya forgot the part where I played lead guitar in a band in college." He gloated.

Motherfucker. "Oh my God." I groaned, pushing myself out of his embrace and climbing over him.

"Where are you going?" He laughed.

"I'm sleeping on the floor. You're pissin' me off."

"Why?"

"You know why. Fuckin' show off." I put my hands on my hips when I got to my feet beside the bed. "You just think you're Hank fuckin' Jr., don't you?"

"Eh. More of a Haggard guy." He replied offhandedly.

"Ugh. Give me a break." I muttered and yanked the comforter off of him before curling up on the floor.

"Are you really sleeping on the floor?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I thought we could both fit on a queen sized bed, but I forgot to factor in the room needed for your goddamn ego."

"Suit yourself." He said.

I sat up, mouth agape. "What? You're really gonna let me sleep on the floor? Jasper Hale Whitlock, you can't let a lady sleep on the floor."

"Isabella, get in the bed and hush up, darlin'. Please." He begged through an exhausted chuckle.

I huffed and got back up to get back in the bed. A couple minutes later, we were settled back into the same position as before, and I felt my eyes start to get heavy again. "'Night, honey." I whispered.

Jasper's lips brushed against my temple, and I felt his lips curl up into a half smile against my skin. "'Night, babe."

A/N It'll be another minute before the next one, bebs, but these two are seeming to make some progress it seems.