Alice's POV

This day was never going to end. Who cared about trigonometry or ancient Egypt when there were much more important things happening? Things like my first date, the one with the most handsome man who had ever lived. I wondered what he was doing right now. Was he nervous? Well, this was Jasper, so he was always nervous, but maybe he was more so than usual. Maybe that wasn't such a good thing. If he got any more tightly wound, he would probably explode. Still, it would be nice to know that he was at least a little bit worried, so it wasn't just me and —

"Miss Cullen."

Mrs. Stevens didn't sound very happy. I looked down nervously, then tried out my most beautiful smile. "Yes?"

Her grey eyes narrowed, and I got the sinking feeling that she knew I hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to her. "Would you like to tell the class which Egyptian god is most often compared to the Christian Devil?"

The only Egyptian god that came to mind at all was Ra, the sun god, and I knew that he wasn't the right one. Bella kicked the leg of my chair and angled her paper in my direction, allowing me to read the letters in the margin. "Set?"

"Very good, Miss Cullen. Now why don't you quit daydreaming and focus on the material? Miss Swan won't be able to help out during a test." Thankfully, she moved on after that. I gave Bella a grateful smile and went back to counting the minutes until the bell rang.

By the time it finally did, I was ready to blast off through the ceiling and fly home. Instead, I was stuck waiting for my brother. Edward would no doubt be hanging around Bella, as if he wouldn't be seeing her in a few hours anyway. "Come on, come on." I bounced from foot to foot in my eagerness.

A pair of huge hands gripped my shoulders and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Emmett's booming voice sounded in my ear. "Ready to go find Eddie? I seem to have misplaced him."

It took a bit of searching, and the crowds around the school had thinned considerably before we found Edward. He was standing outside the music quad, deep in conversation with a stranger. That surprised me, since I was pretty sure that I knew all of Edward's friends, the few that there were. He was a loner, completely happy with just us and a few of his music friends. It made me feel a little sad to think that Edward was out there, having friends and acquaintances that I knew nothing about. We had always been best friends, ever since we were little kids and Mom and Dad first brought me home. We didn't keep secrets from each other, not a single one.

It wasn't that I didn't know that this distance between us was normal. We weren't babies anymore, playing around in the backyard. He was a man and I was a woman and we needed to move apart a certain amount. Unless, of course, I wanted to look at him like I looked at Jasper, the way I might look at a potential husband. Ew. Edward was my brother and he could never be anything more.

"Edward?" I sounded tentative and afraid.

He jumped. "Alice! Listen, can you and Emmett take the Volvo home? Caius and I have something to take care of at his place." He tossed the keys to Emmett, who caught them smoothly.

"You sure?" Emmett sounded as uncertain as I felt. Edward was hiding something from us, but why?

"Sure, it's fine. I'll see you at home in a little while."

I didn't like this, not that there was much I could do about it. Emmett held up the keys, offering to let me drive, but I shook my head. I was distracted today, and unfamiliar with the Volvo. I didn't want to risk sliding on the rain-slick roads. I waited until we were in the car to ask softly, "Who's Caius?"

He reversed carefully, not really used to this car, either. "I don't know. That whole thing was really, really weird. When was the last time he wanted to go to someone else's house, especially someone we don't know? You don't think Eddie's doing drugs, do you? I mean, he's been acting really funny lately."

Despite my own worries, I felt compelled to defend Edward. "He's just gotten his first girlfriend, and a new brother. I'd say we're all acting a little differently than normal."

He laughed, his worries vanishing as if they had never been there at all. For as long as he had lived with us, Emmett had never been able to hold onto his negative emotions. Fear, worry, anger . . . they all flared up quickly, but vanished just as fast. "Not Rose. I actually think she's more normal now."

I couldn't argue with that. Rosalie had always been a bit of a mother hen, and had accepted Jasper completely. He was allowed access to her garage without question, and she was never too busy to talk to him, or just sit down with him if he was having problems. "True."

We pulled out of the school zone, causing Emmett to gun the engine and me to clutch the armrest in fear. The Volvo wouldn't go anywhere near as fast as his Jeep (which I strongly suspected had a modified engine, thanks to Rosalie), but it also wouldn't hold up as well in a crash.

Emmett cleared his through uncomfortably. "So, as your favorite big brother, I feel obligated to remind you that if Jasper so much as puts one finger out of line, I'll be glad to break if off for him. He's a pretty easy target; I won't even have to leave my room."

I had to smile at his protectiveness. "First of all, you're my only big brother, and second of all, you don't have to worry about it. I'm sure Jasper will behave himself."

"Yeah, well, if he doesn't . . ." He held up a fist meaningfully.

We both knew that he would never hurt Jasper, and that Jasper wouldn't dream of ever attempting to hurt me or force me into anything. I couldn't have said how I knew it, but I did. "I can take care of him, Emmett."

The Mercedes was in the driveway, which meant Dad was home early. He was in the kitchen, reading the paper and frowning. I threw my arms around his neck. "Hi, Dad!"

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Hey, darling."

Mom came in from the living room, her face lit up with the pleasure of seeing her kids again. "Hey, you guys. Where's Edward?"

So he hadn't told Mom that he had plans, either. "He went home with a friend from school. He said not to wait for him, that Caius would give him a ride."

"Oh, really." Her lips were pursed in a way that suggested that Edward was going to be in huge trouble when he got home.

I decided that this would be a good time to leave, so I grabbed an apple to eat on the run. "Where's Jasper?"

"Asleep in the living room. He's been sacked out since we got home." Mom's tone softened a little when she talked about him, just like it always did.

"Did he have another seizure?" Seizures were exhausting, and Jasper could easily sleep deeply for twelve hours straight after having a bad one.

"No, I think he's just tired. Has he been okay at night?" The last part was directed at Emmett, who was putting together a sandwich.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, he's been all right. The air mattress crackles so much that he wakes me up if he gets twitchy. But mostly he settles down if I talk to him for a little bit and pat his back a few times." Emmett's tone suggested that he found nothing unusual about this arrangement.

I left them to discuss it among themselves, and went into the living room. Jasper looked so sweet when he was asleep, the lines of worry and anxiety erased from his face. He had one hand curled up against his chest, and I reached out to stroke it, not thinking of the danger. He stirred restlessly, his fingers twitching against mine, but he didn't wake up. Even though the memory of the still healing bruise on Edward's wrist had sprung to the forefront of my mind, I couldn't help but stroke the hair back from his face. "Jasper?"

He must not have been sleeping very deeply, because his eyes flickered open. "Hey." He sounded groggy, but made no move to harm me.

"Hey, yourself." I brushed his hair back again, tucking it behind his ears. He closed his eyes again, but this time he simply looked content rather than sleepy. "How are you feeling?" I suddenly realized that I was probably being a bit over-familiar with him, so I placed a hand on his forehead, pretending I was doing nothing but checking for a fever.

He sat up and yawned, stretching his arms out in front of himself. "I'm okay. I was just a little dizzy earlier, that's all."

It was hard, but I managed to resist the urge to cuddle into his side. "Oh, all right. I just thought that if you didn't feel good, maybe you would rather stay here tonight."

He gave me one of those quirky grins, the ones that showed me his dimples and set off a thrilling in my stomach. I smiled back. "So, I guess I'm going to go get ready, then."

He looked a little puzzled about that, but, then, he was a guy. He didn't have to do anything but shower, which he had done this morning, and put on some clothes. He didn't have to apply makeup, or do his hair, or put together an outfit or any of the other hundreds of things that I had to do. I didn't say any of that, though. I just rolled my eyes and started off up the stairs.

My bedroom window faced out to the driveway, so it was easy for me to hear the unfamiliar car as it made its way up the drive. Edward got out of the dark blue Toyota, then eased around to the back, where he removed a huge box. He gave the driver, whom I guessed to be Caius, a thumbs-up and started to carry the box inside.

Overcome by curiosity, I raced back down the stairs and into the hallway, right into the middle of an argument between Edward and Rose. Again. The gist of this seemed to be that Edward wanted a favor, but didn't want to tell Rose why. "Can you just do it, Rosalie?"

She crossed her arms over her ample breasts, the kind that I would never have, even if I lived to be a million. "No. Not until you tell me why."

I wanted desperately to get between them and smooth things over, but I forced myself to be still. Edward and Rosalie's bickering was none of my business. Finally, Edward gave in. "Because I got something for him, and if he sees me bringing it in the house, it won't be a surprise anymore. Come on Rose, I know you don't like me, but you do like Jasper. Do it for him."

"Fine. Give me two minutes and go. Jasper! I need help downstairs!"

I ducked backwards as Jasper appeared, one eyebrow raised. "With what?"

"Car stuff. I need you to hold stuff. Now, before you change clothes for your date."

He went along, easygoing as always. Their voices faded as then went down the stairs, so I wandered back into the kitchen to see what was up with Edward. He was waiting at the back door, the box cradled awkwardly in his arms. "Hey, Alice, want to give me a hand?"

I was dying of curiosity here, but there was a blanket on top of the box, so I couldn't see in. "What is it?" My half of the box, when I reached out for it, wasn't heavy at all.

"You'll see." Edward had such a cute smile when he was excited about something, such a little-boy grin. The house was silent, everyone involved in their own tasks, so it was easy to creep up the two flights of stairs to his room, setting the box on the bed. Edward took the blanket off the box to reveal . . . a guitar? My eyebrows rose of their own accord. "Does he even play?"

"He says he does. He told me last week that he used to play, but the guitar got ruined somehow. You should have seen his face, Alice; you could tell how much he missed playing. So I asked around school, and Caius said he had an old one that he hadn't played in a few years. I looked it up online, and it's a really nice model. Fifty bucks later, I had a guitar."

"That was nice of you." It was more than nice; it was inexplicably generous of him not only to think of Jasper, but to go out of his way to get a gift that he knew would be appreciated. "When are you going to give it to him?"

He slid the case under his bed. "Well, I was originally going to wait for his birthday, but now I'm thinking sooner. It might need strings or something. Caius said that it was all right, but he only played it for a few months before he switched to percussion. Plus, I kind of think that Jasper needs a pick-me-up, don't you?"

I wondered if I should point out that Jasper had me, and I was plenty of pick-me-up, but I didn't really want to say that in front of my brother. Gross. "I'm sure that he'll love it."

Rosalie leaned against the doorframe. "Are the two of you done? I still have Jasper downstairs, but I need to start getting ready for the date, too."

"We're done. Thank you, Rosalie." The words were correct, but his tormented expression said that he found having to say them totally distasteful. I loved Edward with all of my heart, but he was just as guilty as Rosalie when it came to their fights.

Her eyes turned to mine, and I wasn't quite sure that I liked the look in them. "And by get ready for tonight, of course, I mean you, Alice."

I had already chosen an outfit, a skirt and peasant top that Jasper liked, but hair and makeup was Rosalie's specialty. With any luck at all, she could do something that would make me look more like a woman and less like a ten-year-old boy.

We sat down in front of my vanity, both studying my face in the mirror. "So, what can you do?"

She pulled out a makeup case. "I've been waiting forever to do this. You have the most beautiful eyes, and tiny, perfect little features. We just need to draw attention to them."

She whipped out some applicators that looked more like instruments of torture then my usual lipstick and mascara. "If you've been waiting to do this, why didn't you? I would have let you if you'd asked."

"No, you wouldn't have. You're only letting me do this now because you want Jasper to think that you're hot. News flash, chica: he already does. You need to be making yourself beautiful for you first, not to impress the guy who would think you were perfect if you showed up dressed like an Amish woman. Now lean forward so I can do your eyes."

I complied, my mind dancing with the possibilities. I wondered if that explained the look Jasper got sometimes when he first saw me. It was a quiet look, and usually lasted only a few seconds, but it was definitely there. Was it an impressed look? A general fondness?

Rose continued on. "You have the boy hook, line, and sinker, Alice, so don't even worry about it. If you show up all tense and worried, Jasper will flip out before you even get to the theater."

That was true. I had never met anyone who was so in tune with the emotions of everyone around him. If anyone in the family was sad, he would mimic that emotion and stay close to them, not really saying anything, just sitting close. If one of us was angry, even if it wasn't directed at him (and no one ever expressed anger at him, for fear of terrifying him), he would vanish so suddenly that it was as if he had never been there in the first place. I guessed that that wasn't too surprising, considering what he had been through, but it was more than that. He seemed to read the most subtle clues, things that none of the rest of us got, even though we had been raised in this family for years. Even more surprising, he was never wrong. Even if the person who was upset tried to deny it, Jasper always knew.

"So, you need to let him pay for dinner. I know you probably want to split the bill, but let him pay. Men love that, it makes them feel as manly as if they had hunted dinner down themselves."

I started giggling at the mental image of Jasper stalking a plate of lasagna with a spear clutched in one hand. Rose slapped my leg. "Stop moving so much, you're going to make me smear it. Now, at the movies, he buys the tickets. If you want snacks, he pays for the small soda and either candy or popcorn. If you want more than that, offer to split it."

If I followed her logic, this was going to be a seventy-five-dollar date. "I shouldn't offer to pay for either dinner or the movie?" I felt hopeless for even asking, like the biggest loser on earth who didn't even know how a date was supposed to work. Luckily I had a big sister to help me, and answer all of my questions.

"Absolutely not. He was the one to ask, therefore, he's the one to pay. Within reason, of course."

"But what if he thinks that, you know, because he paid for everything, I have to . . . do stuff with him?" God, I couldn't even say the words. And if I couldn't say the words to Rose, how was I ever going to actually do it with Jasper?

She paused, looking me straight in the eyes. "If he tries to pressure you at all, kick him where it hurts and scream. You never owe a guy anything, no matter what he does for you. Jasper wouldn't, though; he's an old-fashioned gentleman."

I didn't think so, either, but, despite my brave words to Emmett earlier, I wasn't one hundred percent sure. Sweet as he was, Jasper was still a man, and men could be unpredictable. Rose patted my shoulder. "Alice? Are we clear?"

"Yeah." There wasn't much to say besides that. Either Jasper would try something or he wouldn't; there was no way to be sure. I didn't control him, just myself, so I needed to quit worrying. "Okay."

We continued on in silence, while Rosalie finished my makeup and started on my hair. To my surprise, she pulled out several tubes and jars of products I had never seen before. "I have a great idea for your hair."

Like most of Rosalie's great ideas, it took close to an hour for her to get things just how she liked them. "There, what do you think?"

I looked . . . pretty? Yes, I was actually pretty. My eyes were outlined in smoky black, which made me look mysterious. My hair, usually just a short cut, flipped up at the ends, making me look older. I was not only pretty, I was sexy for the first time in my life. "Wow. I love it!"

Even though I was nowhere as beautiful as she was, Rose smiled. "I told you that you would. Now you stay here while I go get ready. Do not let Jasper see you before we make our grand entrance in fifteen minutes."

She walked off, even though it was hard to imagine her getting any better. Once she was gone, I looked at myself again, and doubts began to creep up. Was I sexy, or did I just look slutty? Jasper was going to think I was a whore for sure. The longer I looked at myself, the more fault I found. I was just about to sneak into the bathroom and wash it all off when Rose reappeared. "Ready?"

"I don't want to."

She laughed. "Too bad, Alice. Prince Charming is down there already, and you don't want to break his heart, do you?"

I guessed not, so I stood up and reluctantly allowed her to make a few last-minute adjustments to my hair. My feet dragged, and I was sure that I looked more like I was on my way to my execution than my first date. I looked trampy and I didn't want to send Jasper the wrong message.

He and Emmett were both waiting at the bottom of the stairs, no doubt at Rosalie's instructions. Emmett was calm, looking around at this or that, but Jasper bounced anxiously. I wondered if it was me making him nervous like that. The thought, ridiculous as it was, gave me enough courage to step in front of Rosalie when we started down the steps.

Jasper heard me immediately, just like he always did, and looked up. Shock, and no small amount of admiration, blazed in his dark blue eyes. For a second, his jaw worked, but nothing came out. Emmett looked over Jasper's shoulder and he looked shocked, also.

It took until I hit the bottom of the stairs before Jasper as able to speak. "You look beautiful, Alice. Prettier than a model." He pulled a hand out from behind his back, presenting me with a yellow flower.

If I had been expecting anything from him (and in my most secret fantasies, I had been hoping for something), it would have been roses. There were classic and beautiful and every guy's first choice. Not Jasper. He had chosen a daffodil, which was my favorite flower. It took it, stammering and blushing, and went to go grab a glass for it. I ran upstairs and put it right next to my bed, so I would be able to see it first thing in the morning. Even if the rest of this date was a disaster, I would still be able to remember this one perfect moment.

Jasper was still waiting when I came back down the stairs. "Thank you, Jasper. Daffodils are my favorite."

His face transformed as he gave me a radiant smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. Where are Emmett and Rose?"

He put a cautious arm around my shoulders. "They went to get the car. Are you ready to go?"

His voice was nervous, and his touch comforting, not at all awkward like I was afraid it would be. I let him lead me out to the car (a normal one this time, not the monster Jeep). Emmett drove, and Jasper and I sat together in the backseat. He seemed happy enough, though I could practically feel him vibrating with nervous energy. Emmett glanced in the rearview mirror. "So, do you remember the Italian I taught you?"

The vibrations increased. "I think so."

"Because, you know, you don't want to look stupid in the restaurant." I was starting to get the distinct impression that Emmett had been teasing Jasper over the past few days.

"I got it."

Rosalie turned on her boyfriend. "Remind me again why Jasper needs to know Italian?" Her voice had that dangerous Don't fuck with me, Cowboy edge to it.

He laughed nervously. "Because they only speak Italian at the restaurant. It's fancy like that." He was in trouble and he knew it.

She gave his shoulder an exasperated slap. "Emmett! For God's sake, leave Jasper alone. If you absolutely must torment someone, Edward is right upstairs. Jasper, honey, the restaurant isn't that fancy. It's more like Olive Garden."

That didn't seem to do the trick, as Jasper gave me a puzzled look. It was then that I remembered Japer saying that, until he had joined our family, he had never gone to a restaurant where they gave you individual menus as to opposed to you looking up at the big one over the counter. I squeezed his hand. "They speak English."

He huffed out a breath. "Thank God." Then he flickered his eyes up to meet Emmett's in the mirror. "Was that real Italian you were trying to teach me?"

"Nope. I had you going though, didn't I?"

To my surprise, Jasper gave him an easy grin. "Yeah, you had me going. Asshole." He didn't seem at all angry. Actually, he sounded pretty pleased.

Emmett sounded pleased, also. Looking at them pair of them, both grinning like fools, it occurred to me that Jasper might be exactly what Emmett had been wanting. A brother that he could play pranks on, and play video games with, and feel perfectly comfortable hanging around. He and Edward loved each other, don't get me wrong, but Edward was more of an old soul trapped in a teenager's body. About the only thing he and Emmett had in common was a love of baseball. Jasper not only understood Emmett's immature side, he reveled in it.

Despite both my and Rosalie's assurances, I don't think that Jasper fully relaxed until we made it into the restaurant and he could see for himself that the servers all spoke English. Edward and Bella came in just as we were ordering drinks, with her blushing a little and looking totally intimidated. I decided to take pity on her and make this a little less worrisome for us both. "Bella, come and sit by me."

She did. "Sorry we're late. Charlie was too busy interrogating Edward to notice the time."

We ordered, the six of us falling into a natural conversation. Even Jasper was talking. Granted, it was mostly to Rose or me, but he was trying. I was his date, after all, so I guessed that it was normal for him to focus on me. About halfway through, Rose nudged me under the table. "Us girls have to go to the bathroom."

Apparently this was something that happened in real life, not just in the movies. All three of us stood before the mirror, pretending to reapply lip gloss, but mostly just gossiping. Rose was perfecting her already perfect makeup. "How are you doing, chica? Jasper can barely look at his food; he's so busy slobbering over you. Edward's drooling over you, too, Bella, but we already know that you have him whipped."

"I'm good. I'm having a great time." It was true. There was a softness in Jasper's eyes when he looked at me, and several times he had lightly touched my hand under the table. It would have been nothing to Rose, but to me it was like Christmas had come early.

"It doesn't feel like you're out with your brother?"

Ew! "No!" I couldn't believe that she would actually say that.

"Just checking. Bella, is Edward behaving himself?"

She gave an irritated huff. "Of course he is. Edward always behaves himself. I'm the one who has to practically strip to get anything out of him!"

All I could do was stare. Here I was, the thought that Jasper might want more than holding hands or a chaste kiss making me feel sick, while Bella was practically begging for more. I felt a surge of irrational jealousy that she would be so comfortable.

There was no point in rushing things, though. If the time was right for her and Edward to be intimate, then the time was right. I just had to trust that the time would eventually be right for Jasper and me as well. Hopefully.

Our gossip done, we marched back to the table. The boys were mostly done eating, with only Emmett still sopping up the last of his sauce with a breadstick. Rose tapped her watch. "We need to hurry if we're going to make the movie."

Emmett smirked at her like they were the only ones in the room. "Hey, gorgeous. The waiter already took the checks, so we should be ready to go in a minute."

I bit down on the urge to ask Jasper if we ought to split it. He grabbed the bill and signed at the bottom, taking great care not to let me see the total. Guess that answered my question. He glanced up, but looked down shyly when our eyes met. "Ready?"

I nodded and he stood up to help me with my coat. Even though I knew he would have done the same for Mom or Rose, I couldn't help but feel like a princess.

This time Rose drove, and Jasper and I were left in the backseat, listening to a rather uncomfortable conversation. Emmett was rather insistent that the pair of us could catch a ride home with Bella and Edward in the Volvo. That way he and Rose could skip the movie and go have their own fun. I wasn't even sure what half the things he was whispering to her meant, but Jasper flushed bright red and slumped down in the seat.

By the time we got to the theater, we were late and the show was sold out. There was brief discussion, during which the boys made a brave plea for us to go see Death Saw III. Even the rational one, Rose pointed out that she and Emmett were the only ones over eighteen, and while Jasper might slip through, there was no way Bella or I could. They accepted that, though not without a certain amount of grumbling. Emmett did his best to negotiate. "Not a chick flick, please not a chick flick."

We compromised with a comedy, but had to wait a half hour for it to start. Emmett and Edward wandered out to the handful of arcade games, but Jasper sat by my side. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, shocked at my own daring. "Go on."

He seemed a little surprised, one hand reaching up to touch his cheek, then nodded and chased after his brothers.

Rose mimed casting a fishing pole. "Hook, line, and sinker."

I hated to be so insecure in front of Bella and Rose, but I had to ask. "Have I been doing all right? I mean, Jasper seems really happy, but . . ."

This time Bella answered. "Alice, relax. Jasper is enjoying himself, and you should be, too. Do you really want to look back on your first date and realize you spent the entire time so tense that you couldn't enjoy any of it?"

The words made sense, and I tried to force myself to relax. At the same time, Jasper reappeared, clutching something in his hand. He held it out to me. "I got this for you."

It was a pink and purple stuffed cat, no doubt pulled from the claw machine. I flipped it over and realized that it wasn't just any cat. It was the Cheshire cat. Jasper cocked his head. "Like from Alice in Wonderland. I saw it and thought of you."

He couldn't have possibly done anything nicer for me. "Thank you, Jasper, he's wonderful."

He grinned again, showing me his dimples, then ambled back over to the games. Rose squealed the minute he was out of earshot. "He's like a puppy! You say one nice thing to him and he all but rolls over for a belly scratch. Adorable."

We sat for another ten minutes or so, listening to the occasional bursts of laughter and playful ribbing as the boys raced each other. I wanted to join them, and I would have just a few weeks ago, but that wouldn't be ladylike, would it? Jasper probably wanted to see me act more like Rose and less like a ten-year-old tomboy.

Bella checked her watch and stood to gather up the boys. "Come on, guys, there's a line forming for snacks."

Jasper started to reach out like he wanted to put his arm around me, but then thought better of it. I tried to tell myself that he was just being shy, but I couldn't help but feel that the problem might be me, that he didn't want to be seen with me in public. "What would you like?"

A quick glance at Emmett and Rose revealed that they were still debating what to get. Since I knew she would be distracted, I made one feeble offer to help pay. "Are you sure I can't get this? You paid for dinner."

His blue eyes sparkled cheerfully at me. "Nope. I asked you out, so I pay. Now, popcorn or candy?"

"Popcorn, I guess." This still wasn't sitting exactly right with me, but Rose and Jasper both thought that this was how a date went, so it must be true.

Jasper must have sensed my distress. "Next time, I'll let you pay."

I was so busy nodding that I almost missed the bigger implication. When it finally hit me, I barely refrained from shrieking. I had to be sure. "Are you asking me out again?"

He suddenly looked down. "Well . . . yeah. Why, are you not having a good time?"

I had to remember that he was incredibly sensitive, and tended to take things as a criticism when they weren't. "No, I'm having a great time! I kind of wish that it was just us tonight, though."

"Next time." He smiled again. "Next time we'll go wherever you want." We were finally at the front of the line, so he ordered softly. "Medium popcorn, two small Cokes, please."

Once everyone had their food (and judging by the amount of food we ended up with, we probably should have just gotten together and ordered an extra large tub) we found our theater and seats, sliding in just in time to start the previews. I made sure that Jasper wasn't on the end, since he was still a little skittish with strangers. From the look he gave me, I could tell that he was both grateful that I had given him the seat he wanted and that I hadn't drawn any attention to it.

Almost as soon as the lights went down, he tentatively put an arm around me. My heart jumped and started hammering so hard against my ribs that I was sure he could hear it. It might not have seemed like much to Rose, or even Bella, but I had been waiting for years to have a boy (and not just any boy, but this boy) do just this. I leaned my head against his shoulder and actually felt his own heart jump in response. He smelled like toothpaste and soap and I wanted to memorize every detail of exactly who he was, right now.

As the movie began to play, the world shrank to just Jasper and me. I wondered if I was falling in love with him on our first date. No, that was silly. Of course I was falling in love with him. I had started falling in love with him from the moment I saw his picture in the file, before Mom and Dad had even agreed to bring him home. That was why I had been so sure that he would agree to live with us. Fate could be cruel, but not cruel enough to dangle my soulmate in front of me and then not bring us together. Cruel enough to bring him here and not have him feel the same way, or to have him run when he found out about James, certainly. But not cruel enough to take him away entirely.

The movie ended, and I couldn't decide if I was disappointed or thrilled. I didn't want Jasper to take his arm down, which he had done as soon as the lights went on, but I couldn't help but be curious about what happened next. Would he kiss me goodnight? I surprised myself by hoping that he would.

The ride home was wild and noisy. Jasper proved to have an absolutely phenomenal memory, and spent most of the time recreating dialogue with Emmett. When they ran out of material from the movie we had just seen, they moved on to another one without blinking.

The house was dark when we got home, so Mom and Dad must still be out. Emmett must have realized the same thing, because he gave Rose a meaningful look and the two of them snuck upstairs together. Jasper wrinkled his nose. "Guess I'm sleeping in my room tonight."

Since by now we both knew that Edward would hang around at Bella's until Charlie all but chased him out with a shotgun, and Rose and Emmett weren't going to be fit company for the rest of the night, that just left Jasper and me. Finally. Still, he seemed a little unsure when he looked at me. "Do you want to watch TV or play a game or something?"

The offer set off a spark of pleasure. "Can we play Scrabble? I love Scrabble!"

It was only once the words were out of my mouth that remembered that 'playing Scrabble' could also mean having sex. Oh, God, what if he actually thought that I wanted to . . . He wouldn't, would he? Maybe I should just make a run for it now.

Luckily, Jasper didn't seem to notice at all. I had noticed that a lot of things like that went right over his head. Maybe it was because didn't have teenaged friends who might use the slang around him, or maybe he had just never heard the terms, but he just gave me a smile. "Sure."

I rushed to get the board, both because I was still embarrassed and because I didn't want him to change his mind before I got back. When I brought it into the kitchen, I found that he had already cleared the table and was waiting for me. We chose our letters and picked to go first. I won, and carefully lined up the first letters. "Quip. Take that."

Looking at Jasper, who was bent over his tiles, it occurred to me that this was going to be a cutthroat game. He arranged and rearranged them, looking for the best word. This was exciting. None of my other family members liked playing with me. Edward could occasionally be guilted into it, but words really weren't his forte. Dad slaughtered me every time we played and it was way too easy to beat Emmett. Mom and Rose weren't that fun to play with, as they tended to let me win.

"Your turn. I got twenty-eight." He had added the world 'wimple.' At my raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "It's that little dishtowel thing that nuns wear on their heads."

I wasn't one hundred percent sure I believed him, but I didn't want to risk challenging him too soon, either. "Okay."

As the game wore on, it became clear that Jasper had a huge vocabulary. No matter that the part of his brain that affected speech had been damaged — he hadn't had his Scrabble skills disturbed at all. "Good one!"

We were still playing when Mom and Dad got home, followed shortly after by Edward. He all but floated up the steps, a dopey look etched onto his face. Jasper watched him drift away. "Think I can make the word 'twitterpated'?"

Did he just . . . yes, Jasper had actually made a Bambi reference. "Too many letters, I think."

We were within a few points of each other until close to the end, when Jasper laid down a sixty-four-letter word. Even though I went out first and stuck him with both a 'Z' and a 'J', he still won. I immediately smiled to let him know I wasn't upset about it. "Winner packs up the box. It belongs in the hall closet."

While he was taking the board back, I looked at the clock and realized that it was nearly one in the morning. "Jasper? I'm going on to bed, all right? Rematch tomorrow." I double-checked the alarm, making certain that it was correctly set.

A series of thumps sounded as Jasper bounced across the kitchen tiles like a gazelle. He skidded to a stop in front of me, looking a bit uncertain. Then he slid a hand under my chin and kissed me softly on the lips. "I had a really good time tonight, Alice."

While I was still too shocked to speak, he turned and bounded up the stairs, as if he had never been there at all. I touched my fingers to my lips, which were still tingling. "Yeah, I had a really good time, too."